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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Next door's cock...

76 replies

mojito55 · 15/01/2018 08:19

...erel is driving me up the wall. Since they decided out of the blue to become chicken farmers two months ago, I have been woken from my much-needed beauty sleep every day around 6am. I am then treated to its shrill, dramatic noise (squawking? barking? whatever) ALL MORNING. I thought they do it a few times at sunrise and then shut up? Is this one broken? And WIBU to chuck a fox over their fence?

OP posts:
AllTheWayDown · 15/01/2018 08:22

Sadly they do it all throughout the day in and off! However I didn't think they were allowed to be kept in built up areas because of the noise? I may have totally just made that up though Confused please don't chuck a fox over there Sad

AccidentallyRunToWindsor · 15/01/2018 08:26

Are you in a built up area? Perhaps you can speak to your councils noise team about it to see what they suggest.

It's pretty inconsiderate to get a cockerel if you have close neighbours. Hens are perfectly happy without a male there, one of our ladies assumed cockerel duties and made efforts to crow in the morning- was quite funny bless her.

Original poster
mojito55 · 15/01/2018 08:29

AllTheWayDown I would not be surprised to learn that this operation isn't entirely above board. I am confused as to why they have a cockerel at all? There seem to be a number of chickens, but I thought you don't need a cockerel to produce eggs? Though chicken biology isn't my strongest subject.

OP posts:
Doubletrouble99 · 15/01/2018 08:30

Definitely get in touch with your local council about the noise. I remember a case locally where the person had to get rid of their Cockerel because of complaints about the noise.

PollyBanana · 15/01/2018 08:31

I love a bit of morning cock......
Crowing.

TheQueenOfWands · 15/01/2018 08:33

It's territorial. He's telling everyone to fuck off.

He might settle down when he becomes more secure in his surroundings.

MsHomeSlice · 15/01/2018 08:35

have you actually seen a cockerel? Cos sometimes one of the chickens will put herself in charge with an identity crisis and squawk away and make a terrible racket.

mummymeister · 15/01/2018 08:35

Noise from a cockerel can be a statutory noise nuisance in the same way that a barking dog can be or loud music. there are several things that they can do to stop the cockerel crowing early in the morning. and as it gets lighter and lighter you are going to hear it earlier and earlier - 4am in the summer! so you need to sort it with them now.

a cockerel can only crow if it can stretch its neck. so one solution is to put it in a cage over night where its head almost touches the roof. it wont be able to crow. lots of people are unwilling to do this/make the effort to be good neighbours so the only option is to "move the cockerel on" new chicken owners are often slipped a cockerel because the only thing you can do with them is eat them unless you breed from them. I would get the early morning noise sorted first then move onto the daytime.

you cant ban people keeping cockerels in built up areas. you can say that in certain areas that the keeping of a cockerel will lead to a statutory nuisance with fines etc.

SavvyBlancBlonde · 15/01/2018 08:37

My local neighbours got a cockerel - we checked local legislation and cockerels were not allowed in built up areas. Report to your council

AnthonyJoshuasMrs · 15/01/2018 08:46

I feel your pain, our neighbour had one that was left to roam and crowed all day, but the dawn chorus was torture. When mornings start getting lighter the cock crows earlier so we were woken at 4am daily. And couldn’t get back to sleep because once he started he never shut up. Pure hell.

We live in a rural area so the council weren’t interested. We were also the only people impacted, no other close neighbours and the owner wasn’t bothered by the noise because he couldn’t hear it as he’d placed the chickens next to our house on the shared boundary but far away from his own. We reached a semi compromise whereby the cock was placed away overnight, but the NDN was a farmer so he still got up by 5am every day and let the birds up.

Good luck Wine

LakieLady · 15/01/2018 08:47

My neighbour got some chicks, and one of them grew up to be a cockerel. She got some collar or other that stopped him crowing.

