Noisy Cocks! How To Shut Them Up ...? Help!

[annabel]

I am going to go crazy... the neighbor across the small canal along my place bought chickens and cocks 4 months ago that were crowing throughout day & night.... My housekeeper went to speak to the owner and he rudely said "This is nature... close our windows and put your AC on if you can't sleep".... end of discussion... After another yet unbearable month and with the crowing increasing daily, I went myself with the housekeeper and he cheekily said ..." Buy the land and build a bridge to link your guesthouse and expand your guesthouse, that will solve your problem " Grrrrrrr....

Yes, I have a guest house and it is becoming a huge problem as now he has bought more cocks and has about 12 of them on top of the chickens which he has about 24 of ....they are not so noisy though and I could live with that.... He owns 6.5 rai of land and refuses to move them away and further down to at least reduce the noise level. I am stressing totally out because of this cause now, since December it is totally unbearable and I am losing customers as they can't stand the noise throughout the night and can't sleep and are therefore checking out before the end of their check out dates so I am losing business on top of getting bad reviews....

Is there a solution other than poisonning the buggers....? I thought of going to the Village Head but my housekeeper said that would not do any good as it his land and he has the freedom to do what he wants with it. ok, fair enough but isn't there any law against disturbing your neighbors and the peace especially during the night ??? I really need a solution cause it's killing my business and really can't afford to lose business in these already painful economical times.... Anybody have any suggestions ?? Pleeeaaase ...

[gotlost]

Sorry but you are probably SOL.

[uptheos]

I don't have any suggestions annabel, but I do understand how this must be affecting you.

Unfortunately, it seems once a foreigner complains they tend to up the anti.

Good luck, I hope you find a viable solution.

[Slaps]

I feel for you but I very much doubt you will find anyone to help you mate.

When I lived in Goa i used to throw stones in their direction but that was only short term

Good luck with your nightmare

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

You have my sympathy but I don't think there is a solution to your problem. I thought dogs were bad until we spent a few nights next to roosters. Thai don't seem to mind noise. Good Luck on finding a solution.

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup, Khun Annabel,

We really empathize with your problem : just the one rooster-that-thinks-it's-a-turkey screaming "imaturkey" night and day, in a voice reminiscent of the (post 1980) whisky-gravel-over-cigarette-butts-sandpaper-screech-of-fingernail-on-blackboard-baritone voice of Marianne Faithfull, disturbs us.

But ... and this may not help ... today gave us a lesson that it could be even worse : we bicycled down near our launderers house to buy some soy milk, and there was a yard with at least thirty or forty fighting cocks in the wicker cages, and most of them were screaming "imaturkey" !

We have found that screaming "imaturkey" back at the rooster does not seem to help. We even tried reversing that, and screaming "yekrutami," thinking there may have been a homeopathic mantric antidote in that inversion, but that did not help either, although, it did lead to interesting dreams of nights in a yurt dancing the tundra-trot with a sexy Mongolian female shaman, surrounded by mammoth tusks.

Good luck, best, ~o:37;

Edited January 16, 2010 by orang37

[koheesti]

I found this on Yahoo Answers:

Problems with neighbours noisey rooster?

Does anyone know of any way to shut up an exceedingly noisey rooster - my neighbour here in the Philippines has a rooster which starts to crow at 3;00 AM and goes on ALL Day - it is annoying everyone. I made a dog scarer a few years ago, it worked at 22 KHz and shut up barking dogs - do roosters have a "shut up" frequency at all, or will I just have to pay someone to shoot it !!

Additional Details

Its OK - We worked it out, a 38 KHz ultrasonic "BEEP", which humans cannot hear, using a signal generator and a piezo horn speaker, it shut it up straight away !!

[neverdie]

OP,

I used to think posts like yours were just people having a good old winge about something, 'not that bad' until I suffered at the hands of someone just like your neighbour.

Indeed this is Thailand and you are going to struggle to get anyone to help you progress with this problem, however, as a last resort, you may need to 'think outside the box' with this one. In this situation you need to think what you can do to HELP the neighbour overcome this situation. Have you thought about providing some sort of 'insentive' for the owner to shut his chickens up? Remember money talks in Thailand and sometimes not much is needed to make things happen.

Perhaps you could discuss this situation with your neighbour again & show him how YOU can assist him & explain to him if how your occupancy rate can increase, how that will benifit him. Of course you would want to consider what 'damage' others can do to you business in the near vicinity or you may run the risk of chicken coups popping up left, right and centre.

Good luck, I feel for you.

