Anonymous note about cockerels

[Nooz]

Next door have got 5 cockerels.

Council have confirmed they have served a noise abatement order and to keep the noise abated in until 8:30 every day, (but they do still crow in their shed from first light only it's less loud).

Next step court but council say that's highly unlikely due to cost

The cockerels are very loud from quite a distance and continues 12 hrs a day. This the middle of the village probably 30 plus properties near by.

Now an anonymous letter has arrived to me and everyone else nearby from someone in the village. It says the noise has devalued their home and has an sae inside inviting us to write to the cockerel owners en mass to let them know what the community thinks

Would you send an anonymous letter?

I have not spoken to them face to face for fear of his reaction. The owners are hillbillies, she is retired, sweet her step-son angry by default and a convicted ketamine dealer. It's very poorly kept, own their house, ex council, have 30-40 hens too.

It does affect us badly. Is this a 'community voice' opportunity or morally wrong to write anonymous notes to neighbours?

Trying to cut through the dilemma so turning to Msnet for stoic wisdom!

Any thoughts really appreciated! Thank you

@mencken

aha, plan B. Rat poison, job done.

Complete with criminal conviction for animal cruelty (if not murder because they've eaten an animal that has been given rat poison and died as a result) and a very angry male relative who would know where the rat poison had come from.

Fucking ridiculous, wicked and illegal idea.

No. That would be horrible. They have cockerels, it's really not that bad. I lived next door to a terraced house with them in the garden and it was a bit annoying but I got over it.

What do you want them to do? Kill them? They're keeping them in until 8.30.

Plus anonymous letters won't do shit - they could all be sent by the same person because they're anonymous.

Also are you in the countryside? If so, animal noise is a part of it

There is something uniquely torturous about cockerel noise, and you have my very sympathy. Your neighbours are utter cunts as is anyone who keeps cockerels in residential areas.

But the anonymous letter won’t work. Keep on at the councillor.

Thank you everyone.

I'd have poisoned them long ago if I was built like that.

Ah but only I knew of a place where there were foxes for hire...

It is a very trying 'sound'. I've just finished my PGCE and the noise has had me behind shut windows with earphones into get away from it, in this beautiful weather. 5 big big birds I swear they are 3 foot high. I have to walk a long long way from the house to not hear them.

I just reported the rats. Council website open again now.

No, no anonymous reply

Yes, using the letter received as an in to talking to her about the ignored order

Yes, contacting the councillor about both the above

Quite bouyed up now. I have the energy available now to focus on this

There's a lot of information and ideas here, I really appreciate all the time and support given here. Thanks again x

believe me it is only the fact that it is illegal that has stopped me doing much worse to a local dog. All you smug luvvies clearly either don't live near selfish noisy fuckers or ARE selfish noisy fuckers.

there is no excuse to keep just cockerels. Newsflash - they don't lay eggs.

hope your local councillor does something, OP - mine never even answers emails. Raise a complaint with the council which will at least get someone's attention. And then keep pestering them because they do stuff all if you don't. I realise they are underresourced but that's not your problem.

My neighbour had a cockerel in some chicks she bought that were all supposed to be hens. She tried something called a rooster collar, and putting a blackout cover over the hen house to trick him into thinking it was still night, but none of it worked and the bastard carried on crowing at first light (ie approx 3.30 at this time of year in the SE).

Then it stopped and we never found out what happened to him. I think he might have ended up in the pot!

Then a fox got the hens and they don't have any poultry now.

We had an unexpected Cockerell in our hens. I panicked for ages due to the crowing, didn't want to have him put down and didn't know who would take him. Tried a rooster collar which didn't work and we blacked out the box but he still crowed. We then started getting ALL the neighbours come by and compliment him, how they loved hearing the sound. We have since moved and the neighbours were sad to see him go. We now live out in the country and have a different rooster but everyone here loves him too. I couldn't imagine the noise from 5 though. Would drive me up the wall. There are sanctuarys across the country that do take them in to be rehomed it turns out. We have one close by!