HotelEuphoria · 15/01/2018 08:59

OH it will get worse OP, you wait until the summer. It will crow from around 2-3AM then all day until late afternoon. Been there.

Our neighbours eventually "disappeared". I think every neighbour to him in a 5 mile radius complained and whilst he still had chickens there are no cockerels.

The chickens cause enough problems, the clucking is lovely but the rats instead of mice the cats bring home are not.

AmIAWeed · 15/01/2018 09:00

I'd imagine they have a cockeral so they can have eggs for selling and also produce chicks so they continually have fresh chickens to produce eggs.
I think it all comes down to where you live, in a rural village like ours I'd look like an idiot complaining, the cows make more noise! In a built up area it's less acceptable

MonumentalAlabaster · 15/01/2018 09:05

This thread really reminds we of when I lived in SE Asia in my 20s and often spent time in Bali most of which was very rural in those days - cockerels would wake us up EVERY DAY at 4am!! There was absolutely nothing to be done about it except either to learn to sleep through it or get up with them!

Rebeccaslicker · 15/01/2018 09:07

Is this you, OP?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=tq4agp9OjLo

Sorry, that must be so annoying every morning Angry

Caspiana · 15/01/2018 09:45

I totally sympathise OP. Our neighbours have a cockerel and I frequently have to leave the house because the noise is so disturbing. We spoke to our neighbours but they’ve done nothing. We are debating whether to complain to the council.

There is no excuse for keeping a cockerel in an urban area. It’s a grotesquely selfish thing to do.

pollythedolly · 15/01/2018 10:03

Very selfish!!!

Hope you're getting free eggs in the meantime.

Aki99 · 15/01/2018 10:58

Totally sympathise. I was the babysitter for two cockerels (and the hens) whilst my parents were on holiday. They crow roughly every four hours and after the first complaint I brought them inside (and didn't sleep a wink). We live in a farm area close to a town. We have our own hens but wouldn't bother with cockerels. What did annoy me was a second complaint two months later when it was the farm's cockerel - that I could also hear but didn't bother me - go and complain at their door (but you wont get past the mad barking dog)

maddnessintheroost · 15/01/2018 11:00

The other noise might be the mating/laying /hen pecking order noises. If you are in a built up area it is very anti social. Complain to them first or contact the local council. Perhaps speak to neighbours as they might complain with you.

You only need a cockerel If you want to breed chicks

DullAndOld · 15/01/2018 11:37

well it depends where you live.
Are you in Kennington with the rooster on a balcony?
Or are you in rural West Wales?

I had a lovely rooster (try to avoid the word cock..:)) and our neighbours who had moved up to our rural location from Kent, complained to the council.
They were told that roosters were normal in deep country.

Ginandanything · 15/01/2018 11:40

You do not need a cockerel in order to get edible eggs from your hens. You only need a cockerel if you want to produce viable eggs to grow into more chickens.

Anyone complaining about a cockerel in a rural area is not that bright. In an urban setting, it is much more anti-social and you are within your rights to try to address the situation regarding the way the cockerel is housed and where it is housed.

The hens will make a lot of noise for five minutes after laying an egg, but they're only telling you how clever they are.

Ginandanything · 15/01/2018 11:45

Also, cockerels are massively unnecessary. Unless your neighbour is going into chicken farming in a biggish way he/she doesn't need a cockerel at all.

coldnosewarmears · 15/01/2018 11:51

Can you ask them to move it further away from your house.
Our neighbours, also mates, got one. DH asked them to move it further down the yard or he'd shoot it. They hadn't realised how invasive the noise was and moved it down to a field.

DullAndOld · 15/01/2018 11:53

no roosters are good because they will keep the hens in order and make sure the food is fairly shared. a good one anyway (we had one bastard who would nab all the food before the girls could)

FunnysInLaJardin · 15/01/2018 13:36

when we got our chickens, one turned out to be a cockerel. We took him back and exchanged him for a chicken. No need IME