Bruce
Herd Master
Got my first goats and now a complaining neighbor
- Thread starter Silky ma
- Start date
Genipher
True BYH Addict
Bills Vs Beaks
Loving the herd life
Theyll quiet down after they grow up. yeah theyre loud but theyre babies. sheesh. ours barely make noise now (unless its past feeding time but thats our fault and is avoidable 
)
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Baymule
Herd Master
Are you allowed to have pigs?
Ridgetop
Herd Master
I think I would ignore her now. She has had her say and complained about your animals. I can't figure out what the "sounds and quiet of natural country" are - coyotes yipping and howling? Ravens screeching? Hawks screaming? Birds chirping? Dogs barking at coyotes that are howling? If you have children or grandchildren will they make too much noise? We do not live in a cone of silence in the country! Horses make smells and noise too. Plant a fast growing hedge along that fence line. Where do you live? Blackberries make wonderful neighbor barriers. Your goats will keep your side neatly trimmed.
If the County sends someone out, make sure that you quietly take him back near their barn. You won't have to point it out. He will notice it does not conform. If you make a complaint about their barn to the County, the problem just escalates. Since you have other neighbors that have goats and are not bothered by your animals, just relax. They will come to bat for you if she makes trouble.
We own 2 pieces of property to make up our 6 acres. City regulations allow 3 dogs on each piece. One neighbor (known for causing trouble on our street and since moved away) had animal control come out on us - at the time he had 4 dogs, beagles that howled a lot. He also had a CC TV camera at his gate and would not answer the intercom if it was someone from the City. The Animal Control officer didn't write us up since we on the other side of the road, 150 feet from his house and there was a 6' block wall separating the road from his house besides! We were legal. I never mentioned it to him and I am sure he was peeved that we were not upset! LOL
Goats are fun. They will be noisy at dinnertime, but so is my horse and mule if we don't feed on time. So is DH and our children . . . . I don't think there are noise ordinances about them. You could bring a loud radio outside and have a big party . . . .
If the County sends someone out, make sure that you quietly take him back near their barn. You won't have to point it out. He will notice it does not conform. If you make a complaint about their barn to the County, the problem just escalates. Since you have other neighbors that have goats and are not bothered by your animals, just relax. They will come to bat for you if she makes trouble.
We own 2 pieces of property to make up our 6 acres. City regulations allow 3 dogs on each piece. One neighbor (known for causing trouble on our street and since moved away) had animal control come out on us - at the time he had 4 dogs, beagles that howled a lot. He also had a CC TV camera at his gate and would not answer the intercom if it was someone from the City. The Animal Control officer didn't write us up since we on the other side of the road, 150 feet from his house and there was a 6' block wall separating the road from his house besides! We were legal. I never mentioned it to him and I am sure he was peeved that we were not upset! LOL
Goats are fun. They will be noisy at dinnertime, but so is my horse and mule if we don't feed on time. So is DH and our children . . . . I don't think there are noise ordinances about them. You could bring a loud radio outside and have a big party . . . .
Mini Horses
Herd Master
The goats may be a little talkative for a week or two, new location for them, separation anxiety, etc. But I have 22 here, adults & spring kids....they do some talking when they see me at feeding time but, at night? They put themselves to bed like chickens and rarely a peep!!! She needs to chill for a week. Yes, put a recorder outside for a few days...bet there are a lot of noises but, probably not goats.
Now my roos start talking at the mere thought of daylight, even a flashlight or rustling of anything strange happening & not supposed to be out there making noise in their areas or around the barns. She'd love me!
Now my roos start talking at the mere thought of daylight, even a flashlight or rustling of anything strange happening & not supposed to be out there making noise in their areas or around the barns. She'd love me!
greybeard
Herd Master
depends, who has the best attorney if she decides to go civil court with it...
Southern by choice
Herd Master
I'd ignore her. Country living is not "quiet" there are just different noises than city living. Country is for livestock and farming.
As far as goats Nigerians can be noisy. Not all are but as far as breeds go... Nubians are ridiculous next would be Nigerians as far as loud. Generally they only make a fuss at feeding but I will say many that are quiet can become super loud after kidding. We have a whole group out there that are FF and seem to think they need milked constantly... so they holler for us to come milk them. It is quite annoying. Before kidding - quiet as could be. The mature does don't do that as much, but we can never be late for feeding or milking or the whole county will know.
