You might remember last Spring when they came into my garden and I took video and posted it to my blog, I was delighted to have chickens around.
There were two roosters and the roosters started having crowing wars. When we mentioned it to them, how early they crowed, they said it's a problem of having two roosters who want their own territory, they crow more than a single rooster would. I had no idea, I just couldn't believe how loud it was here all of a sudden.
I speculate that someone else mentioned it because suddenly the roosters were gone, and when we asked, they said they had to be butchered, and it broke their hearts. My husband apologized to them and tried to convince them we weren't asking them to get rid of them, just keep them in their garage coop until 6 AM instead of 5 AM. Oh well, that was chapter one.
They started adding to their flock, more and more chickens arrived and they are very tame, they run right up to you. I couldn't resist feeding them snacks, and I thought it was funny when they would escape their outdoor area and roam our garden because I saw them as my insect extermination team.
The neighbors kept filling the holes in the fence with bricks and such, and eventually hung a tarp and nets on that fence, making it even more of an eyesore (the ugly fence actually belongs to us, but by law we are not allowed to remove it because the neighbors have pets, and as a matter of principle I don't feel I should have to buy a new fence that is less ugly when I don't want a fence at all).
If you look closely you can see the many bricks and roofing tiles they've stacked against the bottom of the fence:
Then they got a rooster, but it's one of those fluffballs (silkie) with no visible legs and a very pathetic crow. He's not that bad. You kind of feel sorry for him when he crows, and when he walks.
If anyone is wondering how I got that bush outside my bathroom window so round, well, that took years for me to learn, and it's not really round, but I think I finally have it. I am so pleased! I want as many plants that do not go naked in Winter as possible, and this is one of them. The neighborhood suffered Boxwood Plight last year and I just washed my hands a lot *lol*
One day the entire flock came into our yard and we missed it but in the morning I thought a boar was here, our garden was so torn up. But then I noticed chicken poop, lots of it.
I told J and he walked over to tell the neighbors that their chickens had escaped and made a mess.
The neighbor got angry with J and told him that we are city folk and never wanted them to have chickens, and we probably don't even want them to have dogs (?!) but that is the way it is in the country.
J was very upset, he had no idea why he would be scolded at by both his "friend" and the wife.
They yelled at him that they would fix the fence and sure enough, the next day, more fruit tree netting was hung from the trees to the tops of the little fence. It's not nice looking as you can imagine, and it looks like it's our junk because it's up close to two sides of our home. Their property wraps around ours.
We'd considered them friends up until that day. I'm really sad that they don't want to be friends with us, after all our attempts - I used to bake chocolate chip cookies for their son as he played war games in his yard. I would bring extra fruit and veggies from our garden to them every Summer. I brought over a large mixed box of fireworks and champagne for New Years to share with them, cuz I thought their kid would enjoy the fireworks, and he sure did!
But in the 8 years we've lived here, they have never knocked on our door. That's not good. They've never initiated contact with us. I can't fathom it, but they seem to resent city folk living next door to them.
One good thing from all this - when my donkey brays, I don't worry about her disturbing them anymore. Just part of country life, I guess.
Before they let the chickens out every morning, it is incredibly loud in the garage's indoor coop, because the garage has high ceilings and is made of concrete with air vents at the top. It echoes very badly in there. You can tell when they open the door in the morning because suddenly the chickens' individual cries are less intense.
I find the chickens cute. But when I'm lying in bed in the morning, or working in the garden, the noise level bothers me, because I can't hear the sounds of nature anymore. The birds songs are drowned out by the chickens.
I told my mom about it this week and she was appalled, and asked if we have noise ordinance laws here. Germany has the most, and most intricate noise ordinance laws in the entire world, it's a fact. There are certain hours in the day and days of the week that loud work is allowed, like doing laundry, nailing up a picture, or mowing. If you've been to Germany you've seen the massive walls that line the autobahn where houses are near. Lawsuits are continuous here, because of noise considered inappropriate. One case was Neighbor Vs. Pond Frogs. Pond frogs won *lol*! But dogs barking, they never win. I'm not allowed to recycle glass between 12 and 3, because that is the quiet time each day when people rest (and businesses close). So what about chicken noises, my mom wanted to know.
I looked it up on a chicken forum and that was the wrong place to go. This poor guy who called himself "annoyed" said his neighbor got 20 chickens and 4 roosters and now he cannot sleep past 3:30 every day. And nearly every single response was, "Why did you move to the country? I don't understand why people in the city are OK with traffic noise, but not the sounds of the country!"
Hm, sounds familiar.
But, hey, autobahn traffic does not wake you up at 3:30 every day with startlingly loud screeching and crowing. My husband, as I told him about my research, said, "Hey! West Seattle was one of the loudest places I've ever visited! Every night I had to hear ferry fog horns, train horns, and police cars!" Yes, but that's Seattle, no one expects it to be crickets chirping.
I couldn't believe the people on the forum who told him his only options are 1. Move back to the city and 2. Wear earplugs.