[neverdie]

I found this on Yahoo Answers:

Problems with neighbours noisey rooster?

Does anyone know of any way to shut up an exceedingly noisey rooster - my neighbour here in the Philippines has a rooster which starts to crow at 3;00 AM and goes on ALL Day - it is annoying everyone. I made a dog scarer a few years ago, it worked at 22 KHz and shut up barking dogs - do roosters have a "shut up" frequency at all, or will I just have to pay someone to shoot it !!

Additional Details

Its OK - We worked it out, a 38 KHz ultrasonic "BEEP", which humans cannot hear, using a signal generator and a piezo horn speaker, it shut it up straight away !!

TELL ME MORE, TELL ME MORE......Where does one find one of these devices? Ohh and dog collars are a bit hard to attach to other peoples dogs OR chickens

Edited January 16, 2010 by neverdie

[Tawai]

Hi Annabel !

Sorry to hear about your problems. They are NOT easy to solve.

I am not sure if you want to read my answer to your post, but it seems that your neighbor seems to be right when he says "this is nature" IF your location is out of city.

It's mostly always difficult to solve a problem AFTER a personal discrepancy has started. 

Can you afford to move or close the business for a while? If the building is your property, you could consider to install sound proof windows.

Maybe a good idea to change from guest house to open a snake farm

As for the other readers, I would suggest to check out the neighbors feelings towards yourself and try to keep a friendly relationship.

Sure, it's not always possible to stay away from differences with neighbors, but some  could have been avoided by keeping friendly with your environment.

Annabel, pls. don't take it personal, I am not talking about your situation from "as for the other readers" on.

[koheesti]

I found this on Yahoo Answers:

Problems with neighbours noisey rooster?

Does anyone know of any way to shut up an exceedingly noisey rooster - my neighbour here in the Philippines has a rooster which starts to crow at 3;00 AM and goes on ALL Day - it is annoying everyone. I made a dog scarer a few years ago, it worked at 22 KHz and shut up barking dogs - do roosters have a "shut up" frequency at all, or will I just have to pay someone to shoot it !!

Additional Details

Its OK - We worked it out, a 38 KHz ultrasonic "BEEP", which humans cannot hear, using a signal generator and a piezo horn speaker, it shut it up straight away !!

TELL ME MORE, TELL ME MORE......Where does one find one of these devices? Ohh and dog collars are a bit hard to attach to other peoples dogs OR chickens

It's not a collar and you don't attach it to the animal. It's like a radio of sorts except that it isn't broadcasting a signal originating from somewhere else. The device itself is emitting the signal.

[neverdie]

Also planting large trees and shrubs can help with 'sound' but its hardly an instant or 100% effective solution for you.

[neverdie]

I found this on Yahoo Answers:

Problems with neighbours noisey rooster?

Does anyone know of any way to shut up an exceedingly noisey rooster - my neighbour here in the Philippines has a rooster which starts to crow at 3;00 AM and goes on ALL Day - it is annoying everyone. I made a dog scarer a few years ago, it worked at 22 KHz and shut up barking dogs - do roosters have a "shut up" frequency at all, or will I just have to pay someone to shoot it !!

Additional Details

Its OK - We worked it out, a 38 KHz ultrasonic "BEEP", which humans cannot hear, using a signal generator and a piezo horn speaker, it shut it up straight away !!

TELL ME MORE, TELL ME MORE......Where does one find one of these devices? Ohh and dog collars are a bit hard to attach to other peoples dogs OR chickens

It's not a collar and you don't attach it to the animal. It's like a radio of sorts except that it isn't broadcasting a signal originating from somewhere else. The device itself is emitting the signal.

I had heard the dog collars that emitted a small shock worked, of course those are banned in some countries. I have also NOW just read some info on the devices you talked about & the REVIEWS on them wernt so good.

Of course none of this is going to help the OP unfortunately, because hes dealing with chickens.

Theres a few things to find on the subject if you GOOGLE (an alternative to thai visa).

Apparently if you can stop the Roosters extending their necks then they can't crow. It has been suggested that if these Roosters live inside a chicken house (coup) at night, then you can modify the coup by putting the highest shelf (roost) inside the coup so high that the Rooster can sit on it but can't extend its neck to crow. Apparently the Rooster always wants to sit on the top roost of the coup (A bit like some of the Roosters here at Thai Visa).

Having said that, its my experience that Thai Chickens on properties dont really have a chicken coup and just wander around aimlessly crowing, because afterall, "Its up to them"

[Thakkar]

First let me say that I feel for you and the stress and loss of business you are suffering.

