Problems with neighbours - good suggestions?

[Eckielady]

Wow, first of all them messaging your teenage daughter is crossing a huge line. How did they get her number? I would block them asap and send them a message letting them know to not contact her again. Second- sounds like you'll never make them happy. Try to ignore them.

 

[lazy gardener]

Agreed with Eckielady. I would tell neighbors that they are not to contact your dtr. Any communication needs to come directly to you. You are allowed to have chickens. As long as you are maintaining the zoning laws for your property, go about your business, and ignore the complaints. While chicken's egg songs can be loud, usually, they sing their song, and then they are done for the day. Got dogs in the neighborhood? Dogs yell for any and no reason all day long. And often, dogs are louder! Got lawn mowers, leaf blowers, any other power equipment? Cars with horns? Crows? I'm sure there are plenty of other noise makers in your neighborhood. While we all would like to dictate what goes on outside our windows, the reality of the situation is, that my rights end with my property line. And my neighbor's rights begin at my property line. I would not gift eggs to a complaining neighbor. If I gift eggs to anyone, it's to a friend, a relative, someone with a need, or to say thank you, or a barter. No gifts to reward crankiness.

You might consider planting some vegetation at your fence line. Vegetation is a great sound barrier.

 

[TalkALittle]

If you are certain that you are within the ordinances for your town then DO NOTHING. If they see that their complaining makes you change your behavior then it will only empower them to start demanding more from you. Let it die out.

My guess is that they were hoping your old birds would die and the problem would solve itself. They probably didn't count on you getting new birds. Now they are putting up a fuss that probably won't last unless you feed into it.

If they do complain again, THANK THEM! Tell them that thanks to your prior talk with them, you double checked the city ordinances for chickens and noise and are, as you had thought, in compliance. Because after all, you wanted to be sure your chickens and kids aren't behaving at disruptive levels.

If you can find an ordinance that they are violating, even better. Exclaim in disbelief that, in your search, you found there is actually an ordinance that prevents "such and such" and while you personally don't mind that they are doing "such and such" that some of the other neighbors might complain so they may want to double check the ordinances themselves.