sarabb4 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) Hello all. Yesterday got home to a letter from the council saying a neighbour has complaine about our cockerel, Ron. He is a pekin. He is in a cube with 7 ladies. I don't let them out of the cube until 7.45am and I never hear him at all apart from around 20mins around 7am.., until recently I was covering the cube with an old curtain, to muffle and darken the cube until I let them out. Since the weather has changed this is no longer practical, as the curtain wd drip into the cube. The neighbour has said he regularly crows at 5.30am for a long time. I suppose it's quite possible he does.,, but we don't hear him.,. Out nearest neighbour is in her 90's and extremely deaf.., we are surrounded by dense tall trees and a fence.. I spoke to the next 2 nearer neighbours and they both said they didn't hear him/didn't mind anyway.. So, someone's lying or the complainant lives more than 100feet away beyond the trees. All of the houses around are detached with biggish gardens.... Quite resigned to having to get of Ron, as I really don't wish to be unneighbourly.. But anyone any success with muffling a cube? He never crows after 7.15am.... I don't think I can put him a box every night.. He's quite good natured and entirely non agreessive, but he will not appreciate me trying to catch him every evening.. Not to mention the impracticality of me doing so every evening, when my 3 children are home and need supervising... So, unless there is another solution, Ron is looking for a new home! Thanks in advance. X Edited October 17, 2014 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Not sure you are being unneighbourly Sarabb4? Surely the neighbour complaining is the problem? Danger of muffling a coop is restricting the ventilation, which can lead to respiratory problems. The Council will now measure the noise levels in the house after the complainer has kept a 6 week diary. If the noise levels are too low it isn't a nuisance and if the background noises of traffic are too high the equipment won't hear him at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarabb4 Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Thanks Beantree - the ventilation issues are why I was unhappy with the curtain arrangements and why I'm not sure if there's anything else I can do! Maybe Omlet could come up with a soundproof coop! I may suggest this to them!! Awaiting the results of the recordings..., The thing I don't get is we are 20feet max. From the cube and the neighbours are 100feet min. And we rarely hear him. Even with windows and doors open.,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Hi I wouldn't panic yet normally you get a letter then 4 weeks worth of diarys have to be filled out then if they think he is a nuisance they will put recording equipment in the persons house who is complaining normally takes ages .I think people think they can just ring up and moan and you will be told to get rid doesn't work like that and it also depends if you want to keep Ron ive had it years ago no one ever filled the Diarys out so case was closed as beentree has said in another post they wont tell you who it is but if it goes to court then you will meet the complainant and I would go to court to see which one of my neighbours felt they couldn't come and speak to me first leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarabb4 Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Thank you Leanne. The complainant has kept a diary for over a month. So ultimately it will be up to the council and what their recordings find... Just weird that in a quiet cul-de-sac only 1person/family apparently has a problem with Ron..,. "Ooops, word censored!"ody else has complained/mentioned him.. And I'm really quite approachable too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I don't want to be a party pooper but, are you actually allowed to keep a cockerel in your area? I am in Birmingham and our council website says no cockerels. I hatched some in 2009 and had a noise nuisance letter when they were around 20 weeks old. I knew I was going to cull them when I decided to hatch my own chicks so that wasn't a problem. I also know who the complainant was, they had no idea what the noise was until a visiting friend told them! Most people round here actually really enjoyed the sound, and said they missed them when I had culled them, but they just aren't allowed in my area, which I accepted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarabb4 Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Yeah - no problem with keeping chickens here. I know loads of people locally who keep them. We only bought our house 2 years ago and the only thing prohibited in the deeds was turning it into an asylum(?!!!) failed there then! As I'm fairly certain Husband and I will be mad before long...(?!) also, I spoke on the phone to council today and yesterday and he said nothing about chickens being disallowed .. Only "unreasonable noise". There are farms and small holdings within half a mile of us... I'm just sad as I have always wanted to keep a cockerel and we are unlikely ever to move house again.. So if I can't keep one now u can't keep one ever. First world problem I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Sounds like you need to sit it out and let the council prove unreasonable noise then. If there are other cockerels around it will be interesting to see how they figure out which one is yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesschicken24 Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 You could get a cheap bird box camera or webcam, that way you could check back on the video to see if he is crowing early in the morning. I also suggest a tarpaulin to cover your cube, I use mine to keep my girls quiet (they've become a bit noisy in the morning since they came into lay) and dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarabb4 Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 Thanks all. I'm going to attempt something with a tarpaulin tomorrow. I've also been looking into sound proofing tiling etc- but it seems quite expensive, especially as I doubt anything will really work and the complainers will still complain. Sigh.