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…

I have never understood the whole hand-wringing myself. I know I am in the minority. There was one near us a while back, for a year or so I think. I actually quite liked the sounds he made.

I don't mind cockerels so much but the noises the young steers make once it's dark are positively terrifying. One in particular sounds like a Viking battle horn.

I can hardly ask to see their cute baby cockerel can I?! I actually do think they might be being CFers and bought a cockerel/rooster and hoped no one would complain. They did offer to bring some eggs over to me, a bribe?

Anyway, I’m on it. Croydon council are pretty good at solving issues. Worst comes to worst, I can write to my MP by email, Steve Reed. He is very good at resolving issues.

Semi rural hamlets are fine. As I said, this is a built up urban residential area. The cockerel is loud, even 2-3 doors down at the back I can hear it.

😂

I guess you could spike some food with an “additive” and listen for the result, which would be silence.

Everyone knows cockerels start crowing in the early hours.

You expect to hear cockrels in the country but not in residential urban areas.

Having said that its amazing what sounds you can filter out once you get used to them. I have travelled all over the middle east and the sounds of the call to prayer from nearby mosques were always audible. After the first night they never woke me. I used to visit friends in Casablanca who lived close by a zoo. All kinds of noises in the early morning including cockrels.

Like I said they’ve never done this in the past. I have no idea what they’re thinking getting this creature, apart from the fact they love animals, have chickens, bees, cats and dogs. I know them to say hello to.

I really wouldn’t mind only it’s a few times the dratted thing has woken me up at the weekend and this week (I’m off work with a stomach bug too). It’s not right next door but as we all know noise travels at night so it sounds loud. My neighbour whose house backs onto theirs has told me she’s threatening to throttle the cockerel 🤣. She already hears the chickens clucking.

Lots of families with young children live locally so I imagine they value their sleep and they and their parents don’t wish to be woken up at stupid o’clock.

Ooh great, can I do this with annoying barking dogs or the cats that shit in my garden as well?

Well cockerels can apparently crow all day and night according to pp here. I’m normally a very patient and calm person but I do value my sleep. If it carries on I’ll be straight onto the council or enlist the help of a local fox somehow. As I’ve already spoken to the owners. My boyfriend heard it at the weekend when he stayed over too and commented on it.

I feel relieved too that people in my street near it have complained already (no idea about in their street where it lives) so it’s not just me being princessy about her sleep.

Honestly even though I have a cat, I say go ahead and release the hounds (sorry fox) if it bothers you!

Go for it.

Bit of a plonker then.

I don’t think their story is fake. Happened to us, got an incorrectly sexed chick. Of course, it was a ‘big personality’ and everyone’s absolute favourite. Then we clued on it was a boy - we clued on before it started crowing. We then had upset kids as it was the firm favourite, and I must say, we were disappointed as well as it was more like a little dog. However, we also knew we couldn’t keep him as once he started crowing the neighbours (and likely ourselves) would be really pissed off, so we rehomed him. Wasn’t easy as roosters are not exactly in demand, but we found a rural property who would take him.

I live in the country and had an incorrectly sexed chicken which started crowing once. Neighbour came round and said it had woken her. Was a bit surprised as i hadn’t heard a thing but i chopped its head off that afternoon. Seemed a reasonable thing to do as I don’t want people being kept awake and upset.

Yes, and it’s weird. Bromley , where I live, take that view, but Greenwich and Bexley used to take the opposite view 🤷‍♀️

I wish we could. .🙄🤷‍♀️

Lol, we had a cockerel near us pretty much in the town centre for a while. He used to get out of his coup and roam the streets freaking out the clubbers at 3am. Quite the character but his cockadoddledooing was very annoying.

A friend of ours ended up with a cockerel they didn't want. They kept chickens and wanted a few more so they bought some female chicks. Only one turned out to be male. 😂

Sometimes hens can start crowing. My sister had one that did. They rehomed her to a farm

‘No harm. No foul’ was right there!

They’ve confirmed it is a cockerel. Young apparently. Old enough to start fecking crowing!

That’s coq au vin in a few months surely? Delicious.

You are kidding me?! Thank god I don’t live there then. Beggars belief how they change their rules accordingly on a whim.