Maurice is dead

[woolybanana]

The rooster who brought townies to heel has just died having won the right to crow when he wanted to and not be silenced by visiting townies.

And got €1000 for his owner into the bargain!

RIP Maurice, may you roger and crow in chicken Heaven.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/19/maurice-the-noisey-french-rooster-dies-aged-six

(Which, nimt, proves I read the more serious parts of the Guardian!?)

[pip24]

I was glad that he won his case and sad that hes died. But reading the article about the cause of his death is a bit worrying. Especially with the infections in the Anglesey chicken processing plant and other meat processing factories around the world. I did wonder if the lady would be allowed to replace Maurice or if the judgment was just for him.

[Gardian]

Good friends of ours have a 2nd home in the Herault.

A couple of years ago, their neighbour acquired some chickens and the cockerel was particularly vocal. Our friends got quite paranoid about it and I must admit that when we visited, the racket was quite annoying. They asked us what were their prospects if they went for legal action (they’d already got a very firm “Non” when they took the matter up with the neighbour) and we told them that they (as incomers) had a less than zero chance vs the incumbent paysans.

Happily, the problem, or perhaps more to the point the cockerel, went away. Whether he went to the pot or somewhere else, they’ll never know.

Our elder som has a similar problem in the Thames Valley. This is a small new build estate, a really quiet place for a built-up area. A month or so ago, they started to get the “cock-a-doodle-do” (did I spell that right?). To cut a long story short, they made grumbling noises themselves about the disruption to the local tranquility.

It turned out that the chickens had hatched and were being brought up at a local school where the resident is a teacher. Then .......... lockdown and they had to do something with the poultry. Teacher / resident brought them home pending their re-location to somewhere or other. As at the other day, they’re still there because I heard him during a telephone conversation - presumably he and his girls will get moved somewhere or other sooner or later !

The point of all this, is that it’s easy to go “Ahhhh” until it affects you personally. Then, it’s not so clever.

[woolybanana]

If you really wanna piss off your neighbours get peacocks. Better than cockerels or church bells.

[pip24]

We too had an oodle doo at 5 am every morning for about 5 years. We just used to laugh and go back to sleep. In my opinion if you move from the city to the countryside and complain like Maurices objectors did you you are spoiling what you moved there for. By the way did you know that a wild boar in the Correze has a death penalty hanging over him. B.B is trying to get a stay of execution. His name oddly enough is Maurice, if I ever get another animal I will call it anything but Maurice !

[mint]

[quote user="woolybanana"]If you really wanna piss off your neighbours get peacocks. Better than cockerels or church bells.[/quote]

I disagree about church bells.  One of the main attractions for me about our house location is that we can both see the clocher and hear the bells.

Bells make the silence somehow more profound and make you feel peace and serenity in your heart.  There's something about bells, I don't know what it is.  We have une petite méditation after our pilates class and there is a little tinkly bell to start off the session and another little tinkly note to finish it off.

Admittedly there are bells and there are bells.  The school bell that called us from the playground wasn't too popular but, at the first ding for end of lessons, everybody downed pens, packed up and rushed out!

I think dogs barking endlessly and apparently without cause are about the worst sounds you could be plagued with.  The worst barks are from those snappy small dogs whose decibels make you jump and threaten to pop your ear drums.

[Gardengirl]

Guardian is your son still on the Shinfield housing estate? I can imagine that a noisy cockerel is very unwelcome!

Our grandgirls had 3 goats at their school last year - i imagine nobody would have wanted to take them home - unless somebody had a big garden that needed clearing!

Our DIL runs the school’s preschool and they had eggs to hatch in an incubator; the incubator and eggs, then the chicks, went home with her at weekends, but then went back to the farmer. They also live on a small housing estate and a cockerel would have been very unpopular there too!

Mint, I love bells; we can hear the local church bells when the wind is in the right direction and in France we hear the lovely local college bells just along the road.

[Gardian]

Yes he is GG + our DIL.

The problem is that they work shifts (as I think you know) and accordingly cock a doodles are unhelpful at the time of the day that they ......... well, cock a doodle.

The first word in cock a doodle is going to get asterixed - goodness only knows why ?

[Lehaut]

Mint

"I think dogs barking endlessly and apparently without cause are about the worst sounds you could be plagued with. The worst barks are from those snappy small dogs whose decibels make you jump and threaten to pop your ear drums."

100% with you on this.

[PaulT]

WB - Peacocks:

Yes damn noisy things. Many years ago when I went camping one site had very strict rules including NO NOISE AFTER 10PM.....on the site they had peacocks. Now, no one could have competed with those for noise especially in the North of Scotland where it hardly gets dark and the peacocks could have known that it was after 10PM.

Mint - school bells:

Brought back memories of my school days. The bell would sound for the end of lesson and if anyone moved the master would say 'the bell is for my convenience not yours'.

Dog barking:

Next door neighbour was left with her sons dog when he discovered that females were more fun than tinkering with cars. Now this dog does yap. A new neighbour moved in whose garden backs on the the existing neighbour. Very shortly after moving in they sent the neighbour with the dog a very strong letter about the barking. They now have an alsatian, bought as a pup and now growing up. If they go out they seem to put the dog in the garden and the racket he makes!

[Gardengirl]

Peacocks are beautiful but oh, that noise! Years ago we stayed at the Strines Inn, great walking countryside, and peacocks started at dawn on a shed roof right by our bedroom window - we only stayed the one night!

Out walking in France, I hate the way one dog starts barking and it’s echoed far ahead by others.

[alittlebitfrench]

My cinema room makes an awful lot of noise. LOL.

It can be heard for miles.

That said, my neighbours pompe à chaleur for their swimming pool is horribly loud. It is like having a Boeing 747 in your garden. It is loud. I should complain. But I won't. God it is loud.

Yep, prefer the sound of a cockerel any day.

[mint]

[quote user="PaulT"]

Mint - school bells:

Brought back memories of my school days. The bell would sound for the end of lesson and if anyone moved the master would say 'the bell is for my convenience not yours'. [/quote]

Ha! Ha!

Did the boys (were they all boys?) love that teacher nontheless?  I thought back to my school days and, strangely, sometimes the most sarcastic and tyrants of teachers were also the most loved.  Mainly, I think it's because children love to have rules to follow (make things clearer if you know where the line is) and sometimes it's because they also happen to be the best teachers.