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 You say there are other cockerels around you are they near enough could it be someone elses they can hear and not yours ?leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) Other chickens I mean its just strange you and others cant hear him and sorry don't know whats going on with the double reply it wont let me delete it leanne Edited October 19, 2014 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 You say other people locally have chickens could someone else have a boy and its not yours their hearing I just cant understand how you and others cant hear him leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Can someone delete some of my replys don't know what is going on think my computer has flipped out sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I once had a neighbour who complained to me about the autumn leaves falling on his newly paved-over back garden. Wanted me to chop down our 30+ year-old trees. Moral: not all complaints are reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Years ago, we saw a car with two men in it loitering suspiciously and reported them to the police. Turned out they were Environmental Health, recording the noise our dogs made as a neighbour had complained. They came in and let us see their recording - barked for 30 seconds when the postman came, barked for 10 seconds when someone shoved a leaflet through the letterbox, barked at the neighbour making a racket in his garden... In conclusion, they were perfectly happy that our dogs were not a nuisance "but the ones across the road haven't shut up all day!" In short - not all complaints are reasonable (and the same neighbour had complained before about the previous owners having noisy children). Don't give up on Ron just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesschicken24 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I'm not too worried about our neighbors complaining about the noises the chickens make, as we have a lot of dogs around here and they make way more noise. At night. All night. As they are shut outside at night, all year round. Even when it's raining. While I am trying to sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarabb4 Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Thanks everyone for your hopeful messages. I have erected a strange tent affair over the cube out if a tarpaulin. Hoping it will darken (possibly) muffle whilst not affecting ventilation.. Not sure if Ron will notice tho! Have to wait and see now and keep fingers crossed. It's weird isn't it how people are bothered by different things. Since having 3 children I think I can probably sleep through just about anything. Perhaps that's why I don't hear Ron! I don't hear dogs/music/leaves/shouting., the only thing that can keep me awake is having cold feet! Will keep you posted on any developments. On the upside I suddenly have 3 hens in lay - having only had one laying since mid august!..x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I've got 3 cockerels and they can and do crow in the dark I've heard them as early as 3:30am but that's a rarity 5-5:30am is the norm and I get worried if I haven't heard them by 7:00am and yes they can crow sitting down everyone of the spares I've taken for the pot have crowed in the carry box I've got and that's 12x18x12inches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Cockerels certainly can crow at any time, but I totally agree with others that not all complaints are reasonable. Sit it out and don't be bullied Some people just love to have a moan - especially if they have time on their hands or are control freaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 The trouble with sound proofing is that it can create places for red mite to gather I would pop the cockerel in a cardboard box each night inside the cube (make ventilation holes in the box) if you get a nice strong double walled box it should cut down the noise dramatically (alternatively build a small wooden box) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Can also get a baby monitor so that you can pick up sounds without going to mega expense - that said it's been a long time since we got ours from Mothercare, so they are probably all hi-fi whizz techno expensive things now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarabb4 Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 So - for anyone that is interested.: About 3 weeks after I wrote on here, we got a letter from the council saying that "the situation had improved" and that the "case was closed". That was in November and what I actually think happened is the mornings got darker and my neighbour/Ron slept longer! However, end of Feb, the council sent another letter saying that our neighbour had complained again. This week I have found out exactly who it is that has complained, via a mutual friend. Apparently they currently have the council's sound recording equipment in their home. So I await the next letter.... I have actually found Ron a new home, as I said previously- I don't want to upset anyone.. But I'm wondering- has anyone experience of their cockerel/hens being "monitored" and NOT being deemed a "nuisance"?! I do occasionally hear Ron, about 6am. If I'm already awake, the window is open and I lie in bed and concentrate to hear him over the (wild) doves cooing and other garden/road noises.... So I still think he is at a volume that you "choose " to be annoyed by rather than one you can't ignore..,, He never makes a sound once he's out of the coop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Hi sorry to hear about your problems I wouldn't tell them you have rehomed your boy and wait what the outcome is.I've been reported before about 5 years ago at the time I only had one little pekin boy no one ever filled the noise diary out and I wonder why I was so some one couldn't lie and it was a pain I don't know who could be bothered to fill one in .The case was closed I have a good idea who it was I spoke to all neighbours and everyone said it wasn't them or they didn't know I had a Cockbird I said I wasn't worried as I will go all the way and meet the complainant in court sorry about all the capitals I'm on my kindle it has a mind of it own leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Sorry to hear you've had another complaint. I agree with Leanne, I wouldn't tell anyone you've rehomed your cockerel and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
