Help!

[Neighbor]

Quote:
I have tried earphones the week of finals, I take college classes full-time online from home and the last 2 weeks of writing research papers and finals was really tough thanks to the constantly screaming Rooster and the headphones did not cancel out the Rooster, miine are probably not that good and I can not afford the good noise canceling headphones. With the amount of taxes I pay I should not have to buy and wear noise canceling headphones and think if I have to spend money on the problem I will instead purchase a bull horn or outdoor loud speaker to play the recording of their Rooster back for them. The Rooster & chickens do not roam and stay on their property because they are penned in a small dog kennel. If they let them out they would get run over, there is major traffic on the state highway behind and busy traffic on the road in front of their home.

 

[Neighbor]

Quote:
I really wish the other side would post here! The Rooster owner has stated her position to us, the Police & the Animal Control Officer that this is her "child" and that Roosters "crow" and we should deal with it because, "we moved into farm country" and has stated we are not innocent and have" trespassed on her property and so has our cat and ripped up her awning". Like I stated before , we do NOT own a cat, have not seen any cats around our home or hers, and no one in our household has trespassed on their property and never would. We showed the police our outdoor video Surveillance system of our property showing all our actions, when we come and go, etc., and disproving her accusations that we trespassed when she said we did, our security system is hooked up to a DVR system and records a 30 day history and police let her know that filing false reports is a crime and that we have the system to back up our claims. I love how she says we "moved into farm country" and should just "deal with it", LOL, I have lived in NH my entire life, in this town 17+ years and this house 11 years, never had a farm or rooster as a neighbor and would never "move into farm country", I live in a neighborhood that was peaceful for 11+ years until this Rooster moved in this summer.

 

[Neighbor]

Quote:
No local laws/ordinances. The Police Chief says they are considering a noise ordinance but selectman voted it down the last few attempts. There are no ordinances on livestock or poultry. The police say the only thing they can enforce is the State Statutes on dogs, the state of NH has leash laws and barking laws, that is it for our area. I will keep you posted

 

[Neighbor]

Quote:
You paint an accurate picture of both sides. We are in no way saying they can't or shouldn't have a Rooster, simply stating they need to be responsible owners and think of the safety and peacefulness for rooster and the neighborhood. No One is happy right now and the poor Rooster has suffered the most by being subjected to wearing a shock collar and confined to a dog kennel. It is difficult for us trying to reason with an irrational person who lies to us and the police. Her false accusations and selfish attitude are preventing a peaceful resolution. We are suggesting mediation before court but will take them to court if all options are exhausted.

 

[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!

Uh...OK....but honestly I was joking about the recording the rooster and playing it back. Unless of course fighting and jail time are your kind of thing. You did read all the way to the end didn't you?

Yes, read the entire post! We are more intelligent than getting into a physical altercation. Jail time is not our kind of thing, my husband and I have never been arrested and never will. Law abiding citizens........the police have said that there is nothing preventing us from making noise so no laws broken. I am shopping for a bull horn, anyone know where to get one cheaply or where I can borrow one? LOL

 

[Neighbor]

UPDATE

The local Animal Control Officer (ACO) paid them a visit and the neighbor readily admitted to using the dog shock collar and stated that she did so on the suggestion of our Police chief (not sure I believe this because she has lied about many things). The ACO says that she told them that using a dog shock collar on a Rooster constitutes animal cruelty and that they can not use it again or the Rooster will be removed. Neighbor agreed to stop using the shock collar on the Rooster and ACO left it with a warning. The ACO says that they can continue to leave the Roosters & Chickens out in the storms (rain, thunder, lightning, etc) as long as they have access to shelter. The ACO told us that they have no business having the Rooster but nothing she can do at the moment as long as the shock collar use is discontinued and says she will provide her reports of the shock collar use to the court if we end up in a court hearing.

