cockerel in built up housing estate

[johnlambert]

Is it legal to own a cockerel in a housing estate in the middle of town as my inconsiderate neighbour has one that wakens me every morning at 5;30 AM

[Old_Geezer]

There has been enough newspaper stories for me to suspect it isn;t illegal. As for your problem, it'd be up tot he courts to decide if someone's right to keep a cockerel trumps yours to sleep longer in the morning. That result can depend on many factors such as whether it is a country or town area, for one. Or one can discuss ways to discourage the cockeral from crowing.

[redcrx]

dont know the answer, though i doubt its illegal, perhaps a call to local council may help.

Just wanted to say good to see you again, John :)

[dustypuss]

I wouldn’t call it a rooster I would call it a poulet and if it got me up at 5.30am I would poulet its F.ing neck

[LoftyLottie]

It's not illegal, but it might be considered a noise nuisance, in which case it will be your council's environmental section that can be approached. However being woken at 5.30 every morning probably wouldn't be considered a nuisance. We have pig lorries going past at this time and the noise is far worse than any cockerel.

[Mosaic]

I expect this will fall into the same category as barking dogs - a matter for environemntal health (if not outsourced to Kleeneezee), who will want you to provide a documented diary of when the nuisance is happening and how much of a nuisance it is.

[LoftyLottie]

And bloomin' fighter planes overhead doing training all last week until 11.00pm.

Hi John, by the way.

[LoftyLottie]

My experience with Environmental Health is that they are loath to do anything about anything. They just want a quiet life!!

[Mosaic]

We get the police helicopters training at 2.30 am, as there is a nice handy canal and a railway that lets them follow the same route again and again until they've got it off perfect and one is properly awake.

[Mosaic]

oh yes lottie - that's local governemtn through and through

[NOX]

I don't think it's illegal John, just irritating, but envirnmental Health as someone else said is your best port of call if it's really bothering you.
Hi btw, haven't seen you in years.
Noxlumos

[jake-the-peg]

Have you talked to them about it?

If you complain to the council they will almost certainly start by asking you this.

We had our neighbours ask us to get rid of a cockeral - even though we live in a house that has probably had such livestock for 400 years - we did as we didn't want to breed.

Mind you we now have a rather butch hen that has taken up crowing - getting pretty good at it too!

[johnlambert]

I've been to the council envronmmental health guy, he wrote to them, they re-homed it for a few weeks but now it's back. I've tried to talk to the owners but they are very young and became aggresive, not a problem for me as you may know, I can look after myself but I don't want to be in the wrong so I walked away and informedf the EH guy again, he's been in my garden at 6AM this morning, and he's going to speak to them himself, I just wondered if any Answerbankers could help as I'd heard it may be illegal to own one in a town? apparently you can keep up to 3 chickens but not a cockerel

[Barmaid]

It is not illegal - unless there are byelaws preventing it. Even if there is a covenant preventing the keeping of livestock, that doesn't make it illegal (it is a civil remedy).

As has been said above, the correct approach is to contact Enviromental Health and potentially get them to serve a noise abatement notice. If it is built up, it might be worth doing some door knocking to see who else is having a problem.

I have heard of Northamptonshire CC recently issuing a noise abatement notice in respect of a cockerel. I guess that in a town it is more likely than if you bought a property next to a farm.