Now kids... a whole different story all together! Kids can be very loud. Depends on how they are raised. Ours are either co-parented or bottle raised and we are full time here so they are extremely spoiled and have all day attention. Kids dam raised and people that work away from home seeing them 2x day seem to have quieter goats because that is what they are accustom to. They get noisy happy when they see them for a few minutes and quiet down.
As far as goats Nigerians can be noisy. Not all are but as far as breeds go... Nubians are ridiculous next would be Nigerians as far as loud. Generally they only make a fuss at feeding but I will say many that are quiet can become super loud after kidding. We have a whole group out there that are FF and seem to think they need milked constantly... so they holler for us to come milk them. It is quite annoying. Before kidding - quiet as could be. The mature does don't do that as much, but we can never be late for feeding or milking or the whole county will know.
Now kids... a whole different story all together! Kids can be very loud. Depends on how they are raised. Ours are either co-parented or bottle raised and we are full time here so they are extremely spoiled and have all day attention. Kids dam raised and people that work away from home seeing them 2x day seem to have quieter goats because that is what they are accustom to. They get noisy happy when they see them for a few minutes and quiet down.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
I don't remember our goats being that noisy except at milking and feeding time. I think I did have to sneak around the kids pens though if I went to the barn since they were all bottle kids and would let out a holler when they saw us for us to feed them since they were starving! LOL
As to any legal action, that costs $$. A letter from an attorney is only a few hundred dollars, but an actual lawsuit is costly. It would depend on how much money the neighbors have to throw away, and how badly their attorney wants the case. Since it is not against an insurance company for personal injury the neighbors will have to foot the entire bill up front for the attorney's time, discovery, court costs, etc. In addition they have to prove damage to themselves or their property before getting any kind of settlement through the court. You will have to hire an attorney to defend yourself, but if there is no damage, the case will be dismissed summarily, and if you can prove that this I s a nuisance suit you will get your costs from them with a countersuit. Your insurance might even cover this. But since the goats will settle down soon hopefully these neighbors will too. Especially, since they will cause neighborhood dislike for themselves with a lawsuit.
If this is an animal keeping area, and you are in conformity with all the zoning regulations, the noise violations would have to be extreme to get to court. I would double check the noise ordinance and see what it actually says. Are these noise regulations CC & Rs in a development community with an HOA? Or noise regs for the County? You might also want to get a recording of 24 hours at your place if she continues to complain. Remember also, that if she brings in an attorney you have a counter suit about her barn being too close to your property line.
In the meantime, just ignore her. It sounds like there are other nice (goat) neighbors with whom to be friends. Sometimes, old residents just like to throw their weight around when a new family moves in. Happened to us, we moved past it and the neighbors are friends now. Hopefully this will be the case here.
As to any legal action, that costs $$. A letter from an attorney is only a few hundred dollars, but an actual lawsuit is costly. It would depend on how much money the neighbors have to throw away, and how badly their attorney wants the case. Since it is not against an insurance company for personal injury the neighbors will have to foot the entire bill up front for the attorney's time, discovery, court costs, etc. In addition they have to prove damage to themselves or their property before getting any kind of settlement through the court. You will have to hire an attorney to defend yourself, but if there is no damage, the case will be dismissed summarily, and if you can prove that this I s a nuisance suit you will get your costs from them with a countersuit. Your insurance might even cover this. But since the goats will settle down soon hopefully these neighbors will too. Especially, since they will cause neighborhood dislike for themselves with a lawsuit.
If this is an animal keeping area, and you are in conformity with all the zoning regulations, the noise violations would have to be extreme to get to court. I would double check the noise ordinance and see what it actually says. Are these noise regulations CC & Rs in a development community with an HOA? Or noise regs for the County? You might also want to get a recording of 24 hours at your place if she continues to complain. Remember also, that if she brings in an attorney you have a counter suit about her barn being too close to your property line.
In the meantime, just ignore her. It sounds like there are other nice (goat) neighbors with whom to be friends. Sometimes, old residents just like to throw their weight around when a new family moves in. Happened to us, we moved past it and the neighbors are friends now. Hopefully this will be the case here.
Donna R. Raybon
Loving the herd life
- Joined
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- Dandridge in eastern Tennessee
I like the way you think!!!!! Do not even have to actually get any, just a sign saying 'future home of xxxxx pig farm' and then wait to see the sparks.
