Help!

[Neighbor]

I am coming here to ask Rooster owners how to handle my neighbor, I do not personally own a Rooster and have nothing against a neighbor owning a Rooster, chickens or any other poultry or livestock but I have a problem with a neighbor being irresponsible and un-neighborly. I am not "uppity" and have lived in NH all my life, in the current neighborhood for almost 12 years with no problems with this neighbor until they got a Rooster that crows loudly and obnoxiously repeatedly from 5:00am until 8:30 pm almost daily. Weekends they are home and tend to do a better job of quieting the rooster before 7am because *they* want to sleep but don't care about those in the neighborhood who are not early risers and when they leave early on weekdays they have no regards for anyone else in the neighborhood and unfortunately some of us work from home offices and others work nights. This is a residential neighborhood with no farms and homes are close together on small lots and abutting a major highway. The Rooster is louder than any traffic going by on the highway and we have to turn up our televisions loud to drown out this LOUD Rooster. We tried being neighborly and asking for cooperation and also sent a letter, no luck. Has turned into a heated conversation over the phone.

We have already reported this to the local animal control officer (who is very busy and says she will get to it soon) & local Police who say they will do nothing because our town has no noise ordinance but said we are free to give them a taste of their own medicine with making our own noise. These people are not only un-neighborly but are cruel to the Rooster by putting on a dog shock collar. We were first alerted by online posts from another neighbor that neighbors with the Rooster were using a dog shock collar to quiet the Rooster and quite honestly we did not believe it until we saw it with our own eyes and when the Rooster owner openly admitted to using the shock collar on their Rooster. We used binoculars to see the Rooster and there was indeed something around its neck and the animal had been sounding very sickly when it screamed/cried for days. It appears that they do remove the shock collar for periods of time but using binoculars it looks like there are missing feathers or some injuries on the neck of the animal but again, it is hard to tell from a distance and using binoculars. The owner calls the Rooster one of her "children" and stated that she has been using the shock collar on her Rooster but only removed it when her Rooster got sick and had irritations on its neck and throat, her words. Neighbor says there is no way she will get rid of her "child"/Rooster.

Before you tell me to deal with the noise of the Rooster because there is no noise ordinance just keep in mind that we are good neighbors, who are quiet and have no problems with them having all the other chickens, it is just the one loud Rooster.

I would like to hear from all of you who own Roosters and what your opinions are of the situation and your advice on how to proceed. I can tell you that we are either going to proceed with causing our own repetitive noise disturbances and give them a taste of their own medicine or take them to court? What's your advice? Thanks in advance!

 

[redhen]

The shock collar thing REALLY bugs me... I'd call animal control AGAIN and report animal abuse...
The thing is.. they put the collar on the roo to try to appease you.(because they want to keep their pet..).. but it was a very bad decision and a cruel thing to do. IMO
As for the noise.. I dont know what to tell you...
I hear what you are saying..and i feel your pain..
But if roos are allowed..then they are allowed. Period. Sorry...

ETA: Also.. the roo is crowing early because they have to leave for work early? So they are kinda stuck.. they cant keep an animal locked up ALL day long until they get home from work...
Maybe you can compermise with them?.. ask them if they would let you let the roo out later in the morning??

 

[Mark & Nique]

Howdy, Neighbor --

It sounds like you're already handling the situation after calling animal control and the police.

Personally? At 5 a.m. I'm already awake...a rooster's crow sounds a lot better than most alarm clocks.

 

[Neighbor]

Hi Redhen!

The Shock Collar really bothers me too. I am hoping that the AC Officer gets over there this week, when speaking with ACO the officer said they have no business having the Rooster and they will be getting a visit, just hope that the ACO is successful in getting them to either voluntarily or involuntarily giving up the Rooster but they have a long backlog and limited resources so in the meantime we have tried to work with the neighbor who has a selfish attitude, when we asked for the Rooster to be kept quiet later in the AM she told us she only does so on the weekend so *They* get their rst and told me she does not care about the weekdays it is *Our* problem and told my husband he should get a different job that does not require him to work from home, LOL, not going to happen, he has a GREAT job and we are fortunate. This women is crazy and not cooperative. She has lied to police stating we have gone on her property (never have and never would trespass) and she lied and said we have a cat ripping up their awning, we don't have a cat, LOL. So trying to talk with the neighbor has not been real successful or productive.

Although many say if Roos are allowed there is nothing we can do period, that is not true, others in the State have taken to the courts when local police did not take action and others have successfully had roosters removed from their owners under court orders for being public nuisance and disturbing the peace. In my opinion any loud repetitive noise on a regular basis is un-neighborly and should not be allowed. I have started compiling other cases that have gone to court and with my paralegal background am leaning in the direction of taking this to court. There was a well know court case in NH not too long ago and the Judge sided with the neighbors in my position and ordered the owner to give up the Rooster.

Hi Mark & Nique! I wouldn't mind the Rooster crow over an alarm clock but this rooster/alarm clock doesn't stop screaming until 8:30 pm. I think it depends on the breed and frequency, this one that moved in is obnoxiously loud and pretty much non-stop!

 

[moetrout]

I think I'd offer to buy the rooster. Sometimes throwing a little money at a situation can make it go away.

If that doesn't work you could always record that rooster and play it back for them.....when they are sleeping. I know someone that did that with a barking dog. It didn't end good....one big ole fight and somebody went to jail.

 

[Cetawin]

5 am is about normal crow time. I have one that waits until around 6:30 but normally 5 - 5:30 is the norm.

The shock collar thing is ridiculous...and this is her "child"? give me a break. Call AC daily.

 

[Neighbor]

Quote:
Hi Moetrout,
Those are both great ideas! I will offer to buy the Rooster, although doubtful she will sell her "child" it's worth asking and I like your other idea, we had actually thought of doing that, recording their Rooster and playing it back through a loud speaker through the night hours.
Thanks for the great ideas!

 

[Neighbor]

From what I have read there are no ways to train a Rooster to be quiet and the only effective ways are inhumane. Is there anyone here who has found ways of soundproofing a chicken coup or hen house? Just wondering if there is truly any way for this very loud Roo to stay peacefully in this neighborhood?

 

[Neighbor]

Quote:
Is there any way to have a sound proof hen house or chicken coup so that the Rooster is free to crow without waking up the neighborhood?

I agree, the shock collar is RIDICULOUS! I am calling and writing AC daily, they are supposed to pay them a visit today, apparently they are not home much and AC is having a hard time finding time to get there when the Rooster owner is home.

 

[nonseq]

An insulated chicken coop with no windows might help......Or the rooster's owners could keep him in a dog crate in the garage until later in the morning.