Direct confrontation is the worst way to approach a conflict anywhere, but especially here in Thailand. Cocks will crow, as they are wont to do and asking a neighbor to shut them up would be rightly seen as a ridiculous demand. What you thought was a polite request wasn't seen as such and if you don't intuitively understand why then you have either not been here long enough or are insensitive to how other people think. Your neighbor has plenty of land and he could move the cocks further afield, but there may be practical difficulties you may not know about. Still your approach gives him no reason whatsoever to even consider a solution to what he sees as *your* problem.

How do you make it *his* problem as well?

The concept of Grengchai comes into play. If your approach had been to befriend him first, being careful not to get too friendly (say, by getting drunk with him—a big no-no) and then later subtly bringing up the issue of the crowings' affect on your business and sanity, he might have felt obliged to at least try and think of a solution to avoid Grengchai, to avoid disturbing a kindly, friendly neighbor. He might have expressed his apologies and let you in on the practical difficulties he faces in finding a solution. You could offer to help with a little finance and/or manpower. At least he would now see it as a mutual problem he cannot blithely ignore.

Things can yet be turned around by curbing your feelings of frustration and changing your approach.

I wish you luck.

--0--

oops... looks like some others have had similar thoughts to mine, that is, see it as a mutual problem and approach in a cooperative manner.

Good luck.

--I posted the first part before reading the other replies - T

Edited January 16, 2010 by Thakkar

[neverdie]

Everything I try to find online about it, is summarised here, with the exception of the KFC option

http://www.ehow.com/how_4830399_stop-rooster-crowing.html

http://www.howtodothings.com/pets-animals/...a-rooster-quiet

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_would_a_rooster_stop_crowing

Edited January 16, 2010 by neverdie

[garyh]

Have you considered he is trying to get rid of you and buy the guest house cheap. Then he will get rid of the cocks and make money.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

Perhaps turn a couple of fox loose in his chicken area at night, works best if he is not home. In the morning the fox and the chickens will be missing or just a lot of feathers and bones. The trick is to locate a fox or two. What LOS needs is a good rent a fox store.

[neverdie]

Perhaps turn a couple of fox loose in his chicken area at night, works best if he is not home. In the morning the fox and the chickens will be missing or just a lot of feathers and bones. The trick is to locate a fox or two. What LOS needs is a good rent a fox store.

What about this:

[Asmerom]

I used to think posts like yours were just people having a good old winge about something, 'not that bad' until I suffered at the hands of someone just like your neighbour.

Have you thought about providing some sort of 'insentive' for the owner to shut his chickens up? Remember money talks in Thailand and sometimes not much is needed to make things happen.

I suffered a similar situation in Mae Rim for a whole year when I rented a house, little realising there were Thai houses concealed on the other side of the tall hedge.There were only about four cocks, two of which belonged to the landlord's gardener. I paid the gardener 500 baht per month to get rid of his. He sold them but the other two, belonging to other villagers remained, so sitting reading in the beautiful garden was impossible.Even with two. I know what it's like and I sympathise with your plight especially as it's affecting your business. It may be that your neighbour is "rich" and won't be swayed by the offer of money. It does appear he harbours some grudge against you though. But you'll have to think of the monetary way out as a business decision.

I was amazed that they do, as you rightly say, crow all day long. I'm sure they don't in the UK. Thais just don't appear to hear this execrably penetrating noise as they live with it in their ears from childhood.

How about secretly procuring a fox or two from somewhere and letting nature take its course. Hopefully you don't share the feelings of some on this board,to whom the very thought of harming an animal brings on an apoplectic fit.

Edited January 16, 2010 by Asmerom

[siggie2]

Sorry to say,you will not get any help or compromise whatsoever.Maybe he wants to buy your land and is trying to force you out.Maybe you are lucky that he hasnt copied you and built a guest house as thais are good for that

Generaly thais are very very unreasonable,as my neighbour says her 6 dogs only shit small,when they poo all by my house and gate,just in the perfect place to tread on.

I have told her on more than 1 occasion what a nasty bitch she is and she just smiles and threatens me with voodoo,

[KevinHunt]

Noise is a part of daily life in Thailand and that won't change soon. unfortunately, it is unrealistic of you to expect the neighbour not to keep chickens. The only solution I see, which may not be practical is .... Ear plugs?

