Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: rosie14 on July 11, 2012, 19:56
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I've got the 3 chicks most likely all boys boooooooooooooooo! I would really like to keep one and wont on the grounds of noise as whilst we are detatched we are in a neighbourhood where everyones gardens and houses are in close proximity. I's been a long time since I was around cockereals and even then I wasn't aware of their noise because my childhood home had lots of land and they were away from the house. How noisy are they? Pekins in particular! ;)
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In summer they can start to crow before 4am and carry on and off throughout the day - not something that your neighbours may be too keen on. Also if those you have at the moment are ok any new neighbours they may not like them. If anybody complains to the council then you can be forced to get rid of the cockerel as they count as a noise nuisance.
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I've always kept boys (brahmas - generally fairly quiet & docile) in my flock & never had any problems, touch wood. People locally have always said it sounds like the country and like to hear them. Perhaps i'm lucky in all the time i've kept poultry.
Tbh, the geese were far more noisy at times than whatever any cockerel I kept as they would go off at the slightest thing, but great guards!
This time i've got 1 polish boy and today picked up a GP pekin boy which ive never kept. Pekins apparently can be fairly quietish apparently as far a crowing goes. But like all, depends on the bird I guess. The lady that breeds the polish chooks also lives in a residential area & she has never had any problems. Her neighbours like to hear the country sound.
Personally i'd rather hear a cock crowing & chickens rosey than the sound of cars, motorbikes & people shouting that you get in urban areas but these are acceptable unfortunatly.
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I've always had a bantie cockerel with my bantie girls. My previous boy Tweetie was only tiny and didn't really make a lot of row. Got 2 little Serama boys at present and they don't crow until around 6.00am (when they hear us getting up) and only now and again during the day.
I've been lucky as well and never had complaints, but if you do get people moaning, then you have the problem of rehoming or culling and that is something you need to be ready for if you go ahead :)
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thanks. Hmmm I'm thinking about keeping one to see what happens but it would be upsetting to get so far along then it all go wrong if the neighbours aren't happy. BUT I think it makes sense to give it a go for sure. Although they look identical there is one with tiny black flecks on his neck (I actually looked in horror thinking it was lice, but def. is not!). I remember the welsummer being a really noisy girl very early (ours are not shut up in a coop) and their secure run is under our ensuite window, not very good when the windows are open and she wanted the world to know she was awake and everyone else should be too!
On the goose front, my god they are noisy and the perfect guard. My parents still have a few and they are terribly noisy but they are very lucky and live in the heart of the countryside not like me (I'm just pretending I do!) They have one boy who is particulary agressive too, he's got me a gooden before when I had a babe in arms it looked like I had been attacked by someone with a paintball gun at close range. The bruises were spectacular!
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geese are quiet compared to guinea fowl and they can be just as aggressive :(
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Really, well I never knew that at least they're smaller when they attack ;) They are so beautifull I love GF. I'd love some along with ducks but there is absolutely no way we could do it here :wub: when we get that big place in the country then well.....
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I'm glad you are going to give it a go Rosie14. I am too. My little sabelpoot boy/s are adorable at 7 weeks. I decided that I would give them a good life for as long as I can here and if no problems then GREAT and if I must will rehome or cull as last resort. We are residential area but farmland close.
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I think if you wish to keep a boy then try. I had a recent inspection from enviro health as i'm registered with them for food. The lady that came round was great. She looked at all the poultry (I did have to herd the geese into their pen as brendan the gander :mad: was having none of it!!) to protect her. She loved the geese but the feeling wasn't reciprecated unfortunatly! :lol: Winston and charlie my brahma boys were doing their best attempts at a sing song & she thought it was brilliant. As I use the fresh eggs in my baking she was all for the free range, enviromentally, organic etc process. Plus the poultry eat all the fruit waste or its composted so I don't need to pay for commercial waste disposal (which they question you about)! I did menchon occasionally I breed my own to supplement those that are old or for sale. Not all enviro health inspectors are to feared if you do happen to meet them.
