I’ve just come in from killing nine Scots Grey cockerels, with another five to go later, which could mean the end of our breeding programme for this critically endangered breed of poultry.
Unfortunately, we ran afoul of modern attitudes and laws about noise.
One of our neighbours complained about the mature cockerels crowing, even going so far as to say he was tempted to get his shotgun and shoot them.
As he reported the previous owners of the croft to Aberdeenshire Council because their dogs barked, we’re left with no choice but to cull most of the cockerels and curb our plans to breed Scots Greys.
Yes, we could wait for an abatement order to be served, but we’d then face costs that we can’t afford to pay so the cockerels have to go.
It’s totally gutting, but before anyone says “what do you expect with that many cockerels”, only five were mature breeding cockerels, one was a roaster for Christmas dinner and the remainder were 12-week-old birds that were going to be killed over the next month for meat.
We needed to keep at least four breeding cockerels as there are few Scots Grey breeders, there are only 200 or so breeding hens left according to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and each of those cockerels was from a different line.
What really annoys me is that I told our neighbour of our plans before we started (more than 18 months ago) and he said it was fine, as cockerels are one of the noises of the countryside.
On top of that, most of the birds are kept well away from his house with our outbuildings, a road and his garage between them and his double-glazed house. One cockerel was being kept in the steading until Saturday, when he would have been killed for Christmas dinner.
Our other two neighbours only have a stand of trees and a road between them and the main chicken run and breeding boxes, plus the distance is much less. Did they have a problem? No.
But if there’s even one complaint to the council, out come the officers with their noise measurement equipment.
There’s no leeway in the law, no allowance for being in the country and having a croft or farm, no allowance for neighbours giving the okay and then changing their mind.
No, if the noise is subjectively judged as being a statutory nuisance, then you are served with an abatement order to stop the noise and if you don’t, then it’s off to court - which we can’t afford.
The council principal environmental health officer I spoke to said the council doesn’t like to get involved and tries to dissuade people from complaining without good reason or if they believe the complaint to be spurious, but at the end of the day they have to follow the law and if a complaint is made, the law has to be enforced.
That would mean having a sheriff place an order on us to cease the activity causing the noise, and that’s not something we can afford to fight.
The meat birds represented the basis of more than 20 meals for us, while the breeding cockerels were the future of the breed. But no more.
There’s also the financial loss - a mature Scots Grey cockerel costs between £20 and £25 at auction, if you can find one. But at the same time, they’re hard to sell up here because there are so few breeders of them (ours were sourced from flocks in Wales, England and the Western Isles in the main).
Over and above that, it’s terrible having to kill animals which have received a lot of care and attention, which have been thriving, and have been happy and contented.
I also hated having to explain to the boys why I have to kill the breeding cockerels (they’re not fussed about the meat birds as they know what they were for), as they know you need cockerels to have fertile eggs so they can watch chicks hatch and grow up. No more.
The Other Half has gone to work in floods of tears, while I’m extremely annoyed and tempted to dump the cockerels on the neighbour’s doorstep.
I’m not about to do that, no matter how tempting, but he’s certainly getting no further help or assistance in future.
Well, that’s it for now as I have to cull the rest of the cockerels.
That’s rough, Stoney. Did the neighbour talk to you at all about the noise, or did he just go straight to the council? I wonder if it might have been possible to compromise - maybe he would have accepted the slaughter of half the animals (the food ones, leaving you with the Scots Greys) and put up with half as much noise, or something like that. Too late now, though.
The meat birds were Scots Greys too - the excess cockerels from our last hatch. Most weren’t crowing (too young) and the two that were just starting to crow were doing a low gurgling squawk. They get killed and eaten before they’re sexually mature and start crowing their heads off.
It’s the mature cockerels that make the noise and they were our breeding stock. And I don’t think halving the number would have made a difference - as I said, they don’t usually crow until I go out to open the houses at 7am.
As it is, the carcases will have to be thrown away as I can’t pluck and gut that many cockerels. I can do one a day and still manage the rest of the workload, but no more.
Unbelieveable!!! I am so sorry that you have been forced to do this. I can’t believe the council or that back-stabbing neighbour!! He doesn’t deserve any respect at all.
When people move into the countryside they know they will have country noises, these include barking dogs and cockerels. This is so sad, not only for the birds that have had to be culled, but for their breed in general.
Stoney, some people need to get a life and stop trying to spoil others lives!
I am appalled
Why do people live in the country if they don’t like the noise farm animals make? Surely it’s better than city traffic,sirens,domestic squabbles and the endless other cacaphony of noise they would have in the city.
I’ve slaughtered chooks for food, but I would be devastated to kill animals just because they made their own natural sounds. HMMM, imagine if we did that to all the people who’s voices annoyed us, the mind boggles.
So sorry you had to do such a sad task.
For an idea of the distances involved and the obstacles, have a look at the photo on A Hard Place.
The main flock is kept in the brown wooden hut nestled in the L-shaped windbreak at rear centre. One of the breeding boxes is inside the steading, where the two Land Rovers are, and one cockerel was inside the steading (grey-roofed building in the centre, at the end obscured by the tree).