I find it hard to believe that anyone would just start using a shock device on an animal that it was not intended for without calling a vet, the humane society or doing some online research. Shows how much she loves her "child" or how ignorant she is. The noise continues from the crack of dawn until sunset and we will be sending a final letter requesting mediation and cooperation and letting them know that court will be a final option that are prepared to take if necessary. If the letter is ignored and we are subjected to this noise on an on-going basis then we will file court papers and borrow or rent a bull horn or loud speaker to play back their Rooster recorded from sunset to sunrise. We are beyond fed up at this point but still trying to get them to work on an amicable solution for the peace of all the neighbors not just their selfish wants.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Using a shock collar properly is not inhumane. However, it certainly sounds as if they are not using it properly, with the first concern being whether it will work on a chicken, and the 2nd being the amount of time it is left on for each shock, and number of recurrences within a short timeframe. From the visible condition of the bird, I would speculate that they haven't got a clue what they are/were doing. And that still begs the question of its use on a bird.

 

[moetrout]

What is it you expect be done? It sounds as though the only outcome you will be happy with is if your neighbor gets rid of her legally owned and kept rooster. You keep going back to the use of the shock collar. We all realize that was a bad idea, but is it something your neighbor did in an effort to please you? If that was the motive then it shows some desparation of a person who doesn't know how else to solve the problem. If she was trying to solve the problem then she is not totally uncaring of the situation. The path you are taking isn't good especially if you go to court over this. The right thing to do is often also not the EASY thing to do. Take the high road.

Take a mental walk down the "I just sued my neighbor over her noisy rooster" path. You win. Your neighbor now hates you and is looking for a way to "even" the score. You lose. Your neighbor now hates you and is looking for a way to "even" the score. How long do you plan to live there after that?

 

[Neighbor]

Quote:
I expect that they keep the Rooster quiet until a reasonable time in the mornings, I know they are capable because they choose to do so on the mornings *they* want to sleep in. I have read about many ways on the internet and there were some good ideas posted here about a timer on the chicken coop door, etc. I expect that there will be peaceful breaks in the day and not constant crowing from sun up until sundown. I was informed here they could also try citronella collars, sound proof hen house/coop, etc., that is why I came here to see if there are viable options for them to keep the Rooster and keep the neighborhood happy. We are not the only people in the neighborhood complaining. I do not know specifically why she used the shock collar, she said that others were complaining in the neighborhood BEFORE us and she even said the crowing bothers her, so I think it was for HER benefit and the neighbors, not just me but can't say for certain. Obviously the loud Rooster has bothered many people including the owner. I think it is an assumption that the shock collar was used out of desperation alone and clearly not putting the animals best interest first which should be in the forefront of EVERYONE'S mind in this situation.

I believe in court only as a last resort. The neighbor already says she *hates* us and anyone who complains so I doubt going to court or not going will help the situation and quite honestly that has little significance, we were never "friends" with these people we all just peacefully co-existed and respected each other and gave a friendly "hello" or wave in passing. This is not the first time they had trouble in the neighborhood, the people that were living right beside the Rooster people had problems with them overstepping boundary lines with planting gardens and trees and they placed a shed too close to the neighbors property violating town ordinances and I could go on but that really is irrelevant to the current situation, just pointing out that these people have caused trouble with others in the neighborhood and were not cooperative in those situations either.

You mention the neighbor wanting to "even" the score, well if she/they should be so petty then let them, nothing I can do to control it and I have 24-7 video survelliance and know where to point the finger if any "evening of the score" should occur. You ask how long I plan to live here, well we hope to list the house for sale as soon as the market rebounds, another reason the Rooster situation needs to be taken care of, the real estate agent has already told us that the Rooster crowing like that will have a negative effect for many potential buyers and may cost us the sale of our home.

 

[Neighbor]

Quote:
The ACO said that the shock collar used on a Rooster is inhumane/animal cruelty and that the shock training does not work on a Rooster the way it is effective on a dog. I don't know much about shock collars but I can tell you that Rooster made awful sounds for the weeks it was forced to wear it and it caused internal and external irritation on the neck/throat. Is there a proper way to use them on Roosters and if yes, why isn't there collar marketed for this exact use? Sounds like it would be a big money maker. They left the collar on the bird for days at a time for a few weeks.