More people, often in towns and cities, are keeping chickens. They and any cockerel can cause a noise nuisance to neighbours.

Advice to prevent a nuisance

• Only have a cockerel if you are breeding chickens; you do not need a cockerel in order for your chickens to lay eggs. We recommend that chickens are not bred in residential areas. Do not have more than one cockerel as this will cause competition and an increase in crowing as well as fighting.
• Try raising the perch or lowering the roof of the coop so your cockerel cannot stretch his neck to crow.
• The sun rises quite early in the summer months, Try using black out material over your coop so the sunlight can't get in and wake the chickens during the early hours. You could also try painting the inside of the coop black, but make sure there are no cracks in the wood as this will let sunlight in.
• Try crating your chickens overnight and let them back out into the coop at a reasonable hour.
• Be considerate to your neighbours by siting your coop as far away from their property as possible.

Please contact EPU for further information or to report a noise nuisance