Managing Roosters and Neighbours

[otisavy]

I'm just venting some frustration here, but I would really love to hear about other experiences on this matter!

I'm relatively new to chickens (started our "flock" this past spring). We bought 7 austrolorp pullets (so we were told)...much to my dismay, as they grew up, it became quite apparent that we had 5 roosters! This was very obvious when they began practicing their morning "songs" which surprisingly took place all day long.

Oh course, my neighbours were not too pleased. I live in the country and none of the noise by laws restrict rooster crowing. Unfortunately, one neighbour in particular (the closest in proximity) was getting quite annoyed. The noise of 5 roosters going off in unison was quite obnoxious (my husband and I were not oblivious to it!) and I started to think we needed to get rid of a few of them. This was solidified when my neighbour called me after work one afternoon saying that "we just HAD to do something about the roosters...I haven't slept in months... Blah blah blah" ...I rolled my eyes and let her know that we were killing a bunch of them soon. We killed all but one (I kept the largest, most beautiful one and named him Big Poppa)...and believe me, I cried like crazy! But they were very tasty.

So we got a new batch of pullets and guess what, 3 more roosters! So, same old thing...including a phone call at 3.30 in the morning from my neighbour telling us to shut them up! To be clear, they only occasionally went off at 3.30 am... Usually it's 4.30 am So, not wanting to go through the anguish of killing more of my sweet creatures, I researched rooster crowing mitigation and did everything I felt I could do... Locked in the coop at night, no porch lights, etc...this seemed to help, but not enough so we ended up killing 2 more roosters

So I have 2 left and I love them both: Big Poppa and Benedict. They look after the flock and let us know if there's anything going on outside that they don't like ...I really don't want to feel like I should get rid of them both (kill or give away), but their crowing starts to stress me out sometimes because I just know my neighbour is fuming about the noise. In fact, I forgot to put my girls and boys in the coop one night (they love roosting outside), and Big Poppa started crowing very loudly around 5am...needless to say, I got another angry early morning phone call from next door.

How do I stay respectful of my neighbour but still keep my roosters? ...perhaps I should tell her to move back to the city if she can't handle the country living just kidding.

 

[Ashdoes]

Honestly, I wouldn't do anything. I can tell you that if a neighbor called me at 3 am to complain about my roosters, she would have been the one getting an earful. The nerve of some people!
My roosters crow early, but unless I'm already awake, I can't hear them. So, is she already awake, and then just complaining that she hears roosters? I don't know if there's a fix if you want to keep your roosters, which you have a right to do.

 

[bobbi-j]

edited

 

[Cindy in PA]

I have always found that eventually I don't really hear the crowing. I'd say just forget it & keep your roosters. If you are in the country it should be expected & it's much better than a barking dog!

 

[bobbi-j]

I have always found that eventually I don't really hear the crowing. I'd say just forget it & keep your roosters. If you are in the country it should be expected & it's much better than a barking dog!

This is a matter of opinion. There are people who would rather hear a barking dog than a rooster. If it's not bothering you, it is easier to tune it out. If it's a source of contention, it's going to be a problem that gets worse and worse every time the neighbor's rooster wakes you up between 3:30 - 5:00 in the morning. We don't know how close this rooster lives to the neighbors. We don't know if the neighbor has a job where they get home from work at 11:00 pm, therefore creating the need to sleep past 5 am. There are so many things that aren't brought to light. Personally, I think when you live in a community with close neighbors - whether you're in the "country" or not - you have a responsibility to your neighbors, too. Just like the person with the barking dog has a responsibility to keep the dogs quiet. Just my opinion.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Point taken, we certainly don't know all the details. I live in a rural community. I have farm fields out the front & sides of my house, but about 8 years ago they put a development behind me with $300,000+ houses that are about 300 feet behind my house. I have had chickens for 20 years, so now I am supposed to worry about my roosters crowing?? They built these homes on 1.5 acre lots, but since the lots are sloping & they built the houses way off the road, butting up to my backyard, I now have to change how I live in an agricultural zone??? My neighbors have never complained at least to my face. They used to walk into my yard uninvited to feed my chickens their chemically laden grass when their kids were smaller. They let their cat run all over the woods & my yard & then remarked that my dogs chased the cat in my yard!!! They put their lawn waste in the woods which does not belong to them instead of paying to have it taken away. They put their kids swing set at the edge of their property in the fencerow with ticks, as it is in the only shady place on their lawn. Their kids once threw rocks at my chickens in their pen. I can hear the neighbors next to them blaring their stereo on their patio all summer. I can hear them talking when they are in between houses etc. My living here has been compromised, but we haven't had a problem. I keep my chickens, guineas & dogs on my property. I put up with screaming kids, stereos ridiculous leaf blowers & commercial lawnmowers in a once quiet area, so yes they will have to put up with my noisy guineas once or twice a day & a rooster when I have one. If roosters are allowed I do believe in trying to mitigate the noise when possible, but notto worry about a neighbor night & day who probably never will be satisfied no matter what!

