Advice on cockerels (especially Sid)

[Snadger]

Just taken over as allotment secretary. Got four copies of a letter signed by the allotment officer saying that their had been complaints from local residents about cockerels noise and as we weren't suposed to have them they had to be got rid of forthwith.
I need to give one of these letters to myself, one to my allotment neighbour who has two cockerels, one on the noticeboard and one on the gate.
I have two cockerels about five years old that I hatchd from eggs and another younger one that I 'rescued'

I need some sort of delaying tactics to let Sid (Vicious), his brother and a younger cockerel see their lives out.

What do you reccomend?

[binley100]

Say you need to put it to an AGM and arrange one for x amount of years time ?

We've got some guys with pigeons (which they shouldn't have) and we've told them that they cannot replace them when they come to their natural demise.......

[Glutton4...]

Oh Snadge, that's a bit of a b*gger, isn't it!? When you get appointed to 'office' you have to follow the rules lol.

Ironically, our old neighbour, who commented about my noisy boys (a field away, so not a nuisance, he said) now has a Roo of his own!

Anyway, I'm with Bins. Arrange to have it brought up for discussion at a meeting, and explain that you don't want to cull healthy birds, as it's against your beliefs. Do you know who complained? Could you go round with a few eggs, and have a chat, explaining the same?

[Alison]

I thought that this was raised a few months ago and that the cockerells had already been erm dealt with - was that somebody else?

Nothing that says we are or are not allowed them on our site (specifically says we can have chooks but no definition of gender) but only one person has one and to be honest it's a liability. Very vicious and terrifies the life out of me if it gets loose. Have seen the owner more than once with blood on her legs when feeding. Making me shudder to think of it.

[Snadger]

It did rear its ugly head earlier in the year and I thought I had appeased the locals by butchering four healthy birds. Their blood lust doesn't appear to have been satiated though so they want me to get rid of my two last oldies and and a young recuee.

My worry is that if I don't butcher them the council may put a total block on keeping chooks............then i would really be Mr popular.

I know 'rules is rules'............but it still hurts

(Don't think i've ever put four frown emoticoms into a post)

[SarzWix]

The council cannot put a total ban on keeping chooks. It's your right under Section 12 of the Allotments Act 1950. And in fact, the Act doesn't preclude you from keeping cockerels. Only if it can be proved that they're 'a noise nuisance' can they take issue with the cockerels, and that's a totally different bit of legislation.

[petal]

There are allotments that do not allow the keeping of livestock and yours could easily become one of them. How close are the houses to the cockerels kept on the allotment- are they kept in at night and not let out too early? You could even lose your allotment altogether if you try to challenge the order.
I think its wonderful to hear a cockerel crowing in the morning but thats because its my own- and even then, when gardening next to them- listening to them persistently crowing in my ears, all day long, gets a bit grating at times- and I live and breath chickens! Sometimes one has to step back and see it from another persons point of view- how far do you live from said allotment- ?
George our buff orpington is in a hole now- he attacked me his last time and it wasn't as hard as I thought, amusing as he might of been!

[SarzWix]

No Petal, no allotments/allotment associations/committees or councils can prevent people from keeping chickens on allotments. Or rabbits for that matter. It doesn't matter what the rules say. I've literally just been through this with a solicitor and NSALG's legal officer.

Only because noise nuisance comes under other legislation can anything be done about cockerels. And if the allotments are in a rural area, even noise nuisance might not apply because it's an accepted agricultural/rural practice to keep chickens

[Two_Sheds]

Can't you keep them at home Snadge?

[Snadger]

Can't you keep them at home Snadge?

My tenancy agreement for my tied accomodation states I am only allowed a cat or a dog. (Don't tell anyone, but I'm already pushing my luck by having two dogs!)

[Snadger]

Its getting to a stage now that I'm praying that each time I go to the allotment either a fox will have got the three cockerels or at least they will have died through natural causes.
With my luck though, the fox would wipe out my chickens and the cockerels would still be sitting there nice as ninepence.

[binley100]

Flamin' eck Snadge don't wish that on them ........I think with cockerels its summat to do with how far from built up areas they are. We have cockerels on our site but although we're in a city we've no houses immediately by us.

[veggiechicken]

I'm sorry Snadger I remember this conversation last time and how you had to do the awful deed.
Is there a positive aspect to cockerels like they scare away rats within a ...... radius (insert distance of objectionable neighbour's house).
Or say that they are a rare breed, of which there are only 3 survivors and you are required to protect them by law.
Or They are old and you do nor expect them to live much longer, and you promise on the life of your best hen that you will never ever have a cockerel there again but you are begging that they see out the rest of their days with their flock.
Or they are actually hens that have developed male characteristics, like crowing, because of some pesticide sprayed by the council.
Or, does the objectionable neighbour have children and you could get them a little present of one of those toy cockerels that makes a crowing noise and the child would be so taken with it that they would want to meet the real ones and you don't want to upset the children do you?
Trying my best to come up with some sort of rescue plan

[Snadger]

I'm sorry Snadger I remember this conversation last time and how you had to do the awful deed.
Is there a positive aspect to cockerels like they scare away rats within a ...... radius (insert distance of objectionable neighbour's house).
Or say that they are a rare breed, of which there are only 3 survivors and you are required to protect them by law.
Or They are old and you do nor expect them to live much longer, and you promise on the life of your best hen that you will never ever have a cockerel there again but you are begging that they see out the rest of their days with their flock.
Or they are actually hens that have developed male characteristics, like crowing, because of some pesticide sprayed by the council.
Or, does the objectionable neighbour have children and you could get them a little present of one of those toy cockerels that makes a crowing noise and the child would be so taken with it that they would want to meet the real ones and you don't want to upset the children do you?
Trying my best to come up with some sort of rescue plan

Ta muchly VC. Kinda thought along the highlighted lines mesell!

The last paragraph of the letter adressed to Dear Committee reads " Please could the management Committee of the site see that your offending member(s) 'me' removes all cockerels from the allotments with immediate effect"

[veggiechicken]

Does your allotment neighbour with 2 cockerels know that this is happening? If so does he have a plan?
You need a plan that works for 5 cockerels, not just yours, unless he is happy to give his up.