[FarangCravings]

Big Snakes

Or close down your guesthouse and start a Pig farm with the stench he will soon be coming to you

Big money in Pigs

[goldfinger]

very bad indeed.

because the trouble with the neighbour already started, it is difficult now.

if "something"happens to his chickens, he knows immediately, who is responsible.

and "missing" ones, he will replace quickly, and double the number of them.

[slapout]

The neighbors response of "this is nature" could be turned around. Fox are wondering and may be hard pressed to finish the project. Raccoons, or possums will not roam too far if they have shelter (cardboard box covered with straw,etc with plastic cover for waterproofing) and available food supply (chicken is desirable). Alligators in the canal with an initial chicken to whit their appetite/lead the way, so to speak. Poisoned grain is probably the quickest as least effort on everyones part.

[KevinHunt]

Sorry to say,you will not get any help or compromise whatsoever.Maybe he wants to buy your land and is trying to force you out.Maybe you are lucky that he hasnt copied you and built a guest house as thais are good for that

Generaly thais are very very unreasonable,as my neighbour says her 6 dogs only shit small,when they poo all by my house and gate,just in the perfect place to tread on.

I have told her on more than 1 occasion what a nasty bitch she is and she just smiles and threatens me with voodoo,

It seems that you don't like Thais, and they don't like you!!  Are you planning to stay?

[goldfinger]

poisoning is not the solution,it raises the problems.

what comes after the cocks?? Karaoke Bar??

[siggie2]

Sorry to say,you will not get any help or compromise whatsoever.Maybe he wants to buy your land and is trying to force you out.Maybe you are lucky that he hasnt copied you and built a guest house as thais are good for that

Generaly thais are very very unreasonable,as my neighbour says her 6 dogs only shit small,when they poo all by my house and gate,just in the perfect place to tread on.

I have told her on more than 1 occasion what a nasty bitch she is and she just smiles and threatens me with voodoo,

It seems that you don't like Thais, and they don't like you!! Are you planning to stay?

Thais are GENERALY unreasonable

1 thai woman with farang husband with dogs.

helloooo mike hunt go away little vermin,and stop flaming,if you want to say anything i can give you my number with pleasure my mike

[siggie2]

Sorry to say,you will not get any help or compromise whatsoever.Maybe he wants to buy your land and is trying to force you out.Maybe you are lucky that he hasnt copied you and built a guest house as thais are good for that

Generaly thais are very very unreasonable,as my neighbour says her 6 dogs only shit small,when they poo all by my house and gate,just in the perfect place to tread on.

I have told her on more than 1 occasion what a nasty bitch she is and she just smiles and threatens me with voodoo,

It seems that you don't like Thais, and they don't like you!! Are you planning to stay?

Thais are GENERALY unreasonable

1 thai woman with farang husband with dogs.

helloooo mike hunt go away little vermin,and stop flaming,if you want to say anything i can give you my number with pleasure my mike

BTW

Do you know me,as you think thais dont like me,turn up and i will introduce you to some realy big thai guys

[gotlost]

poisoning is not the solution,it raises the problems.

what comes after the cocks?? Karaoke Bar??

At least you could get a cold Chang and........

[rohitsuk]

Oh dear, poor Anabel I do so feel for you. I had a similar problem in Dubai about seven years ago where I had a beautiful villa right beside the beach, with only one neighbour who was quiet. Until he allowed his servants to buy chickens and cockerels which they kept on a balcony just a few metres away from my sitting room and my son's bedroom.

One of my students was the son of a very senior police officer whose advice I asked and he told me the same thing you were told - this is just nature you have to learn to live with it. He did offer to speak to my neighbours but they were rich Emirates and not likely to be easily intimidated and if they took offence, he warned, the problem might get worse. Same, same Thailand. After a couple of months I admitted defeat and very reluctantly moved to an apartment but at least there was no crowing.

I looked at a lovely house in CM when we first moved up here which was in the right location and at the right price. Just behind it however, was what seemed to be a fighting cock farm with dozens of the dammed things crowing incessantly. I lie not there wasn't twenty seconds between crowings and that was in the early afternoon. When I asked the owner, how do you live with the noise ? She replied, What noise ? They just don't hear it and so, not surprisingly perhaps, cannot even begin to understand what we mad farangs are talking about.

There seem to be only two possible solutions: Your neighbour gets rid of the cockerels (most unlikely) You close your business and move away. (extremely difficult, costly and painful).

Your post reinforces very strongly my determination never to buy another house in Thailand since I live in dread of some similar blight, which can come any day, ruining the peace and quiet in our quiet little backwater of Amphur Muang. Rent and if disaster strikes in any form move out at the end of the month and rent another.