Help! Neighbors are complaining!

Follow the rules and get rid of them.Then move if you want livestock.Until you move enjoy your time outside in your yard.Rules are rules whether you know them or not.
 
Last edited:
I'm so sorry to hear you are having this problem with your neighbors. I live in a neighborhood where although we are fortunate to have large yards, the houses are still rather close to each other. Fortunately our town ordinances do allow us to keep chickens and quail provided they have a coop. I agree with the poster who mentioned looking into what is technically considered "livestock" by town and state regulations because as a matter of fact our town ordinances do NOT include chickens in the livestock category; they list "fowl" separately from "livestock" and the difference is very clearly defined in our code of ordinances. So I wonder if this would be something worth looking into for you as well?

Good luck to you...I hope you don't end up having to get rid of your sweet chickens.
 
Read the rules very closely. Be certain the definition of 'livestock' includes or does not include poultry. In my city, poultry in not considered 'livestock'. Cattle, horses, pigs and such are 'livestock'. Maybe getting rid of just the rooster would help diminish the 'noise'. My next door neighbors liked hearing the chickens sing the egg song! Journal dogs barking, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, diesel engines running and such. Our city ordinance has a decibel limit and a diesel truck is loud enough to be considered a nusiance! Move the coop away from the offended party, keep copies of any and all exchanges and maybe provide your girls with plenty of activity to keep their attention. My girls have calmed down a lot with time, but the first year they sang loud and proud. Also, if you were there before any ordinances came into place, you should be 'grandfathered' in. Next you will need to start petitioning to change the ordinance. Having a good face to face with your neighbor to find out what exactly the issues are. Is it when they are laying eggs and singing or is she worried about the smell? What time of the day does she have a problem with? Fact finding can help the situation. Addressing the situation head on, even when awkward, is the best way to deal with it.
 
Read the rules very closely. Be certain the definition of 'livestock' includes or does not include poultry. In my city, poultry in not considered 'livestock'. Cattle, horses, pigs and such are 'livestock'. Maybe getting rid of just the rooster would help diminish the 'noise'. My next door neighbors liked hearing the chickens sing the egg song! Journal dogs barking, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, diesel engines running and such. Our city ordinance has a decibel limit and a diesel truck is loud enough to be considered a nusiance! Move the coop away from the offended party, keep copies of any and all exchanges and maybe provide your girls with plenty of activity to keep their attention. My girls have calmed down a lot with time, but the first year they sang loud and proud. Also, if you were there before any ordinances came into place, you should be 'grandfathered' in. Next you will need to start petitioning to change the ordinance. Having a good face to face with your neighbor to find out what exactly the issues are. Is it when they are laying eggs and singing or is she worried about the smell? What time of the day does she have a problem with? Fact finding can help the situation. Addressing the situation head on, even when awkward, is the best way to deal with it.
This is excellent advice. If you're going to be pulled into enforcement, document, document, document!
 
We're experiencing some heat from next door so I searched and found this thread, got some great advice, cooled down, and then pretty much copied your letter and changed it suit us. Thanks for the advice, opinions, support, and humor. Here's my version of the "dear next door neighbor" letter.


I am sorry my hens have been bothering you so much. I never thought they were any louder than a small barking dog, only a couple of them make much noise, and their cluck and cackle sounds are not constant. Per your request, we’ve kept them quiet every morning. Unless you sleep past 10am I don’t know how they're waking you. They become docile at dusk and retreat to their coop, to be locked in for the night.
We have been discussing some ideas that might help to further reduce the noise level for you, while allowing us to keep our pets. Most of their noise occurs when a hen lays her egg, and their nesting box is already on the far side of our yard furthest from your house. I’m now figuring out the cost of a fence effectively dividing our backyard to keep them back from your side.
We have raised the hens from fluffy little one-day-old chicks, and they are beloved pets. They have been great for helping the kids to learn responsibility as they care for them. The kids carry them around, hand feed them, and think of the hens as their children, and bawled when I told them about your note. They love the hens, telling everyone about the different personalities of each one, Coconut, Blueberry, Little Red, and Blackberry.
Again, I am sorry for your inconvenience and we plan to work out an amicable solution that is acceptable to both of us.
 
The city which you live may have a code requirement about backyard chickens as do Fort Worth. Here in Fort Worth with 1/2 acre or less 12 fowl of which no more then 2 can be roosters. So with a large backyard flock with 16 you might be outside compliance. I did check the code compliance before I started my backyard flock of 10 white leghorns and made sure I was in compliance. Backyard chickens are not livestock!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom