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Cockerel noise

matt j

pfm Member
I live on a regular residential street not next to a farm, should I have to put up with several cockerels walking along my fence about 5 yards from my bedroom window crowing all flipping morning? They're doing my flipping nut in.

 
Unless I am going mad (possible), there's one that's turned up several doors down from me. I don't hear it in the mornings though; only during the day time and if I happen to be outside. In a residential location, you have to wonder how much thought went into it, or if there has been much consideration for neighbours.
 
Hens tend to attract rats, which is an another problem when keeping them in an urban garden.
 
Have a quiet word with the owner. Sometimes people just don’t know that others don’t share their love of chickens. Is it just one cockerel? Doesn’t make sense to have multiples.
If it’s a recent acquisition, it could be construed as a nuisance, and the council will take a dim view. If they’ve had them for years, less so.
There was a case last year in France when someone moved next to a farm, and then complained about the noise :rolleyes:
 
Agreed, most folks keep hens for eggs, keeping a cockerel in an urban setting doesn’t make sense, though be aware that hens too crow rather loudly immediately after laying. And, in common with other birds, are now becoming louder in the mornings as daylight hours lengthen.

Most local councils would treat excess noise from urban poultry as a statutory nuisance. I would have a friendly word with your neighbour in the first instance, then contact your local environmental health dept. for advice if the need arises.
 
if you use your smartphone as an alarm clock - i'd download a cockerel sound and use it on my phone as the alarm clock.

 
We had this when I was a kid, a neighbour kept a few guinea fowl. They escaped the clutches of the local foxes and maintained a constant early morning racket. It's like listening to a rotating mechanical device that needs oiling. For hours. Oink-oink-oink-oink. It drove us mad. Complaints were made. Nothing. Nada, niente, rien. Nothing that you can do, they are pets. Then one of the neighbours, a very mild mannered man with no vices other than an occasional taste for fine wine, nice clothes and an expensive watch collection, got an air rifle and dealt with the problem over the course of a few early mornings. Peace reigned. Nobody ever suspected , he was the last person who you'd suspect of killing a fly. We only found out years later when my dad was talking to him and said "do you remember?"
 
All poultry and captive birds should be contained and under cover due to current bird flu rules (irrespective of how many birds they have or location in the country). Details here including what the owners should be doing to keep them contained and the biosecurity measures to be followed:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...prevention-zone-declared-across-great-britain

It wont stop the birds crowing but it might mean the owners reconsider whether they wish to keep chickens. There is a Defra telepone line on the website for reporting suspected cases of avian flu.
 
Speak to the neighbour first. The only conceivable reasons to keep cockerels is because they like the colours or they’re rescues (we keep four hens in a cage and wouldn’t have a cockerel near the place). Either way, they might well be the type to have more regards for the birds’ feelings than yours so it could be difficult. A putative restrictive covenant and bird flu rules might well be on your side but be prepared for them hating you forever.
 


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