Well the day finally arrived.
I received a call from our City's Code Enforcement officer this afternoon regarding the noise my three hens make. First, he needed to confirm that I had chickens. I told him yes, I have three. He seemed a little shocked by that, maybe thinking I had more based on the complaint. I explained that I lock them up every night and let them out no earlier than 7:00 am (our noise ordinance is 7 am - 10 pm). Luckily, he has chickens too so completely understands what I'm dealing with. He asked what kind I had. 2 BO's and an BA. "Oh, those are good layers!" LOL!!! My girls are loud when they lay eggs (naturally) and occasionally when they want to come out of the run into the yard. I've been home for the last 5 days and this is a standard behavior.
I suspect neighbors directly to the south of me called in the complaint. There are two condos south and older folks live in them. One neighbor has a yowly cat she tethers occasionally in her backyard. I rarely hear the cat and never at night. The other has a yippy chihuahua that starts barking at 930 pm EVERY night. Sometimes we are blessed with several rounds of yippy at later hours of the night too.
I feel I should go and introduce myself, let them know I have chickens and ask if they are bothered by them. What is the best way to do this?
I know how some posters feel about folks raising chickens in the city. Our chickens are pets, an odd choice of pets but pets none the less. And, I like the fact that we can get our eggs fresh from the back yard. I am also using this experience to teach my daughter the responsibility of raising an animal that "gives" back something tangible. Cats are great, but they don't give food back unless you count them barfing up their food on my couch. Sorry, a moment of humor!
Anyway, I'm looking for suggestions on how to approach these neighbors regarding my noisy chickens. Thanks in advance!
I received a call from our City's Code Enforcement officer this afternoon regarding the noise my three hens make. First, he needed to confirm that I had chickens. I told him yes, I have three. He seemed a little shocked by that, maybe thinking I had more based on the complaint. I explained that I lock them up every night and let them out no earlier than 7:00 am (our noise ordinance is 7 am - 10 pm). Luckily, he has chickens too so completely understands what I'm dealing with. He asked what kind I had. 2 BO's and an BA. "Oh, those are good layers!" LOL!!! My girls are loud when they lay eggs (naturally) and occasionally when they want to come out of the run into the yard. I've been home for the last 5 days and this is a standard behavior.
I suspect neighbors directly to the south of me called in the complaint. There are two condos south and older folks live in them. One neighbor has a yowly cat she tethers occasionally in her backyard. I rarely hear the cat and never at night. The other has a yippy chihuahua that starts barking at 930 pm EVERY night. Sometimes we are blessed with several rounds of yippy at later hours of the night too.
I feel I should go and introduce myself, let them know I have chickens and ask if they are bothered by them. What is the best way to do this?
I know how some posters feel about folks raising chickens in the city. Our chickens are pets, an odd choice of pets but pets none the less. And, I like the fact that we can get our eggs fresh from the back yard. I am also using this experience to teach my daughter the responsibility of raising an animal that "gives" back something tangible. Cats are great, but they don't give food back unless you count them barfing up their food on my couch. Sorry, a moment of humor!
Anyway, I'm looking for suggestions on how to approach these neighbors regarding my noisy chickens. Thanks in advance!