The neighbour’s house is the one with the semi-circular sun-porch at centre left. The building separated by the red line from the house is his garage.
What can I say mate?
Some people do not deserve to be on this planet. He/they should go and live in London or similar, where their complaining would keep them “happy” in their own little way.
Sorry about this Stonehead. We’re not all like them thankfully. Thinking of you & sending positive vibes your way.
Lizzy
PS….will be praying that 100,000 fleas infest your neighbours armpits for Christmas.
I’ve been thinking about this and would now strongly advise people against breeding chickens unless they have at least 500m between the chickens and the nearest neighbour/road.
It’s not just the noise issue that makes me think this. There are all the regulations to meet (and they increase every year), the regular disease scares, the risk of theft, the risk of release by animal rights activists, and so on.
It’s hard work breeding poultry successfully and well, and I don’t mind the work. But what makes it impossible is the modern, petty, risk averse, selfish and over-legalistic mindset.
So if you’re thinking of breeding poultry, even if “your” breed is critically endangered, then think again because at some point you’re inevitably going to see all your hard work go down the drain.
Of course, now there are a couple of other things you should consider getting rid of for the sake of the neighbour. I’ve noticed you have trees on your land. Well they are attracting birds, and birds are noisy. Get rid of the trees please. But do it with a junior hacksaw because the noise of the chainsaw goes right through my head and wakes me up to realise I am a miserable git. Secondly, I see you have pigs. I would require you to get some brown or green pigs as the pinkness is an eyesore on the beautiful land we now live in. Thirdly, I have heard the noise of your stewpot bubbling, and I find it irritating. Please feed all your family on microwave meals as the ping of the machine is a much more acceptable sound in our modern world. Lastly, the children. I notice that they are outside a lot, and feel that I must threaten to report you to the BBC as you are clearly a waste of licence payers money as the children are not watching the carefully crafted Christmas programming. This would cut down on the noise of the children learning, playing, having fun and so on, which must be stopped. Should I think of any other way in which i can invade your excellent upbringing of children and raising of livestock with my petty legalistic and basically grumpy attitude, I’ll let you know.
Hey Stonehead,
It seems criminal that so many of the remaining Scots Grey chickens
could be put at risk ( or worse ) by the whims of one person . Can
you think of anything that readers of your blog can do to help ?
I can’t help but think that there must be some way around the problem … It seems that December 21st really is the darkest day of the year. Please give it some more thought before butchering the rest
of your roosters . I for one would sure appreciate it.
Ironically, the removal of nine birds has so disturbed the remaining ones that they really are crowing in the early hours now. The first one started just before 5.30am today instead of between 6.30 and 7.30.
I’m finding it very stressful to go out to do the chores in the morning, because every time one of the remaining cockerels crows I think “Oh bugger, cause for another complaint”. I used to enjoy going out in the morning, hearing the animals and wildlife, smelling the smells, and enjoying my favourite time of time.
Not any more. I’m also very conscious of the noise the pigs make as well - they get very vocal at meal times.
You start to develop a siege mentality very quickly - not just about the “noise” issue but about all the other disapproval, complaints, ever increasing regulation and so on.
Keep your chin up mate, we’re all on your side and hopefully your neighbour will be plagued by fleas and flee back to the city!
I can relate to you on that, you find yourself sneaking out after dark in order the neighbours can’t see what you are doing.
I would take a cock but don’t have Scots Grey Hens. If you want me to, let me know and I can either collect over Christmas or you can drop it in if your coming this way, good excuse for you to visit. Had thought of this earlier but was torn between the cull and the lose of the bred.
I have crofting rights and one of my neighbour ‘wants’ me to get a cock and indeed there is a rouge one wondering around the area.
Anway let me know
I sympathise, having had some minor run-ins with the Haw-Haws next door, and I know exactly what you mean by seige mentality. The temptation is to let your mind work on how to retaliate, but that’s how things get very nasty very quickly. Probably the bext thing you can do is exactly what you’re doing now; talking about it to anyone who’s interested. In time, your neighbour will reap the rewards of what he’s done without you having to do a thing.
Only just read this Stonehead!
I’m amazed that you’d had to put up with this sort of nonsensical behaviour. I wish I’d read it sooner as you could have brought the birds here.
No doubt we’ll end up facing similar complaints because of the geese, ducks and cockerels. Not so far, other than a few comments from our neighbour about the geese makng a row when people call.
We were talking to our other neighbours, who have a small farm, and they said they barely noticed the chickens most of the time. They said that occasionally the cockerels did get a bit demented and when this coincided with the pigs joining in, that did get their notice.
But they dismissed the noise as just part of the rural background.
They went on to say the council dog warden had been out because someone had complained about their dog barking. They know it wasn’t the bloke who lives behind their farm (he leaves titbits out for the dog!) and it wasn’t the farmer’s mother down at the main farmhouse.
And we know it wasn’t us. So that only leaves the person who complained about our chickens - and they have our croft between them and the farm.
It’s infuriating to say the least.
[...] (one’s not in the photo) with five to go to keep a neighbour satisfied. This the reality of noise complaints. I can’t kill any more at the moment as it’s too upsetting. Seven of the eight [...]