 

[bobbi-j]

Point taken, we certainly don't know all the details. I live in a rural community. I have farm fields out the front & sides of my house, but about 8 years ago they put a development behind me with $300,000+ houses that are about 300 feet behind my house. I have had chickens for 20 years, so now I am supposed to worry about my roosters crowing?? They built these homes on 1.5 acre lots, but since the lots are sloping & they built the houses way off the road, butting up to my backyard, I now have to change how I live in an agricultural zone??? My neighbors have never complained at least to my face. They used to walk into my yard uninvited to feed my chickens their chemically laden grass when their kids were smaller. They let their cat run all over the woods & my yard & then remarked that my dogs chased the cat in my yard!!! They put their lawn waste in the woods which does not belong to them instead of paying to have it taken away. They put their kids swing set at the edge of their property in the fencerow with ticks, as it is in the only shady place on their lawn. Their kids once threw rocks at my chickens in their pen. I can hear the neighbors next to them blaring their stereo on their patio all summer. I can hear them talking when they are in between houses etc. My living here has been compromised, but we haven't had a problem. I keep my chickens, guineas & dogs on my property. I put up with screaming kids, stereos ridiculous leaf blowers & commercial lawnmowers in a once quiet area, so yes they will have to put up with my noisy guineas once or twice a day & a rooster when I have one. If roosters are allowed I do believe in trying to mitigate the noise when possible, but notto worry about a neighbor night & day who probably never will be satisfied no matter what!

Ugh! I understand your frustration. You were there first, and as long as there are no ordinances preventing it, you have every right to keep living your life as you have been. I would not be happy with that situation! Heck, we've got a new house going up 1/2 mile from here and are feeling claustrophobic. (Right now the nearest neighbors are a mile away) But we don't know if that's the OP's situation. It's definitely more complicated when you have people living close by. I hear that realtors now have scratch & sniff brochures for the people who want to live in developments in "the country" but then complain about the odors of feed lots, manure being spread on fields for fertilizer, etc. and want to change the laws. People need to realize they can't have it both ways. If you don't want all the effects of living in the country, stay in town!

 

[otisavy]

This is a matter of opinion. There are people who would rather hear a barking dog than a rooster. If it's not bothering you, it is easier to tune it out. If it's a source of contention, it's going to be a problem that gets worse and worse every time the neighbor's rooster  wakes you up between 3:30 - 5:00 in the morning. We don't know how close this rooster lives to the neighbors. We don't know if the neighbor has a job where they get home from work at 11:00 pm, therefore creating the need to sleep past 5 am. There are so many things that aren't brought to light. Personally, I think when you live in a community with close neighbors - whether you're in the "country" or not - you have a responsibility to your neighbors, too. Just like the person with the barking dog has a responsibility to keep the dogs quiet. Just my opinion. 

My neighbour is on the same work schedule as I am...up at 5am and get home from work around 5pm. The coop is about 100ft away, so it is relatively close to them. I'm not sure why it bothers her so much, because she gets up around the same time as me. But she says that she tries using ear plugs and nothing helps. This is the same neighbour who can't sleep sometimes because of highway noise (which I can't even hear except for the occasional logging truck) so I think she might be a little over dramatic. All I can do is respect her wishes the best I can without giving up the roosters. When they go off in the morning its only for 5 minutes or so, and the sound if fairly muffled now cause they're in their coop. Ah well, wish me luck. I'd rather not make an enemy with my neighbour, but we'll see how things go...

 

[otisavy]

Point taken, we certainly don't know all the details.  I live in a rural community.  I have farm fields out the front & sides of my house, but about 8 years ago they put a development behind me with $300,000+ houses that are about 300 feet behind my house.  I have had chickens for 20 years, so now I am supposed to worry about my roosters crowing??  They built these homes on 1.5 acre lots, but since the lots are sloping & they built the houses way off the road, butting up to my backyard, I now have to change how I live in an agricultural zone???   My neighbors have never complained at least to my face.  They used to walk into my yard uninvited to feed my chickens their chemically laden grass when their kids were smaller.  They let their cat run all over the woods & my yard & then remarked that my dogs chased the cat in my yard!!!  They put their lawn waste in the woods which does not belong to them instead of paying to have it taken away.  They put their kids swing set at the edge of their property in the fencerow with ticks, as it is in the only shady place on their lawn.  Their kids once threw rocks at my chickens in their pen.  I can hear the neighbors next to them blaring their stereo on their patio all summer.  I can hear them talking when they are in between houses etc.  My living here has been compromised, but we haven't had a problem.  I keep my chickens, guineas & dogs on my property.  I put up with screaming kids, stereos ridiculous leaf blowers & commercial lawnmowers in a once quiet area, so yes they will have to put up with my noisy guineas once or twice a day  & a rooster when I have one.  If roosters are allowed I do believe in trying to mitigate the noise when possible, but notto worry about a neighbor night & day who probably never will be satisfied no matter what!

Oh, and I feel your pain! People really have no respect anymore! Especially with this sense of entitlement everyone seems to have...we have about 40 acres of forested land that surrounding neighbours like to use as their personal dog park...they don't ask, they just assume they can use it. But they don't pick up their dog's poo and always get so flustered when I'm out for a walk and my two large (friendly) dogs come galloping up to their dogs. We don't mind for the most part, but it's when people just assume they can use something without asking that really makes me angry.

 

[Avlana]

I would try to be a bit more considerate with your neighbor. Especially since the coop is so close to her house. She's obviously in distress over it and an option to move is not so readily available to most people. I would be pretty cranky too if I kept getting woken up before my alarm went off. Maybe there's more techniques you can try to keep your roosters from crowing so early? Maybe just keep one rooster? Surely it's legal to keep roosters, but is it being considerate when she's so stressed over this? I fully understand wanting to do what you want on your property. I'm trying to place myself in her shoes. I have neighbors who have dogs that are always barking like crazy. It really gets on your nerves after awhile. And then roosters crowing doesn't seem to phase me. Some things annoy people differently. Try to see it from her perspective.