[Baggins11]

Hi All,

I would like to have a go at breeding but I know already that one of my neighbours will have an issue with cockerel noise.  We do have a field but I don't want to put the breeding pen and house right at the bottom as I am worried about security.

Our land is visible from the road and it is not unusual to find people wandering onto our land. Up at the top nearer the house would be more secure.

So I am trying to figure how to minimise noise as much as possible. I have read about cockerel boxes within the hen house at night which sounds worth trying. Just wondered if anyone has tried it and how they built it?  We have a plastic hen house and would rather a plastic cockerel box to reduce the red mite issue.

Has anyone tried putting a door on a poultry palace adding a perch and trying that? Or any other suggestions?

I know some of you might say don't anticipate problems with the neighbours but this particular neighbour has said we shouldn't use our ride on lawnmower before 9am on weekends so I think complaints will be inevitable.

[doganjo]

I think if they complain about a ride on mower you have BIG problems.  Are they what we call 'toonsers'? 

I had a separate box inside my shed for my cockerel, Jamie, and the windows were all blacked out; although it helped, his shriek was still extremely loud in the quiet early hours.  He became vicious so I rehomed him  eventually. but I remember asking a neighbour on the other side of the railway line from me if my dogs annoyed him if they barked - his reply was that the dogs weren't a problem but if 'I hear that bl**dy cockerel any more I'll be making soup with him' - he was joking as they were very friendly but when Jamie started going for me the decision was easy

Sorry, I don't know the answer, unless some breeds are quieter than others?? 

Jamie was a Light Sussex, and a very handsome one too - he latterly had 20 black rock ladies in an acre field to court so was happy there.  He put an advert on Gumtree that I had 'revoked his boarding rights' and that he had his little suitcase packed ready for his next home - i had three offers for him, and the 20 girls seemd an excellent home for him.  The family kept in touch for quite a while

[macgro7]

breed muscovy ducks instead - neighbours won't even know you have them.
Someone near us had a dog that was standing on the balcony 24/7 and barking every time someone was walking past, I.e. all they long! And most of the night!
Much more annoying and louder than our Cockerell! I asked our neighbours about the Cockerell but they said don't worry we like it , it reminds us of Africa and India.

[Eve]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I’d think again.


A cockerel starts crowing at 5am and often earlier, even in the middle of winter with its longer nights. And yes, that bothers many people, and unless you’re in a rural area the council will likely take the complainers’ side. It’s not the sound, it’s the timing.


Just imagine someone wakes your whole household up by ringing the doorbell at 5am (let’s call this the urban equivalent of a cockerel), then again half an hour later, and again and again. Every single day...



Having your cockerel at the other end of the field won’t resolve the noise issue unless your field is miles long.


But say you go ahead and start breeding, inevitably you’ll be hatching boys. Apart from needing to know how to humanely despatch them (lovely rehoming stories such as doganjo’s above are very far and few between, unfortunately), within a few months those young boys will crow, too, long before they are ready for the table if that’s a route you’re considering.


And before you know it, lo and behold at 4am every day there’s The Great British Crow Off taking place in your field. Oops...


Neighbours requesting you to not be noisy until 9am I can sort of understand, I’m up early so my cut-off point would be more like 8am (need to allow for ample time with tea and coffee before I can face the incivility of the wider world), but try explaining that to a cockerel. And any chicken coop, no matter how dark, will still allow the sound of crowing out - it needs plenty of air holes, after all!


So I’d say you’d better not. Crowing comes naturally to a cockerel, I’ve heard of other ways to try and stop it, all of which sound cruel. I’d try and deal with the trespassers, maybe electric fencing? Or using heras panels for the run? You can pick those up cheaply, we built a massive and very secure run with them.


I do keep a cockerel, btw, lovely gentleman, he has fathered lots of chicks over the years. Hence why we know about the pre-dawn crow offs...  There’s absolutely no way I’d have him anywhere near my bedroom window

[twizzel]

I bought a cockerel into the house one night as he'd been caught up in a fox attack and I thought he was going to peg it overnight. So settled him into a dog crate, said my goodbyes and left him all looking sorry for himself. Sh*t myself at 3am when he started crowing in the hallway, and every 10 minutes from then on   

If your neighbours aren't very tolerant I'd definitely not get a cockerel 

[Baggins11]

That's the thing though we are in a rural area.  We are on the edge of a hamlet with fairly close neighbours either side but apart from that fields all around.  Also the wider area is very rural and to be honest I think it's crazy that there is not a way of managing having a cockerel where we live.  The field is a couple of acres so not massive but surely there is a way of doing it.

I think it is kind of unreasonable them not wanting to hear a ride on mower at 8.45am but I do understand the difference between 8.45am and when a cockerel would crow hence why I am asking about noise reduction strategies.

I understand the implication of breeding and hatching boys Eve and have no problem despatching humanely.  I was brought up in a farming background so I understand the process.  I was intending on despatching as soon as they crow or show signs of being boys as I wouldn't want a crow off - I think that would tip the neighbours over the edge. 

