To me this is the same as moving under Heathrow's flight path and then complaining about the noise from the planes!
Surely a cockerel crowing is all part and parcel of rural life? ![unsure :unsure:](https://chat.allotment-garden.org/Smileys/green/unsure.gif)
It's not remotely the same.
Even if you live in the countryside there's not the presumption of nuisance from inconsiderate chicken keepers. If you live in a community with close neighbours it's not unreasonable to expect them to limit their activities to ones which don't cause a nuisance to their neighbours. No one is forcing them to keep cockerels, they choose to do so.
I might agree that if you moved next to a chicken breeding business you might reasonably expect to have disturbance from cocks crowing. This isn't the case here flump lives in a residencial built up area in a row of semis not adjacent to a pre-existing chicken farm. However even if you move close to a pre-existing chicken farm you might still have a claim of nuisance up held in court of law.
I live in the country adjacent to a farm which has cockerels which are about 80 metres away from our house and I also have cockerels too and they don't disturb us but I understand that that's not the case with everyone. If I kept chx in an urban situation with neighbours I wouldn't keep cockerels.
Crowing and the Law. Below is an extract from a typical council guideline document. If you google "crowing cocks nuisance" you can find many similar guidelines issued by local councils referenced on the web and I guess this advice has a common source as they are all very similar.
"When investigating complaints of cockerels crowing, the Service must establish whether a Statutory Noise Nuisance is occurring.
In considering whether a Statutory Noise Nuisance exists Environmental Health Officer’s will consider a number of factors including:
1. Nature of the area
Whilst cockerels have been part of the English countryside for generations it is possible that keeping them in built up residential environments may cause a Statutory Noise Nuisance.
2. Time of day
We all know that like dogs, cockerels tend to make noises at any time of the day. However the one trait of a cockerel is the early morning crow and it is more than likely that your cockerel crowing at unsociable times is likely to give rise to a Statutory Noise Nuisance.
3. Duration & Frequency
The length of time and frequency your cockerel crow has to be considered when establishing whether a Statutory Noise Nuisance is occurring. If your cockerels crow for long periods of time, or frequently, it is likely that a Statutory Noise Nuisance is occurring. "
HF