New Roosters Crowing all night, and some Hens no longer laying eggs!

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Goros

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Jan 19, 2017
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Hi!

I have a couple of problems currently with my flock and I wanted to see what everyone's advice was.

First, we have seven 1-1/2 year old hens which have been doing a great job with egg production, until the last few weeks. A few weeks ago, our young roos came into their voices and one or two of them is crowing all night long, from 11 or midnight right through till the sun comes up. We also have several other younger hens we introduced to the flock as chicks with these roos and their egg production is going OK.

my issues are two - first, my neigbors are complaining about the rooster crowing all night (we're both zoned agricultural and the town has no noise ordinance except for dogs, so legally we're fine) but apparently they wake them up several times a night for the last few weeks and they are just telling us about it now.

Also, we free range our chickens and they go into this same neighbors yard (despite the fence we installed) and trash their mulch around their trees and they managed to scratch their lawn bare back in November. The neighbor raked up his mulch beds and spread grass seed with fertilizer on it, which my chickens ate a few weeks later.

Now, 5 of my 7 older hens aren't laying eggs and I think it's because my neighbor poisoned the chickens. Can I sue them for losses from poisoning my chickens?

Do I even have to do anything to address the noise issue, or tell them to move if they don't like it?
 
Welcome to BYC!

Your hens are probably not laying due to lack of daytime.Do you provide a heat lamp at night?Roosters will crow when its on.
 
Your older hens are at the age when they are likely getting ready to take a break from laying and molt. If they were truly poisoned they would be dead.

As for the noise issue, you may want to find out why he is crowing all night. Something is waking him up. You may not be required to do something about the noise but if it were me I would be a good neighbor and try to find a solution

You DO have a responsibility to keep your birds in your yard though, even if it means penning them up. Your neighbor shouldn't have to deal with the destruction they have created. Get a better fence or keep them locked up.
 
Your older hens are at the age when they are likely getting ready to take a break from laying and molt. If they were truly poisoned they would be dead.

As for the noise issue, you may want to find out why he is crowing all night. Something is waking him up. You may not be required to do something about the noise but if it were me I would be a good neighbor and try to find a solution

You DO have a responsibility to keep your birds in your yard though, even if it means penning them up. Your neighbor shouldn't have to deal with the destruction they have created. Get a better fence or keep them locked up.
X2

Good luck

Gary
 
Welcome to BYC!

Your hens are probably not laying due to lack of daytime.Do you provide a heat lamp at night?Roosters will crow when its on.


Your older hens are at the age when they are likely getting ready to take a break from laying and molt. If they were truly poisoned they would be dead.

As for the noise issue, you may want to find out why he is crowing all night. Something is waking him up. You may not be required to do something about the noise but if it were me I would be a good neighbor and try to find a solution

You DO have a responsibility to keep your birds in your yard though, even if it means penning them up. Your neighbor shouldn't have to deal with the destruction they have created. Get a better fence or keep them locked up.

AGREE! You're zoned "AG" but depending on the size of your property (distance between neighbors), I'd rather be a considerate neighbor....Less problems.
 
Our houses are about 75' apart, and the coop is about 75' from the back corner of their house where their bedroom is. Our bedroom is only about 60' from the coop on a second story and I can't hear the rooster at night, and the neighbors on the other side of our barn about 300' away can't either.

I really want to become a hatchery with 2-3 coops and about 500 birds all told, but this neighbor is trying to rob me of my livelihood by squelching my ability to have roosters. I've already paid for a survey to prove the property line so I can dispute the area the birds were poisoned in.

We do use a heat lamp at night, but I have no other heat out there so the neighbors will just have to deal with the noise.

They wrecked some grass and mulch around a couple trees and a decorative arbor, their dog poops in our yard. seems fair to me.
 
