Neighbor complaining about noisy hens; what can I do?

[muddy75]

according to the ordinance posted there is a maximum allowance of 12 hens so you seem to be ok on that...(don’t let chicken math take over). your coop looks great and your babies seem to be spoiled rotten!! you may want to get an idea how far your coop is away from other houses, roads etc as in that ordinance, there is a 30 ft minimum. in general the distances are from others houses etc and only relate to the coop itself. In general, if there is a complaint, the city would send a letter stating alleged violation and you have (x) amount of time to correct any violation and reispection etc before any fines are typically assessed. It is a very scary thing to have to deal with as our birds can be as much a pet as someone else’s cat or dog!!

 

[frogeyed]

I cannot say it is the same everywhere, but I read somewhere that a rooster crowing is the same as your neighbors dog barking. I know you didn't mention rooster, hens are usually quieter unless laying lol.

No roosters, though I have two young chickens. I suspect one may be a rooster, but it hasn't crowed yet. No telltale signs in its comb, either.

My chickens are only noisy when laying. One in particular, the leghorn, will cackle / "sing" when laying an egg, but she'll scream whenever she wants out of the coop. My mom had been complaining about the chicken scratching around her garden, so I haven't let her out much since...

 

[Sequel]

Your setup looks just fine! You know you might think about taking them some eggs. It’s one thing to gripe to someone’s mom. But most people really appreciate a polite and interested teen. It might not work but hey give it a shot, when they hear from you how much you love your birds and how much you want to be a good neighbor they might well soften up. If they’re jerks, well then they’re jerks but you will have done your best and can be proud of that.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If you are a legal resident of the city, you can go to city hall and the city clerk will give you a copy of the city ordinances. That is the place to start. They might be online but not always.
At the same time, I would fight fire with fire. Every time you hear an annoying sound come from that property, like a screaming dog, lodge a complaint.
Complaints about neighbors is a two way street.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

No roosters, though I have two young chickens. I suspect one may be a rooster, but it hasn't crowed yet. No telltale signs in its comb, either.

My chickens are only noisy when laying. One in particular, the leghorn, will cackle / "sing" when laying an egg, but she'll scream whenever she wants out of the coop. My mom had been complaining about the chicken scratching around her garden, so I haven't let her out much since...

Oh trust me I have one that yells (sings) anytime anyone is in the nesting box! My neighbor is awesome and when my girls were first laying actually ran (well walked faster than normal, she is elderly) because she heard her singing lol. It sucks when people can't mind their own business especially if you are within ordinance regulations.

 

[FathertoFeathers]

I myself did not get the complaint about the chickens, my mom did. But I'll ask her about what they said (if she'll actually be specific with it...).
I doubt they'll want any eggs from my chickens. I just feel like they see my hens as noise making machines and nothing more, and I really don't wanna be all "buddy" with them. They don't seem like reasonable people...

And I do love my chickens. A lot. My life was full of chickens, and I see them as pets / companions, so I want to do whatever I can to keep them here and safe.

I completely understand what you are going through. Sometimes neighbors are just unreasonable and punks. I wish I had something better to say but I really think the best thing to do is to look at the laws surrounding them. I know some places will only enforce noise laws after a certain point in the day like at night. If the chickens aren't breaking any laws then your neighbors will have to suck it up. (Maybe you can use the chicken eggs to egg their house )

 

[frogeyed]

according to the ordinance posted there is a maximum allowance of 12 hens so you seem to be ok on that...(don’t let chicken math take over). your coop looks great and your babies seem to be spoiled rotten!! you may want to get an idea how far your coop is away from other houses, roads etc as in that ordinance, there is a 30 ft minimum. in general the distances are from others houses etc and only relate to the coop itself. In general, if there is a complaint, the city would send a letter stating alleged violation and you have (x) amount of time to correct any violation and reispection etc before any fines are typically assessed. It is a very scary thing to have to deal with as our birds can be as much a pet as someone else’s cat or dog!!

Well, I only got 5 chickens...so I guess that's not a part of the problem.

I guess you can say my chickens (specifically my white hen) is spoiled. We had some other chickens before along with her, all raised from chicks, but most were killed by some animal overnight (most likely a stray cat who somehow got inside the coop), and the only survivor (escaped) was the leghorn. She lost sight in one eye, and seemed to be traumatized, so I ended up keeping her indoors, feeding her corn and some other things, taking her to the vet, etc.
I guess all that attention got to her little head, and she seems to be upset when I'm not around...which explains her screaming. The other chickens are fine without my presence.

As for the coop, it's up against the wall, and my neighbor's backyard is directly across that wall. I don't get how my neighbor can get away with their wailing dog while my chickens are to blame for noise..

 

[frogeyed]

I know some places will only enforce noise laws after a certain point in the day like at night. If the chickens aren't breaking any laws then your neighbors will have to suck it up.

My chickens(s) only "sing" around morning, probably around 7 or 8 or something (I can just barely hear them in the morning, and it's not loud enough to wake someone up, in my opinion).
Like any normal chicken, they settle down near dark, and sometimes they go to bed earlier than usual.

Anyway, I'm very thankful that I've gotten so many replies in such a short time. It's helpful, considering the situation my chickens are in right now. I'll talk to my parents about checking in with local authorities on keeping chickens and regulations following them.

 

[FathertoFeathers]

My chickens(s) only "sing" around morning, probably around 7 or 8 or something (I can just barely hear them in the morning, and it's not loud enough to wake someone up, in my opinion).
Like any normal chicken, they settle down near dark, and sometimes they go to bed earlier than usual.

Anyway, I'm very thankful that I've gotten so many replies in such a short time. It's helpful, considering the situation my chickens are in right now. I'll talk to my parents about checking in with local authorities on keeping chickens and regulations following them.

If they start singing at that time then I can't imagine it would be breaking any noise complaint laws especially considering that most people are either up or getting up around that time to get to work. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[frogeyed]

If they start singing at that time then I can't imagine it would be breaking any noise complaint laws especially considering that most people are either up or getting up around that time to get to work. I wish you the best of luck!

That's exactly what I was thinking. I think my neighbor just hates my chickens because they're...chickens.

My hens might be okay, considering what many of these replies have been saying regarding the regulations where I live, but I think it all narrows down to my stubborn mom and the neighbor. She (my mom) doesn't listen to me most of the time, so I'm going to have a big problem trying to reason with her, but that's my own problem which I'll have to deal with myself.