[Steph Hen]

Ride on mower, not before 9am, sounds not bad. If you were making hay or combining, go for it but being disturbed by lawn maintenance first thing in the morning I get if you could just as easily do it later.

Could you just keep your cocks down the end of field and more valuable hens close to the house?
Do you have any friends could keep the cockerel for you? Only need to mate with ladies about once a week or something so you could store him elsewhere and bring him in daylight hours only if you can be bothered?
I wonder if a really blacked out cockerel house with a dim artificial light until about 1am followed by proper dark would trick him to thinking it wasn’t midnight till about 3/4am and then not start crowing till 8/9? They are still loud in the daytime, but in a rural area this is pretty reasonable.

If you like chicken soup, try it and see! Doesn’t it take multiple complaints, sound recordings from council, various letters, etc, before sound disturbance is enforced?

[Baggins11]

I think you are right Steph and I might give it a go. I could try a dim light on timer and see if it worked.

Yes it does take lots of recordings etc the complaints process but I wouldn't want it to get to that as I don't want to seriously fall out with them.  Both us and them are in our forever homes so it would be a long time to be in the bad books!!

Unfortunately I couldn't send the cockerel anywhere else but it's a nice idea.

[macgro7]

That's the thing though we are in a rural area.  We are on the edge of a hamlet with fairly close neighbours either side but apart from that fields all around.  Also the wider area is very rural and to be honest I think it's crazy that there is not a way of managing having a cockerel where we live.  The field is a couple of acres so not massive but surely there is a way of doing it.

I spoke to someone in similiar situation who was breeding chickens for years- new neighbours moved in and complained to the council. Council officers came, and said "well, you live in the countryside!" 
If it was city council it would be different - my Cockerell keeps crowing at 4.30am and we are definitely in the city! 20 minutes walk from Leicester city center. And whats interesting i know 2 people personally who live within 2 minutes walk from my house and have both hens and Cockerels!

[Baggins11]

That's funny macgro maybe I need to move to a city then?? Possibly its a welcome change from city sounds..

[Penninehillbilly]

TBH, if your neighbours only complain about your ride on mower before 9am at weekends, I don't think that's unreasonable, esp if they work and weekends is their only chance of a lie in.
I've heard of people trying to stop the light so cockerels dont know its morning, but ours crows about 3 in the morning, still dark, and if kept so dark, i always wonder how they would get enough air.
Seen something about cockerel collars on here recently?

[Kiran]

Many years ago, my mum had a dog  that used to bark all the time when he wasn't with her. She tried all the usual tricks radio on, leaving an item of clothing etc. She also tried a dog behaviourist and nothing worked. When my dad passed away my mum was on her own and the dog was essentially chaining her to the house at a time that she needed to be getting out and seeing other people so I set about finding a bit of a solution.

What I came up with was basically a soundproof room within her garage. It was about 6ftx6ftx6ft and was made of ply, acoustic insulation, acoustic plasterboard and had a triple glazed small door. There were offset passive vents and 2 computer fans to push in and extrace the outside air.

The end result was that from standing outside the garage you couldn't hear anything and from inside it was lower than conversation level and cost me about £150 in materials. And more importantly my mum could get out of the house for an hour and after a good while of doing this the dogs separation anxiety started to get better. It may take a bit of rethinking but there should be a solution to the early morning crowing but would probably be dependent on your neighbours being ok with it when you turn the birds out.

[Baggins11]

I am really pleased you got the situation sorted for your mum Kiran that sounds like it was very difficult for her.

I think in terms of the cockerel I will speak to the neighbours first to see if they would be ok with the noise during the day. No point doing all that then them complaining about daytime noise.

And it might sound like I am being too harsh about the ride on thing but that is one of a few things they have rules about. I guess I am an early bird then but I have always thought noise  after 8.30 or 8.45 is acceptable. They don't work so it's not just a weekend rule it's any day of the week.

They have also complained about my kids playing netball during the day specifically the noise the ball makes on the concrete. That is right next to the boundary but I guess shows how sensitive they are about noise. I used to live backing onto a school and loved the sound when it was playtime. Some people are obviously more sensitive to certain noises than others.

[Baggins11]

Oh and I had read about the cockerel collar but thanks for mentioning it hillbilly. I am just not convinced it is kind for the bird. I would rather reduce the noise than forcefully change the natural behaviour I think.

[Steph Hen]

Where about are you?
I’ve often felt a cockerel loan scheme might work. Many of us only want to raise a few chicks each year, so might only need a cockerel for four or six weeks yet we have to keep them all year round. Of course there would be a risk of infections being passed about, it’s just a Vague thought, not a workable plan. Do you know what breed?-might be a breeder near you would keep a young cock till early spring for you, then you might only need his services till May, sell him on then keep one of your chicks over winter but put it away come next May. Don’t know if that would improve things if you only had a cock for 3-4 months instead of year round and right through summer?
I think ventilation is really important for chickens so wouldn’t keep hens in a blacked out shed.
I guess Food and breed security is improved by having many small flocks.

Might be worth visiting a breeder and listening to the different sounds they all make?