Sound insulation they won't eat

[justbugged]

Egg cartons are used for sound proofing. You would still need to cover them, because chickens love to eat things like insulation, and paper. I agree that if there are other roo crowing in the neighborhood, it is highly likely that no matter what you do, it is still highly likely that the neighbors will still blame your chickens for the noise. It is nearly impossible to insulate well enough to make much of a difference.

 

[Peipooch]

Sometimes you just can't make a neighbor happy! We have one particularly cantankerous one, but we just go about our business.

If there's other roos in the neighborhood, why complain about yours specifically? It's frustrating! Have you tried buttering them up with some eggs?

 

[Schrebergaertner]

Unfortunately, while our lots are good sized and the houses are pretty far apart, our chicken house is adjacent to a couple of their bedrooms, albeit at least 50 feet away. After the first complaint, we tried to figure out a way to mimimize the problem, including covering the window to make it 100% dark in the morning. We noticed quite a difference, but last week when I asked if things were better, they were not at all interested in hearing how we were working on it, and did not acknowledge any improvement at all. When we first moved in, our neighbor on the other side's rooster crowed in the morning, out in the open, and we thought it might be a problem. But we got used to it. So I'm starting to think there may be no solution (especially if insulation is not a reliable way to reduce the sound) short of getting rid of the roo, which at this point we're not willing to do. Maybe we'll try the kennel in the garage at night. We have a friend who has chickens in a neighborhood where it's not legal, and she does that successfully.

Thanks again for all your great advice.

 

[wolfandfinch]

Quote:
That must be frustrating

egg cartons reduce bounce-back, they don't sound proof. The other PP is correct that you can insulate to your heart's content but one window is all it takes. or the door.

Can you move the coop?

 

[Schrebergaertner]

Can't move it. It's actually a fully framed wooden structure on a concrete slab. Two owners ago had it built for cats and last owner converted it to chickens. I was thinking that insulating just the wall that faces their house would do the job, but I guess not. Looks like the only option will be to move the roo.

 

[wolfandfinch]

Quote:
or everytime your roo crows say it's your neighbour's

 

[1K18]

The egg cartons work by deflecting the sound in various directions, whereas a wall deflects it in only one. It works like the grey triangle-shaped soundproofing in music studios. If you cover it with plywood, then it won't work.

Another way to soundproof something is by using mass. Sound waves are vibrations through the air. If there is a thin wall in the way, they can move it and then the air on the other side, annoying your neighbors. If you add mass to the wall, then the sound waves won't move the wall as much, and it won't move the air outside as much. So if you were able to increase the mass of the wall, the sound would decrease. Think outside the box: can you pile rocks against the coop? or keep a wood pile there? or get some old telephone poles and make a makeshift wall out of them? maybe you can do something down low and put egg cartons up high where the chickens won't peck at them?

or not, just a thought.

 

[wolfandfinch]

Quote:
A big brick wall between the coop and their window. Maybe with a nicely painted picture on it. A picture saying: hope you're happy.


that's mature, right? I really shouldn't live in the city LOL

 

[seespotbitejane]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I'm having a similar issue and I figured asking here might be better than starting a new thread. I live in the middle of town and I kennel my bantam roo in the garage at night and have done since I moved in. It's legal to have him here, and I haven't had any neighbor complaints but I still worry since this is a residential neighborhood in the middle of town and is the sort of area where you don't expect to hear roosters crowing at 6:30 every morning (like clockwork since the days are getting longer, and again about an hour later, and again more midmorning...we know how they are). If he'd just crow a couple times and let it go (who does he think he's defending his territory from in this neighborhood?) it would be fine but he goes on for well over 10 minutes sometimes.

The problem now is that my garage (and my house) are really old and have pretty much no insulation. The garage is a rickety structure with walls as thin as the single boards that make them up and no door, so just a big open hole in front. For a while I was putting him in the basement but since there's no real insulation in the house either it was like putting him on the other side of my bedroom wall. Maybe my neighbors who all have newer and better kept up houses (I just moved here in October and the place didn't even have a phone jack) can't really hear him, and maybe I'm over reacting a bit since I haven't had any complaints. I'd just like to keep it that way is all and I'm sure with the days getting longer he's gonna start crowing earlier and earlier.

What I'd like to do is build a sound proof box. Or one that will damp down the sound a lot more than the plastic and wire dog crate + flimsy always open garage. I was thinking of taking just a cardboard box and stapling some sort of foam, or maybe that egg crate mattress padding you get at college, and just setting that down over crate. I'm thinking around 2x2x2? Is this a good idea? Or rather, is it a bad idea and why. Are there other materials I should consider for the insulation? I know my immediate neighbors don't care (at least they said they didn't when I asked them before I moved in) but I know there used to be somebody else nearby with a rooster who finally got rid of it because of complaints so I want to tamp down on the echo as much as I can. I should also add that I'm a renter and though my landlords don't mind the chickens, I'd like to keep it that way.

 

[speedy2020]

Quote:
You can build a sound proof coup. However, there is no guarantee to block sound because there are many holes for ventilation. You can get rooster that does not crow much. I have 2 that only crow a few times in the morning, but take along time to select them.