Cockerel in built up area

[Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain]

Can’t believe I’m writing this! Neighbours a few doors down at the back of me have kept chickens for years. No harm, rarely hear them. They may attract rodents but that’s it.

Anyway, at the weekend I heard a cockerel crowing at 4am! Twice so far and every morning since so must be new. We live in SE London/surrey borders, 1930s/victorian/georgian houses. Checked with neighbour on my side who backs onto them and yes, it is indeed a cockerel.

The cockerel woke me up before the storm in SE London last night/5am this morning! Luckily I have earplugs in my medicine cabinet, but my window was open before the storm broke.

Anyway, are there any rules or regulations about keeping cockerels in urban areas? What can I do? They’re nice neighbours at the back, keep bees and sometimes give me honey and eggs. We are not in the countryside. We do have urban foxes living locally…

https://www.bromley.gov.uk/pollution-control-noise/noise-cockerels-crowing/2

You might find this helpful.

You should report it.

If it was me, I’d be finding a way to help a fox grab it.

Thanks for this. I have no idea why they’ve suddenly decided to get a cockerel after all these years especially as it’s not needed.

I’m guessing the other neighbours may not be happy too with a new alarm clock (cockerel) so will get on our street WhatsApp group (they might have another one as on other adjoining street) and see what they say.

AI says speak to neighbours before reporting it as they may be unaware it’s disruptive! From the guidance given above they say cockerels should be far away from people/built up areas as possible so no idea why they think getting one is a good idea. They’re animal lovers though…

How do I do that? They did have foxes living in the garden next to their house when it was slightly derelict but they may be gone now.

Our neighbour had chickens and they got one, I suspect it was an incorrectly sexed chick. They don’t just crow early, you will find it actually crows all night long and all day soon. I assume lots of neighbours complained about the one near us as it only lasted about six weeks.

Or, speaking as someone who has several neighbours with cockerels, you could just ignore it. Your brain will recognise it soon as a normal sound, and not wake up.

Check they are registered with APHA.
I keep chickens but live in rural Wales.
Talk to your neighbours and suggest they buy their cockerel an anti-crow collar.
(Be careful googling for cock collar)

I'd knock on the door and tell them to get rid of it you'll be reporting it along with their rodent-harbouring chickens while you're at it.

There's no point trying to be reasonable with someone so stupid.

I would suggest that maybe they had a wrongly sexed chicken or have hatched some eggs. I would go and have a chat and ask if they are planning to keep it or not, it could be a non-issue.

I’ve just spoken to them via WhatsApp and it’s a chick they got recently which was incorrectly sexed they think, it was to replace one of their hens who died. They said they’d now like to keep it, as they had grown fond of it, in a darkened shed, but I pointed out it would be a noise nuisance and referred them to the council website on this page. I’m not the only person to complain apparently. Let’s hope that sorts it out.

On the other hand, anyone got any good Coq au vin recipes?!

Terrific! Just what I want to hear when I’m wfh on teams calls! A cockerel crowing.

I really sympathize. We don’t take noise pollution seriously enough. Noise ruins lives. It really does. I have known people driven to suicide attempts by noisy neighbours.

We have a problem with noisy cars atm. Idiots modify their exhausts so they screech and crackle and bang. I am woken up by them every night, often several times a night. You are 100% in the right. No one ever has the right to wake people up between 11pm and 7am. It should be a very serious offence.

My neighbour has sold and is moving. Her chooks will go, too, and her rooster. I will miss it. I like it.

I would do both these things but we are in a residential urban area. There’s a park opposite where they live but that’s about as country as it gets round here. They do keep chickens though which as I said are no bother. Was bad enough when their bees escaped one year and they (neighbours) panicked and alerted us. And I got free honey in return.

Well judging from Bromley council website link above (which is fairly near me), it’s most likely illegal where they live, and considered a noise nuisance.

Doesn’t state it on their website (my council is Croydon) but AI says it’s apparently very similar to Bromley council cockerel noise advice. Not allowed, keep noise diary if necessary. They can be fined if a nuisance and neighbours are required to resolve disturbance before fining them.

Thanks all!

Failing the above not working, I will try to befriend a local fox of whom there are many and go down that route.

We had a neighbourhood cockerel once. It used to wander free range up and down the lane outside our row of 10 houses. Honestly it would crow at all hours of the day and night. Although we are adjacent to a 30mph busy road, it lasted a fair few months. It was called Rodney. Then one day he was just gone. Fox, car, nobody knows!

I would complain as they are a real pain in the arse.

Thing is I can’t prove the chickens attract the rodents. They’re fairly nice neighbours anyway at the back, I don’t want to antagonise them.

I love the sound of cockerels, we used to have one next door a few years ago.

Was that in a residential area? Apparently, this one is young (few months old?) and cute and in their chicken coop/run area. Not so cute with its early hours of the morning crowing though.

If we were in the countryside I’d be fine as that’s what you expect to hear.

They must think you were born yesterday.

Well we live in a semi rural Hamlet. There's just a main road through the village/Hamlet with our row of houses set back from the main road. So a residential area yes, but semi rural too. There is a small farm at the back of is about 1/2 mile away which makes various animal noises, but we are the closest houses to that so it is a nice pleasant sound at a 1/2 mile distance.
Not to nice when the cockerel is standing underneath your bedroom window.