oh dear

[Clive]

I think some people spend their lives looking for something to complain about.....

Like the neighbours of a man in Peterboro, who complained most vigourously to their local council about his bantams, only to be told that; The Council would action if they found levels of niose that constituted a nuisance, pervasive odour, or a noticable increase in the local rat population.

Needless to say.. He still has his birds, but the neighbours no longer complain, as they have been warned about wasting the council's time.

Apparently, the public health officer turned out on more than one occasion when furious complaints were made about an unearthly din in the middle of the night, but could only confirm the hens existed by asking their owner if he would show them to him. The only pest problem seemed to be a fox, or cat which had torn open one of the complainant's bin bags, from which used nappies had spilled, causing a right pong!

I think that you talk to the local authority before making any decision.... The quail may even have set a precident and it would be a travesty if you couldn't keep a few chooks just because some badly informed, ignorant, ill-educated, anally-retentive idiots want to control your life.....

[Jodi]

Clive's right, please, speak to your coucil first.........if you are allowed to have chooks, go for it.

It's obvious that the morons next door are struggling to gather enough grey matter to produce logical thought - so I would doubt that they could come up with any substantial complaint that would even warrant the council to come knocking on your door!

You could always try telling them that if bird flu hit then you'd be gone first and they could stand over your grave and say "I told you so" - control freaks would like that........(now I'm being a moron!)

We have the most georgeous neighbors, their chooks were regular visitors to our front garden, the neighbors were horrified and apologised for not keeping them in.....we let them know pretty quickly that not only were the chooks welcome, we looked forward to their visits.........we'd all rush about getting snails to feed them!

Thats how it should be!

Don't give up!!!!!!!!!

cheers
Jodi

[fenlander]

we have come to a decision and have decided that for now we cant have any chickens i really cant fight the neighbours regarding the chooks so we have decided that for THIER sake, and i mean the chickens not the neighbours, it would be best to wait until we move house and yes i did say move house we are putting the house on the market and moving, staying in the town but away from the gucchi and prada handbag brigade that i live near at the moment. We back onto farms at the moment and we intend to move to the older part of town where people will not object because most of them keep chickens.

[b_cos_1_can]

really sorry to hear then fen

i hope you have better luck in your new home with new neighbours!
are you moving house cos of these silly little people or was it on the books n e way?

[AnnaB]

Oh dear fenlander
The things we do for the girls anyway, very best of luck for the future (can't you get hold of one of the bags saw them in the paper last week for £24,000) What kind of person is that? Mine always gets thrown on the floor and I would need a security guard with me if (which I wouldn't) I had one.

[fenlander]

i used to be one of them, but i got sick last year and to my horror i realised what i had become and what really matters in life and i can tell you that its not handbags ( i never spent loads of money on them). I always spent loads of money on makeup that was my poison. Channel and Dior mostly i have a drawer full, but now i dont do it i am using what i have and it will take me at least 2 years to get through it. I used to smoke 30 a day and i had to give for health reasons so rewarded myself with "presents" expensive ones. I'm through it now but my god how much money i have wasted and it doest make you happy so i am now saving money where i can and have been reading everything that Richard has written about Frugal living would love to do it, but not so sure we are as brave as you Richard. As for the move well no it was not planned but good excuse dont you think????????????

[wendy]

Can't think of a better excuse. Get away from false people they will just stifle you.
Good luck with your move.
Wendy

[fenlander]

Have just heard from a friend of mine from whom i brought the quail, he had a break in to his garden shed, they were after his fishing tackle he thinks but they let out his birds and drown some in his pond , chickens and ducks seem to have been the victims and they also smashed all his nest boxes in his avairy. He has a cockeral and has had some complaints recently and now this has happened.

[b_cos_1_can]

oh my goodness

thats just horrific :mad:

[bettysue]

my friend at work came home to find the environmental health officer on her doorstep. her hens had wondered into her neighbours gardens caused havoc as you can imagine, so she has to find alternative accommodation for them.

[fenlander]

see this is what i have trouble with, i have people here down the court who have children that scream their darling little heads off most of the summer and thats "ok" but a few chickens making noise some how is unexceptable, am i missing something here!!!!!!
As i told one of my neighbours today the time to start worrying about bird flu is when i get sick because i clean them out!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wibble5]

I think the problem is that having chickens is sometimes seen as being a bit different - it's become kind of acceptable in urban areas to have howling dogs, screaming children and loud music disturbing your peace, but a chicken squawking is not, for some reason. Some people really do fear the unknown, it's ignorance and often jealousy more than anything. The number of people I speak to who think hens crow in the middle of the night and wake everyone up is amazing - what were they taught at school? I'm in a city and, although the neighbours appear to be ok about my two girls, I admit I live in fear of someone complaining at some point. Especially cos one of them has a habit of loudly announcing an egg to the entire nation for a whole 10 minutes and nothing will shut her up! (Has anyone else got really noisy chickens? )
And I dread anything about bird flu flaring up in the news, as I know someone's going to think I'm infecting the street with it...

Sam

[melons]

That reads just like I've written it, we have a village full of ignorant people, they want to know your every move & your business, but not you, it's a real keeping up with the Joans's village, all very odd, mostly a mix of commuters & ole village bumpkins, no-one gets' to know each other, as the commuters are out all day at work & the bumpkins are gossiping about every one, not sure where we fit in really.
So I also live in fear of bird flu being mentioned, so I keep the girls to a "who needs to know" basis, but my girls also announce an eggs arrival................loudly.
There is a school over the way & everyone parks on the other side of the hedge at the bottom of our garden, to drop off Crispin & Tarqin, it'll be one of the over bearing parents who complain, I tell you ........I'd also move house, but then I am dealing with a sort of known entity here, could be worse else where, it's a nightmare.

[fenlander]

I notice your in Cambs I am near to you I think. You have described my Town to a "T", you must know the people that live here!
Give me the bumkins any day because they tend to have grown up with fowl. I was born here but i find its the "newcomers" who just dont go with the flow. My god they'll be banning the straw bear festival soon as its cruel to the straw bear. or it may bite the kiddies LOL

[Emmamoo]

I've been fortunate that my neighbours either side of me have been fine with the idea of chickens. The couple on my left have asked for eggs and the lesbians on the right have just said that their children will probably wanna look at them. They said "Get a goat if you want to, we don't mind."

I think people just believe what they say in the papers, look how the uproar with CJD caused with all the media. Even my dad stopped buying beef. It's all hype that is just hear say.

Your neighbours harp on about chickens having bird flu - ask them about their dog with rabies.