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Is there anything I can do about my neighbor that has a rooster that is annoying and wakes me up before dawn everyday?

My neighbor has a rooster in a chicken pen that's located about 15 feet from the fence that divides our property. My house is approximately 30-35 feet from our fence, making the total distance from my house to his pen ~40-45 feet.

In my county there is an ordinance: roosters and code 4494-3 section (c) says:

(c)Rooster enclosures shall have a minimum set back from adjacent residences of forty (40) feet.

Question - Is there anything I can do or does this mean he can have the chicken pen located where he has it because the pen is approximately 40-45 feet from my house, or does this code mean the adjacent residence is our fence line?

It seems if the adjacent property meant the house, it would say something like adjacent residential dwelling or adjacent residential structure or adjacent residential building, but it just says adjacent residence.

FYI - He often lets his chickens roam outside of the pen and they roam right up next to our fence.

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There is probably nothing that you can do.

Usually the term "adjacent residences" is going to be interpreted to mean a neighboring house instead of a neighboring fence line. If the property line was the place to start measuring from, it would usually say from "the property line" or from "the adjacent property" rather than from "adjacent residences".

He often lets his chickens roam outside of the pen and they roam right up next to our fence.

The ordinance appears to regulate the location of the enclosure, not the location of the chickens themselves.

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  • What about being a general noise nuisance? If I can call animal services on a loud dark that barks during the day, you'd think I could do the same for a loud obnoxious rooster screaming at 4:30 AM
    – user1186050
    Oct 6, 2022 at 20:37
  • @user1186050 Depends upon what the other ordinances say. I doubt it. Usually, if the ordinances allow you to have chickens they allow what is incidental to and inseparable from having chickens. If I were a city official hearing you make a complaint like that, I wouldn't take you seriously and would tell you to quit being a grump.
    – ohwilleke
    Oct 7, 2022 at 0:53
  • Easy to say when you don't have to listen to it and 5 AM, 5:15 AM, 5:41 AM, etc, etc, etc,
    – user1186050
    Oct 10, 2022 at 6:06
  • @user1186050 I get it. But that is how much city officials in that position would act, since you have no real remedy.
    – ohwilleke
    Oct 10, 2022 at 14:37
  • What about a lawsuit? Could I file a suit and ask for money if it affects my life in a negative way? Ex. loss of work, sleep, health, etc
    – user1186050
    Oct 10, 2022 at 21:23

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