Troublesome neighbor in Fair Oaks CA

[ButtonquailGirl14]

i think i have some explative words for him! (i do NOT say explitives! i am just very mad.)

 

[GldnValleyHens]

What's wrong with a bunch of singing hens, declaring their happiness in the morning I don't know. I'd understand a rooster, but grief!

 

[harmonymw]

I think you should get a dog. A large one who doesn’t like him and barks at him. Get a Pyr.

 

[Theladiesandagentleman]

Replying from across city lines here in Roseville. Most noise ordinances are for sustained noise over a longer period of time, like a dog barking non stop for 20 minutes. As long as you are following all of the ordinances, then there is no legal concern. Has he called animal control or a zoning enforcement officer? Have the ordinances sent to him by your attorney so he will stop bullying you. Seriously, how loud are a few hens?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Gazzo from the first Rocky film had sage words when Rock asked him why his bodyguard was always bustin' his ba!!$. The bodyguard kept telling Rock he should take Adrian to the zoo because retards like the zoo.

"Ah Rock, you know how it is, some people hate for no good reason."

Just ignore the guy and move on with your life. A restraining order would only be in order if he was trespassing and causing mischief on your property.

 

[abraga]

Tossing my 2 cents n...its stressful dealing w a miserable neighbor! So...mayb you could make some changes to ur coop? If you can block the light comming into the coop..till..say about 7...the hens may sleep a bit longer. Then u could add a light at dusk to keep them on laying schedule . Kinda like what we do with daylight savings times. I realize it's a pain in the a$$..butvits a small compromise that might work and give u some relief from the jerk...and yes..i would plant a nice row if very tall hedge tree on that side ..just so I can enjoy my privacy!

 

[JDN]

Sell your chickens. Take up rabbit hunting. And buy a pack of Beagle Hounds for rabbit hunting. That will teach him to complain about chicken noise

Automated pop door so they can get out and you don't have to worry?

I agree with tall shrubs to block him and the sound. And something with thorns would be better.

Otherwise, don't escalate, just nod and say, "well, we're within the law, the chickens aren't noisy before 6 AM, that's what the rules say, feel free to use the democratic process if you don't like the way the ordinances are..." Don't participate in craziness unless your hand is truly forced...

Some people are just...odd...I had a neighbor complain (indirectly, not to me but my wife) about my "mowing the lawn late at night." It wasn't late at night, it was between 7 and 8 PM...but work schedules limited me to that time, and it WAS dark out though the mower had headlights. The alternative would have been 630 AM. And some people think I'm odd for building a coop on a 1/2 acre lot and killing a possum in my front yard that was going for my brooding box. And, they aren't wrong.

 

[bruceha2000]

If you can block the light comming into the coop..till..say about 7...the hens may sleep a bit longer.

Yep, they will be quiet when it is dark in the coop.

Have the ordinances sent to him by your attorney so he will stop bullying you. Seriously, how loud are a few hens?

Good suggestion. You shouldn't even have to pay an attorney, just print them off an mail them to the neighbor.

Actually, a few hens can be very loud! Especially when they get each other going. Depends on the hens. Once one of my Faverolles starts up, the other joins in and then so do some of the other girls.

If it is safe to do so, the auto door could be useful. Are your hens usually quiet when out in the yard?

 

[Coykoi]

I've been reading advice from BYC for a while now, ever since we got our chicks over a year ago! Now they are awesome layers and fun little pets with little maintenance! Nonetheless, a neighbor has recently spoken out against them. He's the only neighbor that absolutely hates them! I've checked with all our other neighbors and they love our chickens. The troublesome neighbor's reasoning is because the wake him up in the mornings when he's trying to sleep in.

I've done everything I can to minimize their noise (moved the coop location, woken up at 6AM to beat them outside in the morning to make sure they are quiet (all hens), and try to keep them quiet till at least 7AM). Quiet hours in our area are 10PM-6AM though, and I've tried being respectful to our neighbor. His latest contacts with me have been escalating to the point where we don't feel safe around him. He's made it clear that if we want to have farm animals, to go live on a farm... and has resorted to calling us explicit names.

I followed some attorney advice and sent him a letter to open communication so he can email or call me (on my Google Voice number) rather than him shouting at me over the fence and harassing us. I'm hoping this stops his complaints and harassment, but if not, I'm looking at going to court for a restraining order unfortunately. When it comes to legalities, I've looked into Sac County, and it appears we are well within our rights to have chickens, and with the noise, we know that since they don't even make noise till after 6AM, we are covered legally there too. But I'm wondering at what point (if there is one) will I need to get rid of them? I'd do it for their sake out of courtesy, however I've heard from one of our other neighbors that he's harassed them about their dog barking. He stopped harassing them once the wife started talking to the neighbor because he was harassing the husband. Once he realized the wife was stepping up to bat, he backed down. I don't want to have to have my wife do the same thing and I wouldn't let her due to how mean he's gotten.

Advice? Thoughts? Now I do want a dog too, but I'm worried he'll start complaining about that too.

Hi fellow Fair Oaks chicken person! You're within your rights, and have gone way out of your way to be considerate, but why did he move to Fair Oaks if he didn't want to hear chickens? It sounds like if it wasn't your birds, it would have been something else. He either has a serious sleep disorder or he wants the world to cater to him. I don't have a solution for you, unfortunately, other than invite him to the chicken festival this fall

 

[Birdinhand]

I'm of two minds on this sort of thing. on one hand, you have your rights on the other hand, this may be a neighbor for a very long time and finding a way to work with their quirks may be well worth it, enlightened self interest even. they sound crotchety, so they will probably never be happy and it's not ultimately your responsibility to make them happy. so knowing that they have a quirk, I would wonder if there were an easy way to make a fence or some sort of sound deflector to bounce the morning egg dance clucking away from his house. I even put siding on a part of the coop to reduce line of sight to my one "generally annoyed" neighbor. I also take eggs over to his wife on occasion and she drops off little home baked goodies on occasion... we have an understanding, it seems.

I would work on muffling the sound somehow. they are probably super sensitive sleepers and it might go a long way to making an ally out of an enemy.

good luck!