No one minded the one.

They are different breeds, one sounds like a cuckoo, one like a mangled cat, one like oo oo oo and one wah oo oo and ai yay yay. Yes they did breed them last year.

Play it again, all random. All day every single day, sunny, rainy, if you're well or not and on your birthday.

Sometimes, when they go quiet I have run upstairs in such hope to go look. They skrawk before I get there!

Once they shut up when we played the sound of thunder off Spotify out the kitchen window but it didn't work for long.

Going to push the boat out tomorrow x

I'm realising how trying it really is!

I don't think I would do anything anonymously, it would be better to try to work with the neighbour directly on this. There must be ways of keeping noisy birds without creating a nuisance.
Why can't they soundproof their shed, then let them out to crow after 8.30? And they have a lot, most of the friends I have with chickens only have one cockerel. So perhaps they could rehome two or three of them?

I work for EH at the council and an abatement notice is not the limit of their powers they just don’t want to go to court to enforce the notice.
Write to your local councillor and ask why a clear violation of an abatement notice is not being pursued.

No one needs a cockerel, let along 5

You can also take your own action under section 82 of the Env. Protection act.

If there’s enough of you and a council served abatement notice it should be quite straightforward

Massive thanks @LochJessMonster your inside help is invaluable x

Why does it have to be anonymous? Can’t you just put your name on it? Or just not take part if you don’t feel comfortable.

I like the sound of cockerels... reminds me of long, lovely summer days!

@CrashingCymbals

If you aren't already aware, please consider that iif she has to get rid of the cockerels, chances are they will have to be killed.

To be honest if I was being woken up at 5am every morning I'm not sure the cockerel's welfare would be high on my list of priorities. It's sad but they are a nuisance.

I would continue to pursue things through the council rather than an anonymous letter, particularly if the owners are unpleasant

That's par for the course of rural /village life.

We're woken by wild birds way before 5 here. Should I kill them or accept that's life?

If people don't like country life relocate to a town where your home can be devalued by real issues, like crime, thugs, drugs and antisocial behaviour.

That's not fair. 5 cockerels cannot be compared to wild bird song. It is unreasonable for them to expect neighbours to tolerate it, town or country.

5?
Surely they must be fighting.
We ended up with two by mistake, supposed to be all female chicks. Once full grown they started getting aggressive with each other, and us. Got rid of one in a friends pot and the lone one was a total pain in the arse, we had to carry a broom to collect eggs or lock them up at night, he'd jump at you with his spurs. Got rid of him in the end and happily kept hens for many years, lots of eggs minus a Cockrel.

God you poor thing. Next door to 5 cockerels 😫😫😫

If you aren't already aware, please consider that iif she has to get rid of the cockerels, chances are they will have to be killed.

I hate to be callous but I doubt OP cares (I know I wouldn't)

Joint letter to the council is a far more adult and effective way of dealing with it. Anonymous letters could be classed as harassment

@LochJessMonster

I work for EH at the council and an abatement notice is not the limit of their powers they just don’t want to go to court to enforce the notice. Write to your local councillor and ask why a clear violation of an abatement notice is not being pursued.

No one needs a cockerel, let along 5

Of course someone needs a cockerel. We'd run out of eggs and chicken meat pretty quickly without them.

If people don't like country life relocate to a town where your home can be devalued by real issues, like crime, thugs, drugs and antisocial behaviour.*

The owner of the cockerels is a convicted drug dealer who lives next door to the OP. In the country.

I feel your pain. Without wishing to dampen your newfound enthusiasm, if you succeed in getting rid of the cocks, the hens may well step up. We have two hens and they cockadoodledoo their wretched heads off at first light- combination of gender confusion and hunger, I think. They do calm down when let out to roam around, despite the huge run that they can access at will. I think they just like seeing me shamble outside in my pants at 4.45 to release them.
Tl:dr -the hens might start making more noise when the cocks are gone.