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Our houses are about 75' apart, and the coop is about 75' from the back corner of their house where their bedroom is. Our bedroom is only about 60' from the coop on a second story and I can't hear the rooster at night, and the neighbors on the other side of our barn about 300' away can't either.

I really want to become a hatchery with 2-3 coops and about 500 birds all told, but this neighbor is trying to rob me of my livelihood by squelching my ability to have roosters. I've already paid for a survey to prove the property line so I can dispute the area the birds were poisoned in.

We do use a heat lamp at night, but I have no other heat out there so the neighbors will just have to deal with the noise.

They wrecked some grass and mulch around a couple trees and a decorative arbor, their dog poops in our yard. seems fair to me.

If you don't care you are pissing off the neighbors with the crowing then so be it, you are legal... So just keep your chickens on your own property and do what you want. But if the chickens go on neighbors property you will have nothing but trouble, they will complain and find a way to put you out of business. I would figure out why your roo is crowing all night and if you cannot figure it out put him in a sound proof enclosure which is better than a feud, and cheaper when you consider the cost of surveys and the emotional toll of bad blood between neighbors.

Good luck

Gary
 
I've already paid for a survey to prove the property line so I can dispute the area the birds were poisoned in.

We do use a heat lamp at night, but I have no other heat out there so the neighbors will just have to deal with the noise.

They wrecked some grass and mulch around a couple trees and a decorative arbor, their dog poops in our yard. seems fair to me.
1. So you have had necropsies performed to prove they were poisoned?

2. Fully feathered birds do not need supplemental heat. All it does is introduce a fire hazard.

3. Your birds belong in your yard. Period. They should not be in your neighbor's yard destroying anything as it is NOT your property. Their dog should stay on their property. Time for a good fence. Good fences make good neighbors.

If you are serious about being a hatchery you will need secure breeding pens and grow out pens. Secure from predators, as well as wild birds that can bring in disease.
 
Given the age of your hens, I agree with the others that it sounds like nothing more than a normal break/molt. If nobody died after eating the grass seed, it's unlikely to be poisoning.

It could be the hens are also disturbed by the roosters crowing all night-- think about being locked in a room with someone that screams all night - you might not hear it, but they (your hens and neighbors) need to be able to sleep too. Lack of sleep (hens and neighbors) can lead to stress that causes all kinds of problems that are preventable.

Not sure how cold your environment is, but unless you're like -20F I also can't see providing heat to fully feathered birds. As long as they are dry and out of the wind, they should be able to cope. If you are determined to provide heat, consider other setups that do NOT involve light and use a LOT less energy. One example of this is the "Sweeter Heater" - the savings in electricity alone make it worth the purchase compared to running a 250 watt bulb. We've been happy with ours for brooding chicks- and there's a big one that does 85 chicks for under $100. The link below provides break-even rates compared to using the heat lamp.

https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalo...er-Coop-and-Brooder-Heater-4-sizes-p1556.aspx

I'd try something like that first- first get rid of the light source, and see if that doesn't quiet things and solve that particular issue. If they keep crowing when the light is gone, put them in a garage or other dark environment at night for about a week to maybe re-set the behavior, then reintroduce them to their light-less coop and see if they've adjusted.

Sound carries in funny directions. Some houses have better windows/insulation than others, and sometimes geographical features, like a valley or just being downhill, can send noise a certain way. There used to be a house about a mile away whose alarm kept going off- could hear it a mile away but in other directions it was barely noticeable.

You can also try a no-crow collar on your cockerels/roosters- that will lessen the overall noise 24/7, but I'd try the no-light way first.

Fence wise, having your chickens stay on your property is extremely important. As owners of prey animals, it's our responsibility to keep them from predators- dogs are one of the common predators- , and to keep them from damaging others' property. If you're saying that the area they damaged that needed reseeding isn't the neighbor's property, perhaps sorting out where the line is and building a fence that your birds can't get through will solve the problem. A solid fence (wood plank) might also help deflect some of the noise from reaching that house.
 
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