To Kill a Mocking Bird
About two months ago, some new neighbors moved into a house just a few doors away from us. Like a lot of families, they brought pets with them. Unlike a lot of families, those pets were just under a dozen chickens including a rooster. No big deal, I thought, I been having some issues with my cat, I have been looking for some natural flea treatment for cats so I thought it wasn’t that bad. How noisy can chickens be?
Shauna was the first to notice the regular crowing and it was driving her nuts. I could only barely hear it even when I was concentrating on it. Over time, however, I’ve been noticing it more and more. It really reached a breaking point on Monday, the rooster crowing like mad while we both tried to sleep in.
I’m reasonably sure that the zoning in a neighborhood of single-family homes probably precludes owning farm animals, but I don’t want to be that guy. But what can you do? Go up to their door and ask them to make their rooster hush up? Have them snap back that our dogs will occasionally bark during the day? It seems like we just have to put up with being early risers as long as the chickens are here.
Jesse
Shauna
ummm, you could always accidentally introduce one of your dogs under their fence…..
Seriously, I would ask surrounding neighbors if they are being disturbed by the racket, then I would innocently ask code what the rules were without filing a complaint, then I would go to the neighbors and see what they are willing to negotiate….I don’t tolerate my sleep being disturbed…..that would definitely annoy me…
Yeah, I would go ahead and be that guy.
Dude, I’m sure you aren’t the only complainers in the neighborhood. Go ahead and make a call anonymously to see what happens.
Be the ball.. Nah Nuh nuh nuh…..
Ask them to regularly reward you with a dozen fresh eggs as payment for your continuing intention to not be “that guy”.
Is it blackmail? Yes, but It will be worth it. Farm fresh eggs are the best.
My neighbors have had a rooster for as long as I can remember (I’m sure its not the same one though). BUT I’m pretty certain the zoning out here is different as well – the houses in my neighborhood are on much larger lots than yours (half acre or more) and many of the people have cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and horses as well as fowl.
You could go the passive aggressive route and do 1 of 2 things:
A: Leave a note asking that they ditch the roosters due to the noise issue.
B: Get a copy of the zoning codes for your neighborhood and highlight any section that applies to the limitation of livestock.
Yeeaah…I’m pretty sure you guys aren’t zoned for that. We had someone keep a rooster once near an apartment of ours. It sucked. For now, try sleeping with fans on for some white noise. The basic guideline around here is if no one complains, then no worries. If people complain, no chickens.
I say go with Jason’s idea. Check it out your zoning first. You may end being the guy the rest of the neighborhood loves.
Yep – I’ve had rooster neighbors. But, um, that’s normal where I live. The thing that drives ME crazy is barking dogs. (the barking! stop the barking! aaah!)
I don’t love the barking either, but it’s a fairly “normal” noise for a neighborhood such as ours. What really gets me is that whenever I hear that stupid rooster, it makes me feel like I’m living in the sticks. And since I didn’t make the choice to move to the sticks on my own, that really pisses me off. That one family can move into our little neighborhood and suddenly make me feel rural.
And also? This morning as I went to my car to leave for work, I saw something fuzzy in my backseat. I left the windows cracked to keep the inside of the car cool. Upon further investigation, I discovered that it was a chicken feather. A CHICKEN FEATHER IN MY CAR.
This needs to end.
My breaking point was when the rooster started crowing last night at 9:15PM. In the dark.
Maybe they are “rescue chickens.” Maybe they were abused and neglected in their former homes and these nice people have taken them in.
‘Cause a rooster that crows in the dark sounds pretty messed up to me.
Oh… did we forget to mention that? It’s not like he crows in the morning to wake everyone up. No, that I could probably let go. He crows in the morning. He crows in the evening. He crows ALL THE LIVELONG DAY.
mmmmmmm……rooster stew would be sounding pretty good to me right now….
Having grown up with chickens I can tell you that roosters don’t crow to tell you it is morning, they crow to tell the rest of the chickens all is clear. If someone disturbs him in any way (such as just walking in the back yard) when the threat is gone the chicken will crow. The rooster might percieve a dog bark to be a threat .Doesn’t that stink!!!!
I hate roosters. I for some reason had no clue that they cockadoodledooed all day long until I moved to Mexico and my neighbours across the street owned one. I wanted to kill it. For many days I prayed it was soon going to be their dinner, but nope. All day, all night. It was torture. I feel your pain, and think you should inflict your pain onto the rooster. Or the owners.
So… I filed a zoning complaint online. They don’t appear to be doing anything. Awesome.
Many people are raising backyard chickens, and it’s surprising how many municipalities allow it.
http://urbanchickens.org/
Myself, I love chickens and roosters, but then again I’ve lived in Mexico off and on for years. I’ll admit it’s an acquired taste.