I felt so bad for him, cuz our problem is not nearly so bad, our chicken noise only really starts at 7 AM and then continues at random throughout the day, which at least for now, I cannot block out when I'm gardening and they're right there screaming.
But the law in our neighborhood is, chicken noises are part of the country life, you have to deal with it. I get that, but I also think we could partially win a court case against them, because 1. They got chickens after we'd lived here 8 years, 2. They build the coop directly next to our bedroom window, and 3. There are lots of other places to build coops in their outbuildings on their land. To our disfavor is the fact no one else lives nearby, those chickens can't possibly disturb the neighbors that live across the field.
In my research (I'm nothing if not thorough), I found a chicken-keeping website that had helpful tips for people who want to keep chickens and with neighbors. 1. Ask first, if it's fine to bring in a flock (I find that ridiculous, I did not ask to have a horse here!) 2. INSULATE YOUR COOP because no matter how late you let them out in the morning, when roosters are crowing in a hollow, echo filled coop, it's worse than just letting them out. (YES! YESYESYES) and 3. If you're not sure your neighbors are happy about your chickens, bring them eggs regularly. You'd be surprised how the annoyance from the noise fades, when presented with free eggs. YES, YES! I mean...*SIGH*
Great ideas, most of them.
Just before I sat down to type this I found my favorite blond chicken in my yard. *sigh* Such a beautiful animal. But no worries, if the entire flock comes over again, hopefully our neighbors will notice. We're definitely not going over there to say, "Hey, there are chickens....."
Without further ado, here is the Krach we have every morning out our bedroom window (notice no rooster sounds):
.JPG)
13 comments:
I wonder if there's a law that allows you to keep any chickens that come to your property... then you can have free eggs or free meat. They want the freedom to keep chickens, but you deserve the freedom to grow a garden and get some sleep. I'm discovering that the sounds that annoy people vary with each person's personality and experience. I can't stand the sound of engines, which is why I choose not to live in a city, and why I always live on a dead-end road. That doesn't necessarily keep the engines at bay, though. I still have to deal with the Looky Loos cruising back and forth, the people who think it's safer for them to drag race on a dead end road, ATV riders trying to get onto my land, all the low flying aircraft, and power tools in use. We have chickens near us too, but not that close. They definitely have varying pitches that pierce the heart. I could feel my adrenaline being released just listening to the video. Noises affect people physically and cause stress. They also disrupt concentration and make people less productive. I've told my neighbors that if I'm doing anything that bothers them to let me know and I'll try to make adjustments. Amazingly, I haven't received a single complaint... at least not to my face. It's too bad yours had to go on the attack. They seem to be trying different solutions, even though they don't work and aren't aesthetically pleasing. That tells me they aren't completely closed off about cooperating.
omg! You would hate my farm! I've got chickens and loud ducks everywhere! LOL! Plus goats that sound like their limbs are being torn off every time they think you might have food! X-D
OMG, well considering their attitude, I'd most certainly consider filing a grievance or what ever it'd be called I Germany. Sounds like it's not as if you'd be loosing treasured friends! Send along that video, how rude & thoughtless. Wonder if their chickens on your property become your chickens?
Complained to our neighbors about the dogs. They kept the dogs in while they worked for all of one day! So, today I suffered the endlessness of it. We own up to their driveway, they thought perhaps they could plant a row of trees there so the dogs don't see is. Seriously, like I want to mow around their trees! And don't they realize it'd take years for them to grow?
I would totally sue them. You are completely right, you were here long before the chickens and they should not have put them right up to your house. Also, if the chickens eat your garden ask them to reimburse you. Or get a dog killing chicken. If the chickens come onto your property and your dog kills them, its not your problem. they were trespassing.
They are also creating a huge eyesore with all that garbage on the fence line. They sound awful. Do you have a town inspector, counsel that you could bring this up to?
Id be furious.
We currently have two roosters--Monica's project, NOT my idea!--and the crowing is loudest near HER window, not mine. So SHE is the one who found a solution: crowing collars!
https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Supplies/No-Crow-Rooster-Collar-p1580.aspx
We haven't ordered them yet, I'll report when I have first-hand news.
And yes: eggs do make chickens into better neighbors. :-)
If you really want to pursue the issue legally, you might explore the increase in rat traffic with chickens nearby. I assure you: if there are chickens, there are also rats. The courts may be more sympathetic to rat complaints.
Horses are quiet. Goats are loud. Donkeys are also loud. Turkeys are REALLY loud!
NM, Hm, I never thought of them as being cooperative before: )
Stephanie, I think perhaps it's a matter of expectation. Before we bought this place, we purposefully drove out here and parked our car at 6 pm and listened to the sounds of the neighborhood. It was dead silent except for whenever a car would drive by. We loved that. Everytime people visited, they'd mention how quiet it is. They wouldn't say it now, everything changed the day the chickens arrived. There are moments when the chickens are quiet, but for the most part we have a non-stop chicken sound track to our lives. If they had always been here, we would have put that into the equation of buying this house.
