Is my new neighbor doing something weird, or potentially something criminal with his roosters?

[OhZark Biddies]

…If these people are not fighting them, which would be surprising…

There are quite a few people on BYC that keep various breeds of gamefowl, your comments read as if you believe that the only reason these people would have them is to sneak down to the rail yard at night with them for an evening of illegal activity.

Is it possible you’re basing your thoughts on this subject on zero experience with game fowl and the people that keep them?

is it possible folks keep the various gamefowl breeds to preserve the breeds and for general interest?

Decades ago the owner of Cackle Hatchery had such interest in Old English Games, and while they are not truly game compared to the American or Asian gamefowl breeds that are most often called gamefowl, I suspect that many of the varieties of the OEG breed would have been lost without his efforts to preserve them.

the same can be said of most of the folks that keep true gamefowl today.

no one here is advocating anything nefarious or neglectful… but you seem to suggest that, in your comments. Step back with an open mind and I think that you might see that you are the one bringing that to the table with misinformed preconceptions.

I would think that most people today that keep gamefowl are not at all interested in the illegal activity that you suggest.

and for the record I don’t have any gamefowl…

I have one mutt rooster, and he crows non stop, to the point that he is annoying… I’m not sure what his deal is, as he lives a pampered life… he just likes to ‘sing’ I guess

 

[Disheygirl]

I’m sorry people are being so mean. Your neighbors are rude if they think it’s acceptable to have a bunch of roosters crowing all day. It’s no different than someone leaving their dogs out to bark incessantly. To operate successfully in a society, we SHOULD be mindful of our environment and the people around us. Meeting them won’t change that - they’re already oblivious and clearly don’t see a problem with it. Can’t teach other adults manners.

This site is 90% people asking for help because they love and care about their chickens. The feedback you’ve gotten is bizarre, considering how much time people spend helping each other here. Animal control is useless - they are like the lowest threshold of care. The visual of a rooster wrapped up in a tether on leg makes me sad...I would have said something too.

 

[Kiki]

Are you really posting pictures online of someone else’s chickens and yard? You are way way out of line. You should mind your own business or get a hobby so you’ll have less time to worry about what other people are doing.

Agreed.

I don't understand you people who call animal control and get up all in someone else's business before you even go over and talk to the people yourself.

Go talk to your neighbor.

 

[Tortoise]

There are quite a few people on BYC that keep various breeds of gamefowl, your comments read as if you believe that the only reason these people would have them is to sneak down to the rail yard at night with them for an evening of illegal activity.

Is it possible you’re basing your thoughts on this subject on zero experience with game fowl and the people that keep them?

is it possible folks keep the various gamefowl breeds to preserve the breeds and for general interest?

Decades ago the owner of Cackle Hatchery had such interest in Old English Games, and while they are not truly game compared to the American or Asian gamefowl breeds that are most often called gamefowl, I suspect that many of the varieties of the OEG breed would have been lost without his efforts to preserve them.

the same can be said of most of the folks that keep true gamefowl today.

no one here is advocating anything nefarious or neglectful… but you seem to suggest that, in your comments. Step back with an open mind and I think that you might see that you are the one bringing that to the table with misinformed preconceptions.

I would think that most people today that keep gamefowl are not at all interested in the illegal activity that you suggest.

and for the record I don’t have any gamefowl…

I have one mutt rooster, and he crows non stop, to the point that he is annoying… I’m not sure what his deal is, as he lives a pampered life… he just likes to ‘sing’ I guess

No! I'm basing it on 3 roosters and one hen. Most people barely want one rooster, let alone 3, specially in a small yard/neighborhood. If they do have a rooster(s) they surely have a lot more then one hen.
The roosters usually used for fighting are beautiful. I'd have one as a pet if I wanted roosters. Just because people have them doesn't prove anything. People having 3 and 1 hen is not normal.
Cock fighting unfortunately is still very much alive. It happens in places most of us would never venture. Same goes for dog fighting sadly.
This combo of 3 to 1 is very suspect.

 

[Tortoise]

So even though animal control deemed the animals in good shape, and a shelter is being built for them, the OP should continue to impose her own limited view of animal husbandry on her neighbors?

Not every animal needs saving, and not every one with three roosters is running a fighting ring.

Yes, the Op should keep their eyes and ears open closely to this particular neighbor. If all is legit, then no harm, no fowl. If it's not legit, then hopefully a few birds can be saved from the hell and pain and disgust of fighting!

 

[Geena]

No! I'm basing it on 3 roosters and one hen. Most people barely want one rooster, let alone 3...
This combo of 3 to 1 is very suspect.

So, because someone has a different type and number of birds than you approve of they are automatically suspect?

Gamefowl people love their roosters, and rightfully so, they are gorgeous! I often might have 3 or more roosters/cockerels and only 6 or 7 hens here at any given time, does that make me suspect as well?

 

[Tclloyd0812]

This is exactly why I'm so thankful to live in the country on a nice big piece of property, so I can do what I want without being posted online without my permission.
It's sad that you called animal control on them as soon as they move their chickens in. Who knows, they could have gotten the chickens for free on Craigslist and just had more roosters than hens. I just gave away 5 free roosters with one hen. For someone just starting out it helps them out and they can choose to eat the extra roosters or get more hens.

Now you've called animal control so I'm sure the neighbor now feels like a target in the neighborhood, what a shame. I feel sorry for the people who could be very well trying to just start a little flock of chickens and get their coop built up. You could be right, they could be "abusing" or "fighting the roosters" but I doubt they'd spend the time, money, and energy trying to build a decent coop for them.

