I recently stayed on a farm that had some young cockerells living outside the window.  The thing was the family were used to him and could sleep through, but when you're not used to it, you get disturbed by it.

The farmers wife was a little concerned, so was going to put something up to cover up their run, to keep them quieter during the night.

Hey Geoff... thanks for that...

Yeah, they were peacocks.... really pretty but the noise...!

Pfouh... I sometimes wondered if mum didnt feed us one of those on some occasions as Sunday roasts... mind you, when you're 7, I dont know if you'd see the difference between a roasted chicken and a roasted peacock,...?!?!? 

Frenchie

Hi, I am about to take the school cockerals home as our school bought eggs and all of the kiddies watched them hatch etc and it turns out there are only 2 hens out of 6....
Being an animal lover I am taking them home and I think the school are keeping one cockeral....
Does anyone have any advice for me to stop them fighting????
Was going to get them castrated (STRICTLY FOR HORMONAL PURPOSES) but have just read that it's illegal in the UK????
How should I house them?
Many thanks, a soon to be proud Cockeral owner.

Hi, firstly I have no objections to responsible pet owners having copious amounts of chickens in their back yards as pets and providing their family and friends with free range eggs. However, people who live in a residential areas, housing estates, should no own cockerels if they are not prepared to curtail the cockerels excessive crowing from the early hours of the morning, seven days a week, and constantly on and off throughout the day and evenings, as the constant noise of crowing cockerels will cause problems for everyone.

My neighbour owns three cockerels (I have no idea why, you don't need cockerels to get hens to lay eggs) and up to thirty chickens, and yes we live on a housing estate. Although, many of the neigbours have politely told the cockerel owner neighbour that they would appreciate not being woken at 5am on Saturdays and Sundays, the neighbour does nothing to stop the cockerels crowing. Even though he could cover the shed windows and let in the light at a more reasonable hour of the morning instead of at dawn he choses not to.

I have two dogs, and if my dogs barked all day I could expect to be repremanded and fined, and rightly so. Yet, this neighbour's cockerels disturb 21 households in a cul-de-sac but because the nieghbour isn't disturbed by the noise his cockerels make he doesn't see the problem for everyone else.

Nobody wants to see the neighbour's pets (cockerels) taken away, but if he could just be responsible about the times he lets the cockerels crow, esp on weekends
we could have all lived with it, afterall, we all make noise. Personally, I no longer enjoy being in the garden on a weekend with what sounds like three party blowers constantly setting the other off, especially if I am woken at 5.45am on a Sunday!The neighbour will go out for the day and leave the rest of us listening to the annoying noise of the cockerels crowing all day, yet he is not prepared to listen to it himself, what a selfish man.

What began as a nice idea is really turning bad now. The neighbour being reluctent to restain the THREE cockerels crowing has now been reported to the dept for environment and noise as a statutory noise nuisence.

It is quite unbelievable that in an attempt to get this neigbhour to be more considerate the county council has intervened, there has also been severel visits by the PSO's (police support officers) have been called to settle neighbourhood disputes over the cockerel noise, the dept of planning, the housing association plus the parish council officers have all been involved in trying to help home owners and tennants resolve the issue of cockerel noise but to no avail.

Now, the dept for environment and noise have submitted details of the noise to a pre-court hearing and the neighbour is likely to pay a hefty fine or lose ALL his birds if he still refuses to stop the cockerels crowing at all hours of the day.

I know this all sounds a bit harsh, but I want you to know both sides of the story. Enjoy your chickens, ducks and whatever pets you have, but please if you live on
a housing estate consider some of the problems cockerel noise can cause between neighbours, it's horrible falling out with neighbours over such trivial things but tempers get frayed and things get said that cannot be retracted or forgiven.

Good luck

Contact your council - the environmental health jobbies are the ones to talk to!!  If you are truly in a rural area - they will support you keeping your cockerel!!  But if it is in fact a small town or village on it's way to becoming a town they might not be so supportive!

My girls were nosiy when I first got them, but now I leave them shut in until I get up and they are quieter!

Good luck!

Louise