Camryn, when you mentioned mowing, that was one of the reasons I wanted that fence gone, it's impossible to mow under so the grass grows long through the mesh, and I have to kneel down and rip out each piece, and the ground is full of fire ants. Neighbor said "Just spray poison on it" but poison doesn't remove the grass, it just turns it brown.
CG, I don't want to pursue this legally because I do something illegal myself. I regularly wash my car on my driveway. Verboten in Germany. And he's a cop, our next door neighbor *sigh* I'm glad you agree with me about the fence. I work so hard trying to keep this place up, and then there's that fence, which the neighbors cannot even see from their yard! Aarene mentioned I should plant bushes along the fence but the fence goes right up to our house with only a narrow path, so there's no room for a hedge : (
Aarene, I was disappointed when I read that they are not shock collars. I'd prefer to shock the bastards. JK. It's not even the rooster that is annoying, as you can tell from the video, it's the hens. Why would there be rats? Chickens eat rats, don't they? I'd love to hear what your turkeys sound like. Nice of you to not build their coop 15 feet from your neighbor's bedroom window!
The sad thing is that J only went over to tell them their chickens are loose and making a mess...not to be a jerk. If they've never knocked on your door, they were never any type of friends. I don't always get along with my neighbors but we always communicate and watch out for each others property. Your neighbors do not seem like nice people. Good think you have a fence.
Be glad they don't have peacocks I guess. Farm across the road has some. They're quieter now but, when they call out you truly believe a woman is being murdered. My DIL spends the night with the boys on occasions when son is out of town. She was leaving for work in the dark, one called out, she sprinted to her car terrified.
Tina, I rarely see my man so shocked and upset by people's behavior, and he's a schoolteacher: ) It pained me to see it. But you're right, and you probably would have figured it out 7 years ago that never knocking or communicating in any way was not a good sign. Your neighbors watch your house for you? Oh, there is this great German phrase that you can put in a sign to hang on your front fence, "God sees everything, the neighbor sees more." *lol* I wish I could buy that sign but....yah.
Camryn, PEACOCKS! I know that sound. Your poor DIL! Well now she knows: ) We have so many ticks here, I heard having pearl guinea would help with that, but then I heard they are the loudest of all the birds, yikes. I would never do that to my neighbors. But now, ha, the irony.
Ok. If he is a cop and he didn't actually quote a specific ordinance at you which allows him to do exactly what he is doing, then he flipped out because he knows he's in the wrong, and you should talk to someone about it. Maybe they don't even have a permit. It's also interesting that the first line of defence is "well, country sounds you stupid city jerk" whereas in Berlin the first thing they like to say is "well, move to the country if you don't like noise". It's a non-argument. EVERYTHING here is regulated. There is always an ordinance. And if there isn't one specifically about chickens, there is going to be one about livestock, noise, that growing eyesore, and your right to peace and quiet in your own bedroom, I guarantee it. And your car washing is not going to cancel out those rights, even if anyone cared.
Just doing a short consult with a lawyer is not so pricey. Or you could talk to the Ordungsamt if you have one in your village, or a neighbouring town, to ask about noise ordinances and keeping livestock. And sorry, but keeping a fence up because they have pets, like cats and dogs, is one thing. But the tarps? For a bunch of chickens? Way overboard. Just talk to someone. Germany is so careful about right to peace, appearances, and noise. Maybe all it takes is one letter carefully worded from a lawyer asking him to move the chickens to the other side of the yard, with a proper enclosure.
Nope, not a shock collar. Just a restrictive device, like a cribbing collar.
RE: rats Rats love chicken food. If there are chickens, there will be rats nearby stealing (or trying to steal) their feed. Ask me how I know....
We don't knock on each others' doors around here unless there's been a death in the family--we either text each other ("hey, did you know your fence is down in the back" or "hey, your dogs are barking like crazy, are y'all okay over there?") or meet up at the fence when we see each other outside. Or sometimes a combination, starting with a text "hey, I've got so many green beans in the garden, if you meet me at the fence I'll give you a bunch."
We also Facebook each other for stuff that isn't time-sensitive, like the time there was a peacock on their roof while they were in Montana so I took a picture and sent it.
Ugh I hate chickens. But worse is they don't even seem to care that it is annoying you and making your place look junky. I hope you can find an answer. I was originally from the city but now prefer the country mostly cause it is quiet
When we were shopping here in the valley, we did what you did: got out of the car and just listened. If we could here either interstate, we weren't interested! Or if it was in the flight path for the airport (we rented there for a year). We do get seasonal tractor sounds, but I can live with that. The ranch kids do all their irrigating at 5:30 AM on four-wheelers...sigh. Plus they bring their dogs with, one of whom was part of the pack that attacked Sandy and almost killed her, TWICE! So Sandy goes crazy barking whenever she hears the four-wheelers. Otherwise, we're back off the road, 500 feet from the closest neighbor, so we do like it here.
Post a Comment