If people were decent like they used to be, you'd simply walk over to the neighbors with some sort of treat, greet them into the neighborhood, and make small talk about the chickens to find out more.
As far as the roosters being loud, it's what they do, and if there isn't a rule or regulation against roosters in your neighborhood then they aren't doing any harm.
The chickens look healthy, now I could be wrong, but it looks like they may have had a temporary set up for the chickens until they could get a coop built. Otherwise, full grown chickens will take off into the woods if you just bring them into your new yard and don't get them used to their surroundings.

 

[Brooks_]

does that make me suspect as well?

Yes, you must do exactly as I.

 

[Smashlee83]

This is exactly why I'm so thankful to live in the country on a nice big piece of property, so I can do what I want without being posted online without my permission.
It's sad that you called animal control on them as soon as they move their chickens in. Who knows, they could have gotten the chickens for free on Craigslist and just had more roosters than hens. I just gave away 5 free roosters with one hen. For someone just starting out it helps them out and they can choose to eat the extra roosters or get more hens.

Now you've called animal control so I'm sure the neighbor now feels like a target in the neighborhood, what a shame. I feel sorry for the people who could be very well trying to just start a little flock of chickens and get their coop built up. You could be right, they could be "abusing" or "fighting the roosters" but I doubt they'd spend the time, money, and energy trying to build a decent coop for them.

If people were decent like they used to be, you'd simply walk over to the neighbors with some sort of treat, greet them into the neighborhood, and make small talk about the chickens to find out more.
As far as the roosters being loud, it's what they do, and if there isn't a rule or regulation against roosters in your neighborhood then they aren't doing any harm.
The chickens look healthy, now I could be wrong, but it looks like they may have had a temporary set up for the chickens until they could get a coop built. Otherwise, full grown chickens will take off into the woods if you just bring them into your new yard and don't get them used to their surroundings.

SAME! Exactly why we moved from the suburbs back to the country. The part that is really upsetting is that the OP posted photos of the neighbors child! This would cause an all out war if my neighbors invaded my privacy like this.

 

[Smashlee83]

Yes I already notified Animal Control for those wondering, and they came out yesterday. Looking for a sanity check from people with much more expertise than I have.

I live in an unincorporated part of my county, where there are no regulations about the number of or gender of chickens whatsoever. Even though I live on a residential street with single-family homes (zoned R5) it's literally anything goes, chicken-wise, whereas the local cities in my county all have rules prohibiting roosters (only - hens are okay). One neighbor a few doors down has some number of egg-laying hens and a rooster and it's been no problem at all, and charming to hear the rooster crow periodically.

However. I got brand new neighbors next door last month - new renters moved in, I have not met the landowner - and ten days ago they brought home some chickens. Three roosters and one hen. (?) Seemed odd to me, but I'm not familiar with backyard chicken strategy so what do I know? Plus maybe ... they are holding a rooster or two for a friend? Or plan to get a lot more hens? In their ... standard-size back yard ... which had no coop ... where they are renting? Maybe?

Because the roosters have been crowing LIKE MAD for days, I finally peeked through the fence between our backyards to see what the heck they had there - which is when I realized they had multiple roosters and only one hen. They scrambled to start building an enclosure for them on the day they brought the chickens home (9 days ago).

It does appear to me that the roosters are NOT being kept humanely. All 3 of the roosters have been kept tethered to individual plastic lawn chairs, out in the direct sun, with no access to water or feed or shade nearly this whole time. The tether is simply a string tied around the leg; no stretch or give whatsoever. It was above 90 degrees for several days last week and they were out there at least 10 hours of the day in direct sunlight. On Monday after one week of this they replaced the plastic lawn chairs with individual bales of hay and tethered the roosters to those instead. The roosters are tethered away from each other, but within line of sight. I'm not sure where the hen is being kept as she is not typically in sight. I do not know where they are keeping the chickens at night.

So that all seems . . . well, suspicious and not entirely humane, to me. But maybe there are perfectly reasonable explanations for all of that? My plan was to simply ask them, over the fence one day whenever I could see them in the backyard with their kids or the chickens, to see what they say.

Long story still long: I looked over the fence late Thursday because the roosters were being MUCH louder than usual, and saw 1) the kids playing in the back yard in/amongst the roosters and 2) that one of the roosters' tether had gotten wrapped around the lawn chair so that the string was much too short, and he was stuck in place unable to walk. He was literally waving his leg in the air because he couldn't put it down and crowing continually. It was awful. I recorded about 20 seconds of it with my phone, and then I asked one of the children playing if they could unwrap his string as he was stuck.

The child said: "But these roosters are mean" followed by "These are fighting roosters". I backed away and started reviewing the images I'd taken throughout the week, and only then did I realize the lack of water, shade, how much time they'd been tethered, etc. Ugh.

I notified Animal Control immediately the next morning and they opened a case, took my statement, images, and video clips. But they have since said "the birds look healthy, and there's no evidence of fighting. We can't charge them until/unless they've actually fought the birds." They agree it's very weird to have this many roosters and only one hen. (They also wish there was SOME regulations to help them keep chickens safer in this area).

So now my neighbors have been contacted by Animal Control, almost certainly are aware that I'm who reported them, and nothing has been done (that I'm aware of) to prevent them from doing something horrific.

OR. Am I completely wrong here and I've falsely accused innocent people of planning to commit a horrific crime? Argh! I don't want to be that busybody neighbor! Before I was annoyed at the constant all-day crowing and now I'm much more terrified for these safety of these roosters.

Help! Thoughts?

You should really think about removing the photo of your neighbors child.