New to Chooks

Remy · **Joined:** Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:41 pm **Posts:** 13

So I am a brand new chook owner. It all started when a good friend (who lives on 10 acres) started incubating eggs and breeding chickens. She quickly built her flock numbers up and was subsequently banned from hatching any more chooks by her husband.... But I wasn't banned. So the incubator came to me and I hatched out 11 commercial egg producer types and 4 belgium duccle eggs (who had been given to me from another friend who has the duccles)

When the chicks were 4 weeks old, they went to my friend, but I could not part with the Duccle's.

Two grew into roosters and went to my Sister's place. I kept two and ended up buying another 3. (one of which turned into a rooster) While the lady who sold them offered to take him back, I am very smitten with him, even though he is the least affectionate of all my chooks and since I know exactly what will happen to him should he return to her, and I have already exhausted my "willing rooster homes" I am going to attempt to keep him.

He is only 9 weeks old and is already crowing. He has not much volume to him but we are in a suburban area and the according to law, I am not allowed to keep a rooster.

We live in a coastal holiday town. We have no permanant neighbours, only weekenders and none of them use their houses every single weekend.

Right now, he isn't very loud, I can not hear him from inside.

What is the best way I can manage him without upsetting the weekenders? Should I start putting him in at night before he gets loud to put him into a routine? Or is that something I can just do on weekends?

Any advice appreciated.

Hens and Hobbits · **Posted:** Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:39 pm

Remy,

Firstly does your local shire allow roosters? If so you have no problems.

If they don't then you may have to apply for an expensive permit.

Or just lock up the rooster with his favourite girl each night in your laundry and shed with food and water and let them out at a decent hour after 8 or 9am.

Some roosters only crow to greet the day and to alert his girls to danger, some rooster may crow all day.

Don't know why some people move to the country if they can't tolerate the sounds of the country like roosters crowing or cows mooing or sheep bleeting, they may as well stay in the 'burbs. We were rezoned from rural to urban and in the end had to rehome our rooster.

Remy · **Joined:** Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:41 pm **Posts:** 13

We are opposite the national park. There are lots of loud wild bird sounds and the cockatoos are very very load when they come blasting past, like once every few days. I looked into the by laws and roosters are excluded in the poultry aspects, so no I am not allowed him.

We are very friendly with all our neighbours, when they are down. Being the only permanants on the street we do all their bins for bin nights etc.. and we never complain when they rent their houses out to schoolies or party goers which often happens. I am hoping that no one complains as I am hoping to just avoid the permit aspect. I doubt if given the option the neighbours would agree, but I'm hoping if I manage Harry well then they will never have any reason to mention him or complain.

At present he is only crowing in the morning, and he only has the volume of a squeaky cat at the moment. He is only about 9 weeks old and still not fully feathered on his head so I was pretty amused when he started to crow. I thought he wouldn't start for another month at least!!

So when locking him up? Is this something I should do daily? Or will they cope with just a weekend routine?

And just to add, how good are chooks? Watching them and hanging out with them is far more entertaining than TV. My husband (who at first was bemused and a little negative about having them) has extended their space and built a little out door seat near the run so we can sit outside under a tree and watch them. They are yet to free - range as they are only aged between 9 - 12 weeks and we need to fix some fences so that they are safe and don't go to the neighbours before I let them out.

Also a bit concerned about our German Shepherd who shows little/no interest when we all sit next to them but will have to manage her carefully when I first start letting them free range in the front yard.

Katy · **Posted:** Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:19 am

I think its silly if you live in the country you can't have a rooster is a typical country sound everyone expects

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

Hens and Hobbits wrote:

welcome2.gif Remy,

Firstly does your local shire allow roosters? If so you have no problems.

If they don't then you may have to apply for an expensive permit.

this would be my advice - it only takes one lousy rotten neighbour that takes offence at a rooster and council jump on it as they are required to under their guidelines bearing in mind that if the neighbour continues to complain Council will continue to contact you = causing stress
best to get a permit follow all Council guidelines regards housing etc or just move to a rural area that wont be rezoned during your life time = this last one is not always viable of course.

appps_n_3kids · **Posted:** Sun Mar 03, 2013 1:56 pm

Mine crows at anything on and off all day and while they can hardly complain about that in the dead silence at 5am I wouldnt really blame my neighbours for being annoyed if he woke them. Thankfully we are a little way from anyones bedrooms and he is a bantam so not super loud.

Ive read all sorts of ideas none that seemed to work all the time or consistently. If mine starts complaining I think I will look into sound proofing the coop a little more before anything else (at the moment he has a sort of window he crows at so nothing to turn down the volume.) For me that is going to mean some shutters or something over the windows.

chooklover101 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 03, 2013 3:16 pm

appps_n_3kids wrote:

Mine crows at anything on and off all day and while they can hardly complain about that in the dead silence at 5am I wouldnt really blame my neighbours for being annoyed if he woke them. Thankfully we are a little way from anyones bedrooms and he is a bantam so not super loud.

Ive read all sorts of ideas none that seemed to work all the time or consistently. If mine starts complaining I think I will look into sound proofing the coop a little more before anything else (at the moment he has a sort of window he crows at so nothing to turn down the volume.) For me that is going to mean some shutters or something over the windows.

Hi

I keep mine in a box type coop, and I can barely hear him.Hope you get to keep him!

Remy · **Joined:** Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:41 pm **Posts:** 13

I have spoken to my weekender neighbours on either side of the house. Neither of them mind Harry. The ones across the road, have not bumped into them, but just incase on long weekends and coming up to Easter I have been putting him inside in the brooder box over night with a towel on the window and putting him out at around 9.30 am. I pluck him out of the chicken coop while he sleeps. I am sure he is confused about how he keeps getting inside! LOL.

Once I am through Easter the activity down the coast lessens a great deal. No one will be around to annoy in a few weeks anyway. I am also lucky that he starts about half an hour after dawn too so not stupidly early at this stage.

I also bumped into our nearest permanant neighbours at the pub on the weekend (a few hundred metres away) and asked if he could hear my Rooster? They can not hear him and were surprised I had one. They asked if I could hear their hens? And I can at times but they are hens and of course I love them!

Anyway hopefully we can get through the autumn and into the quiet winter and Harry settles in and learns to be a respectable little dude.

Remy · **Joined:** Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:41 pm **Posts:** 13

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oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

lovely lad - it seems all you need is mid to late Autumn to turn up [smilie=a_goodjobson.gif]

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