Crowing rooster is "too loud"

[melgauthier]

When I originally purchased my first chickens this spring, we were "guaranteed" that I was getting all hens. My kids and I raised them from little hatch-lings and really bonded to all of them. I never thought I would get so attached! Shortly after we put them outside in the pen, one of my "hens" let out a very loud crow. I thought, uh oh, that's not a girl.
He is a very nice roo, doesn't charge or peck, we can easily pick him up and pet him. I do live in a "neighborhood" but we all have about 2 acres.
Today the county zoning enforcement showed up at my door and told me they had "multiple complaints" about the crowing. Personally, I like it and as long as the windows are closed, you can't even hear it in the house. Now the weather is in the 70's and everyone has their windows open. The county law states that and individual can own up to 12 chickens (which is what I have now) and that roo's cannot "be a nuisance". Since they have received multiple complaints he is now considered a nuisance.
I realize that is what a roo does and it doesn't bother me but my neighbors don't feel the same way. The point of this post is two fold.
1. Is there anyway to make him stop crowing short of killing him? (I don't hold out much hope on this one) or
2. Is there a Rooster relocation service is the Maryland/southern PA area?

I really do not want him killed!!!!

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[Happy Chooks]

If you are allowed to have roosters in your zoning, then push the issue to keep him.

If not, then:

1. There is a procedure called caponizing that can do it at a certain age (6 weeks - 3 months), but it's very risky and the bird can die. I haven't heard of a vet that performs the procedure, so you would have to do it yourself. It is usually done on birds for slaughter as it makes them more tender. If you are in England, it's banned there.

2. You can list him here or on craigslist for a pet home only. (you need a few more posts before you can participate in the BST section here though)

 

[melgauthier]

Yea I wanted to put him on the BST but I am to new.

I was told that he was too old for caponizing (6 mos) and that it didn't do much to stop the crowing.
Thanks for the reply though...

 

[RedDrgn]

That's sounds to vague to be enforceable.

What constitutes a "nuisance"? If you and a few neighbors don't like another neighbor's face and complain, will they have to get get a make-over because they're a nuisance?

In our area, three complaints constitutes a "public nuisance", BUT that only prompts zoning/law enforcement to investigate the issue and determine what law is being broken and how. For example, the only ordinances regarding chickens that we have are that coops must be 100 feet from all other property boundaries and you cannot have more than 20 birds/acre of contiguous land. However, if our roo was breaking the noise ordinance (30 minutes of continuous noise levels in excess of 65dBA at the property boundaries), then we'd have an issue. So if anyone complained to the authorities about our boy (which no one has), the authorities would come and tell us and then see whether or not we're breaking any ordinances (which we're not, since I've already noise surveyed our whole property right after we got him). Then they'd shrug and tell those complaining that no laws are being broken so there was nothing they could do (which is what happened to another chicken owner a few miles from us last year).