Neighbor complaining about roosters crowing

[cynesthesia]

One of our neighbors is complaining about loud roosters crowing. We live in a country area where plenty of other people have roosters. Our immediate neighbor has three roosters, while we have one silkie rooster.

The complaining neighbor says that the roosters wake them up at night and are loud throughout the day, yet I am confident that my rooster is not growing during the night since we sometimes sleep with our window open. Our other neighbor's roosters also do not crow during the night. The roosters do sometimes get into crowing competitions, but it is not constant.

Technically, I am a city person who moved into the country, but I really don't understand other city people who move here and complain about normal country animal noises. Arguably, the dogs here from the city people are just as loud.

 

[samanthaoverton]

A city person moving to the country complaining about roosters crowing..is like a person who wears cowboy boots/hat and never shoveled a day in there life and would probably freak out if they had no cell service. Posers. Highly unlikely a silkie is gonna crow at night or even as much as a normal roosters. Mine crows all the time. I just find it ODD that they claim roosters are crowing at night. Early morning yes..but at night? Anyone who has grabbed a chicken off it's roost at night KNOWS they're like someone whose taken sleeping pills. They're out of it..I'm just not seeing a rooster crowing at night unless it's in danger..

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC!

If you put your general location into your profile then people will be better able to give targeted advice when climate, etc. matters.

As for this problem,

If your roosters are legal and you're obeying any rules about setback from property lines, distance from occupied structures, etc. well, to be blunt, your neighbor can go pound sand.

That said, if you've got a dozen boys 10 yards from her bedroom window, even legally, that's not very neighborly.

Technically, I am a city person who moved into a country, but I really don't understand other city people who move here and complain about normal country animal noises.

That reminds me of how, when I was growing up in the industrial areas downriver of Pittsburgh people would move near the train tracks or close to the airport then complain about the noise of the trains and the airplanes.

And to anyone who has ever lived close enough to the tracks for the house to vibrate from a heavy freight train or under a major airport's main approach route a rooster is NOTHING.

He hardly even compares to the hum of a nearby interstate.

I just find it ODD that they claim roosters are crowing at night. Early morning yes..but at night?

My in-town rooster often crowed at night. We lived on a corner lot and our theory was that the headlights from the cars turning the corner would hit the coop and wake him up.

My current rooster occasionally crows at night. I've never really noticed if it was connected to the full moon or not since, after all, it's nothing like a freight train or a jet.

 

[microchick]

I was up at 3:30 AM one morning to let the dogs out and was amazed that every rooster within hearing range including my own were crowing their little one celled brains out. The symphony was pretty impressive.

But we live in a deep rural setting in the middle of Amish farm country so animal noises are expected and mostly enjoyed. After all, it's part of living in the country.

This sign is on my 'get' list. Love it to pieces.

Maybe buy one and hang it so the complaining neighbor can read it clearly?

 

[drdoct]

The only laws I see are no more than 5 roosters.
I did read somewhere else that they have to be 50' from dwelling and no more than 5 in total, but I think that was for Santa Cruz the city.

I'd probably make a call to the county zoning person to make sure. But it looks like you're ok. But you may want to put a camera on your coop because crazy people do crazy things.

 

[NatJ]

Anyone who has grabbed a chicken off it's roost at night KNOWS they're like someone whose taken sleeping pills. They're out of it..

Your experience does not match mine.

I've grabbed chickens off the roost at night, and they can seem pretty alert, flapping their wings, and struggling and making noise. I've taken broodies off the nest in the dark and put them on perches, but they got themselves back on the nests in the dark (I checked back later, while it was still dark.) I've taken chickens out of trees during the night, and those ones really tend to struggle and be hard to hold onto; if they get out of my hands, they manage to run and sometimes hide. If I get close enough to touch them, they jump away again. (I try to avoid this situation, but it's happened a few times.)

I grant that chickens don't see well in the dark, but I don't find them to sleep as soundly as many people say. They mostly stay put, because they don't want to run or fly when they can't see, but they certainly do move if they think they need to.

 

[Nyhillbillies]

Your experience does not match mine.

I've grabbed chickens off the roost at night, and they can seem pretty alert, flapping their wings, and struggling and making noise. I've taken broodies off the nest in the dark and put them on perches, but they got themselves back on the nests in the dark (I checked back later, while it was still dark.) I've taken chickens out of trees during the night, and those ones really tend to struggle and be hard to hold onto; if they get out of my hands, they manage to run and sometimes hide. If I get close enough to touch them, they jump away again. (I try to avoid this situation, but it's happened a few times.)

I grant that chickens don't see well in the dark, but I don't find them to sleep as soundly as many people say. They mostly stay put, because they don't want to run or fly when they can't see, but they certainly do move if they think they need to.

We have a RING camera in the coop. If we had ‘motion alerts’ on, it would be activating all night long. It’s almost like they don’t sleep! I have one small hen who stays on top of the nesting box all by herself, while 4 big hens continually jocky for space next to the lone rooster on the perch. Lots of perch space (studs), and yet they go for the Guiness World record of how many chickens can fit in the smallest space!

 

[cynesthesia]

I was up at 3:30 AM one morning to let the dogs out and was amazed that every rooster within hearing range including my own were crowing their little one celled brains out. The symphony was pretty impressive.

But we live in a deep rural setting in the middle of Amish farm country so animal noises are expected and mostly enjoyed. After all, it's part of living in the country.

This sign is on my 'get' list. Love it to pieces.
View attachment 3229462
Maybe buy one and hang it so the complaining neighbor can read it clearly?

Technically, the houses here are zoned residential, although the small town is not an incorporated area. Compared to the area's proximity to the city, it's definitely more country. It's more like a bunch of hobby and mini farms. A lot of people here own livestock guardian dogs (like my Great Pyrenees), chickens, horses, goats, etc.

I put a tarp over the Eglu coop. Hopefully, it would deter my rooster from at least crowing during the night, even though I still haven't heard him specifically. Today, during the late morning, he crowed more than usual. He makes less noise than my Easter Egger hen who really wants out of the coop in the mornings.

This is him staring at one of his kids. He is a deadbeat dad.

 

[Folly's place]

It's best to know what the local 'rules' are, in fact before moving into an area, it's best to look at zoning ordinances.
As @3KillerBs mentioned already, if you are legal, ignore it. If there's a sound ordinance, pay attention to that one. Your Silkie is the least of it anyway.
And our roosters will sound off any time of the day or night if something bothers them.
Mary

 

[cynesthesia]

It's best to know what the local 'rules' are, in fact before moving into an area, it's best to look at zoning ordinances.
As @3KillerBs mentioned already, if you are legal, ignore it. If there's a sound ordinance, pay attention to that one. Your Silkie is the least of it anyway.
And our roosters will sound off any time of the day or night if something bothers them.
Mary

I checked the noise ordinance times. My silkie roo definitely does not crow during 10p - 8a. We just slept with our bedroom window open last night, too, to double check.

"(a)No person shall between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. make, cause, suffer or permit to be made any offensive noise (1) which is made within one hundred feet of any building or place regularly used for sleeping purposes, or (2) which disturbs, or would tend to disturb, any person within hearing distance of ..."