Nextdoor complains on FB

[GD91]

So apparently my new neighbor has been complaining about my birds on facebook.

Apparently my 6 birds are keeping her daughter awake ALL night!

I have 2 cockerels & 4 Pullets. The cockerels don't crow & the girls are not even laying yet.

The coop is situated opposite our bedroom. You can step outside at 3AM & ...... Silence!

They don't even make a single audible sound at night!

I know, I often stay up all night & check them during the night!
They are just asleep on their perch.

I really don't need these ******** to be doing this, I live in a UK town, & whereas it is legal to keep chickens, I'm worried the boys will get taken away if there is a noise complaint. We have kept cockerels before, once they start crowing they begin their indoor lives & are let out daily in the garden with the hens. So that has previously prevented noise nuisance.

These neighbors have this bloody dog which keeps attacking our fence snarling & barking. The smell of the **** things wee & poo is all you can smell up the side of our house since it goes the loo right on the concrete on the other side of our fence.
It goes for our dogs, our cat, our birds if they get too close..... Yet I don't complain!

This is at all hours.

On new years Eve the man stuck his head over the fence saying he wanted to use our bin & the landlord had said he could borrow it. It annoyed me that the landlord had said he could borrow the bin without asking us first. Either way, he was told "Sorry mate, they are both full".
Apart from that we haven't spoken since we moved in. They slam windows etc when I'm in the garden. I just don't know what the problem is.

My other neighbor says he doesn't hear a thing & the birds are much nearer to him on the other side of his fence!

What the hell can I do if they make a formal complaint?

Unlike some parts of the U.S.A, the UK councils don't care, if they get a complaint they just follow it & won't listen to any reasoning or bother to take the time to see proof.... they just tell you to get rid of it!

These neighbors clearly dislike the fact that we keep rabbits, chickens & quail.... Well boohoo to them.

Its not like we are unreasonable, none of our animals ever make half as much noise as their bull terrier (which I am terrified will break though the fence & rip our birds apart before our dogs can stop it).

Again, if it breaks through the fence, there isn't a U.K law to stop it, you have to just phone the police & wait 2 hours for them to get there.... If you act yourself you are breaking the law by harming the dog. So, even if it tries to rip your arm off, you are not allowed to harm the dog!

Stupid U.K laws aren't they? Did you know your not allowed to properly protect yourself against an attacker?
You have to "Phone the Police"... and wait.... and wait.... by which time you are dead.

You can't tackle a burglar you have to "Phone the Police".

And the police services are terrible. The police are not helpful & are only interested in making sure there is as little paperwork as possible! They take forever to arrive in an "emergency". They usually find something tiny to arrest you for that has been mentioned while you are trying to explain to them what has happened,
Then when you get annoyed by the terrible attitude that is facing you they claim you are hostile and arrest you anyway.

Back to the subject:
The coop is situated about 25ft from our bedroom & about 40 ft from her house.

Its an old converted shed with one window at the front meshed with chicken wire.
Also I am positive about how silent my birds are at night. Even in the day they are very quiet, no squawking etc. Its a very peaceful flock right now.

We have never had any complaints before about any of our animals. Everything is kept clean & most people like the idea of keeping chickens.

It just these neighbors. DH warned me they were gobs***es before we moved, but I didn't realize just how awkward they were going to be.
Anybody else with similar issues, past or present?

 

[4 the Birds]

It is always tough to live somewhere when the next door neighbors are difficult. My best advice is to build a high privacy fence between you and your neighbors or add a line of fast growing foliage such as giant arborvitae bushes. I do not Facebook but I would think that you could block them so that you don't see their on-line rants.

If noises or smells are the problem then the only alternatives are to submit claims with your local agencies or ultimately decide to move. You could certainly confront your neighbors with a formal meeting to "hash out" problems and workout a solution. Many times if the other neighbors are aligned with you then the bad neighbor will feel ousted and either get with the program or move away. We are lucky enough to live out in the country with wide open spaces and having poor neighbors has less impact; Yet, we still added a line of giant arbs along a portion of our property to visually block rundown outbuildings by the neighbor.

I do not know about UK laws but I would find it highly unlikely or unusual if it was not legal to protect yourself from intruders or animals. There is always various lines drawn with what you can do if an intruder inters your fenced property or defaces such.

 

[GD91]

It is always tough to live somewhere when the next door neighbors are difficult. My best advice is to build a high privacy fence between you and your neighbors or add a line of fast growing foliage such as giant arborvitae bushes. I do not Facebook but I would think that you could block them so that you don't see their on-line rants.

If noises or smells are the problem then the only alternatives are to submit claims with your local agencies or ultimately decide to move. You could certainly confront your neighbors with a formal meeting to "hash out" problems and workout a solution. Many times if the other neighbors are aligned with you then the bad neighbor will feel ousted and either get with the program or move away. We are lucky enough to live out in the country with wide open spaces and having poor neighbors has less impact; Yet, we still added a line of giant arbs along a portion of our property to visually block rundown outbuildings by the neighbor.

I do not know about UK laws but I would find it highly unlikely or unusual if it was not legal to protect yourself from intruders or animals. There is always various lines drawn with what you can do if an intruder inters your fenced property or defaces such.

I do not do Facebook either. Apparently it was on a thread on the previous tenants Facebook page

we are in touch with them.