Joyful, I didn't realise GF were agressive but I know how noisy they are. My friend had two and they were either up in the trees or shouting their heads off (bit like peafowl). My geese were embdens. Mary wasn't too bad, quite shy but Brendan - he was fine with me (I was mummy) but anyone else and he would give a real good bite with those serrated teeth they have! Even the dog who's ex police GSD kept away from them!
Sometimes hens can be as noisy as a cockerel, especially after laying!
I think a good cockerel keeps the girls in order & stops bullying which can occur in flock of hens. He will also defend his girls to his death. I lost a wonderful GP brahma boy defending his girls. He lost his life but the girls were just badly shaken.
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My sister told hubby to get rid of his pekin bantam chicks which started to crow. They are not supposed to have chooks under the condition in the housing estate, so did not want the chooks to go. 2 more houses nearby have chooks.
He was able to give them to a workmate who has a farm.
Mine have yet to crow.
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my next door neighbours had 4 bantam hens and 1 bantam cockerel. We never heard it crow in over 3 years. I dont think that is a safe bet that yours will be the same only time will tell but have a back up plan at the ready
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shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm not allowed them either :blink: maybe keeping one os a bad idea...maybe we will just have to act fast if something were to start an early wake up call. Remind me again when *could this happen? We had no complaints re the noisy hen and my god she was noisy not only that but she started early :( and we didn't even like it lol! We had one comment from a neighbour which was friendly banter and all our other neighbours like us having them especially when chicks arrive for people come and coo over!
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not all Guinea fowl are - but the two that I had given me as a present were very aggressive and you couldn't turn your back on them or bend down. They attacked people coming to our house, and also attacked me and Jim drawing blood every time. We were at least the 3rd home that they had been to and this must have been the reason that the previous people got rid of them. We were their last home as there was noway I could let them go to a new home. I did have some after them and they were not aggressive but still very noisy.
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Joyful - I've never had the urge to keep GF. I don't particularly like the look of them.
People with chix do keep them as fox alterers though, thats why my friend had them.
Rosie14 - Alot of the time people can be won over by the offer of fresh free eggs....if ever ive had a glut in the past ive done a BOGOF, rather than waste them.
Also if your little boy is especially pretty you can show him off to people to win them round. Alot of egg customers like to see where their eggs are coming from & the hens.
Splash - Well I was surprised when a egg customer called round for some advice. He wants to keep chix, etc etc. He said a man, few doors up kept 30 odd chix plus a few cockerels till the fox got many of them which put him off keeping them! I'd never heard another cockerel crowing at all besides mine. And once one starts in the neighbourhood, they all tend to join in! So perhaps im either deaf to it or just not aware of it!
Personally, why worry about things untill you've got something to worry about?
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We have a neighbour one side of us and have promised to get rid of the cockerel when they start crowing though that wasnt their suggestion just mine out of guilt. The 2 12week old cockerals I have have just started crowing especially when seperated from their girls. It doesnt quite sound like a proper crow at the moment more like a cross between a cows moo, a magpie and klaxxon horn lol
Im going to play it by ear but the first complaint and they will be going but at the same time I think it is a nice noise which helps drown out the sounds of cars, planes, helicopters and trains though maybe not at 4am so shall see how it goes.
To summerise I would worry about early morning crowing and not daytime crowing. For this Ive read darkening the coop helps a little or putting them in a low ceilinged coop but then that is debatable from a welfare point of view.
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Where I live I think the seagulls would drown out the sound of a Cockerel every time. I'm not sure why but they seem noisier than usual this year - maybe they don't like the weather either. We're not that near the sea but we have a lake just across from us and tehy all rise up from there at about 5 in the morning, what a racket!!!
As I only keep a very small flock in my garden for eggs I'd have no desire to have a cockerel. There would be no appeal, no benefit and I think I wouldn't like to eat the eggs knowing they could be fertile