And nope, people get arrested all the time here for defending themselves & there property, it carries a prison sentence of between 18 months & years & a fine depending on the outcome, its illegal to harm or damage a person, animal or property no matter what the situation, the matter has to be referred to the police.
If you, say harm a burglar who has broken into your home , then that burglar can then turn around & sue you for damages on top of the criminal charges that would be held against you. Your sentence would also be longer than his. Ridiculous, isn't it?

Also if you have a pet who attacked him, then your pet by law has to be put to sleep for being "dangerous" even if its on your own property.
All the people campaigning against dangerous dogs brought that law in after children trespassing onto private property were getting mauled (rarely) & by law it was legal for the dogs to attack trespassers on privately owned land. The angry parents (who should have had better control of their kids in the first place, but thats just my opinion) then pushed so that the law was brought in because of children being at risk if they strayed onto private property.
So any aggressive pet, even cats are killed by law if they attack someone.

We already have 6ft fence, but their house upstairs overlooks our garden so they can see out of their windows.

 

[4 the Birds]

If you, say harm a burglar who has broken into your home , then that burglar can then turn around & sue you for damages on top of the criminal charges that would be held against you. Your sentence would also be longer than his. Ridiculous, isn't it?

Wow!! Here in the US it is quite different. It is perfectly fine to KILL any intruder that breaks into your home/house. Every person should have the right to SELF DEFENSE and I would not live anywhere that thought differently or had laws to the contrary. If neighbor kids climbed your fence into your yard and your dog attacked them then that may be a touch legal situation but generally the laws favor the homeowner.

 

[Vickis Girls]

As far as protecting yourself, I've heard it's illegal to own a hand gun there. Is that correct? Unfortunately, that's the direction our country seems to be heading too. Back to the subject of your neighbors though, I'm new to chickens, but not new to lousy neighbors. I think 4 the Birds has a good point, and that's what I always did, too. I would align myself with the whole neighborhood. Maybe offer a dozen eggs, or just go visit them outside for everyone to see, ask to share garden plants(or whatever),and start waving "hello" to the whole bunch(maybe even the lousy ones). Once the crappy neighbor see's they're the loners they'll either try to join in or better yet, might move away. I also think a six foot fence can be improved with the trees, too. It will also be an added barrier for the stench coming from their place. Any chance of those friends of yours on facebook publicly putting them down and telling your neighbors that you're good people? I'm not on there either, but I know it can be a powerful tool, Good luck. Keep us posted.

Also, I don't know how old your cockerels are, but mine are 6 mos. and they crow morning, and during the day. I love hearing them.

 

[GD91]

As far as protecting yourself, I've heard it's illegal to own a hand gun there. Is that correct? Unfortunately, that's the direction our country seems to be heading too. Back to the subject of your neighbors though, I'm new to chickens, but not new to lousy neighbors. I think 4 the Birds has a good point, and that's what I always did, too. I would align myself with the whole neighborhood. Maybe offer a dozen eggs, or just go visit them outside for everyone to see, ask to share garden plants(or whatever),and start waving "hello" to the whole bunch(maybe even the lousy ones). Once the crappy neighbor see's they're the loners they'll either try to join in or better yet, might move away. I also think a six foot fence can be improved with the trees, too. It will also be an added barrier for the stench coming from their place. Any chance of those friends of yours on facebook publicly putting them down and telling your neighbors that you're good people? I'm not on there either, but I know it can be a powerful tool, Good luck. Keep us posted.

Also, I don't know how old your cockerels are, but mine are 6 mos. and they crow morning, and during the day. I love hearing them.

About 4 months old, ours are. Not crowing at all

both lovely boys though one has a crooked crest, he makes up for that with a beautiful temperament.
I've had crowing cockerels before, I love the sound too, but I know some people don't. I only like it as long as its not constant though, if it drives me nuts its guaranteed the neighbors are silently fuming lol.

A gun! You must be having a laugh.

Its illegal to even walk down the street with a hammer, nail-gun or anything like that which could be classed as a "weapon". If I need to borrow tools from anyone I have to conceal them all the way home very carefully because of that law. Its illegal to drink alcohol in the street unless the bottle or can is wrapped in a bag so the brand can't be seen (some law about hiding alcohol from kids, it didn't work obviously). And its certainly illegal to possess a handgun (or any gun) without a special (expensive) license which has very restricted use anyway.

We would all be screwed if anything bad ever happened put it that way. Even the police force are not allowed to possess guns. Only specialist armed police are allowed that privilege & there are very few of them.

I often wish we could move to certain states in America up north, but unfortunately its just never going to be possible since we are tied to our town by work, relatives etc.
American properties are much larger and usually nicer than UK properties & your gardens are all enormous on tv! Even the poorer estates, everything looks big.

 

[ChickenCurt]

After writing a novelette on how to handle your problem I had to digress as it may have ended my fun with this wonderful community; be imaginative and protect your own even if it means getting involved with politics. Don't let politics scare you, if you have raised kids and critters you know most of what there is to know about government.

 

[Mrs. K]

Cal the police and report the neighbors first!

 

[Trefoil]

If you think they are going to actively go after your owning chickens, I tend to agree with Mrs. K, at least register your concerns about the dog with the police and also about the smell if its really that noticeable. Once you do that, anything they say about your animals sounds like revenge and the police aren't likely to do anything about it.

 

[Vickis Girls]

If you think they are going to actively go after your owning chickens, I tend to agree with Mrs. K, at least register your concerns about the dog with the police and also about the smell if its really that noticeable. Once you do that, anything they say about your animals sounds like revenge and the police aren't likely to do anything about it.

Good advice!