AITA for calling the cops on my neighbor’s loud “therapy chickens” ?

A person called the non-emergency police line on their neighbor, who keeps four noisy “therapy chickens” for anxiety support. The chickens start clucking loudly before dawn, disrupting the person’s work-from-home routine and mental peace.

Despite polite conversations, the neighbor refused to address the noise, claiming the chickens were essential for her mental health. The neighbor is now angry, accusing the caller of being heartless and ableist. read the original story below…

‘ AITA for calling the cops on my neighbor’s loud “therapy chickens” ?’

My neighbor (40’sF) recently got 4 chickens. She claims they’re “emotional support animals” to help with her anxiety, but they’re incredibly loud. They cluck and squawk constantly, starting before dawn and going all day.

I’ve tried talking to her about it politely, but she insists they’re vital for her mental health and refuses to do anything about the noise. I work from home and the constant racket is driving me crazy. I can’t concentrate, I’m getting headaches, and I’m starting to feel really resentful.

I finally snapped and called the non-emergency police line to report a noise violation.Now my neighbor is furious, calling me heartless and ableist. AITA for calling the cops, even though it was disrupting my life and I had tried to resolve it peacefully?

UPDATE: I spent some time looking into it, there does appear to be a city ordinance that says you cannot have a coop within 300 ft of a residential building. which this definitely is. I will be calling code enforcement tomorrow and then I can finally have my emotional support nap.

Here’s what people had to say to OP:

Tdluxon −  INFO- Have you looked up your local ordinances regarding animals? I know in the neighborhood where I live chickens are allowed in your yard (we’re in a city) in which case the police are not going to help.

Slam_father −  Why would 4 loud and obnoxious chicken be your choice for emotional support animals for your anxiety? Chickens would make my anxiety 10 times worse lol.

SuperPookypower −  This “support animal” misuse needs to stop. Stop equating a seeing eye dog with an emotional support gecko. We all know it’s being abused and it’s causing problems for people with a legit need. Knock it off already.

rlrlrlrlrlr −  Entirely depends on the law. If you’re living where that’s legal to house chickens … you’ve described normal, legal behavior.

Tigger7894 −  As someone with chickens, I call BS on this. Chickens don’t yell all day long, they just don’t. Not even roosters. Not even Guinea Fowl (who aren’t chickens, but are known for being loud).

If you did, then YTA for exaggerating. (unless they are all roosters, I actually have a neighbor who harassed another neighbor by setting up a coop on the property line of about 10 roosters)

Spoonbills −   the constant racket is driving me crazy. I can’t concentrate, I’m getting headaches. This seems like an overreaction to me.

Clean-Experience-639 −  Maybe YTA. I’ve had plenty of chickens, and l don’t recall the hens doing anything but cooing and clucking. They’re actually very peaceful and sweet in my experience.

The roosters were loud and obnoxious for the most part. If there’s no ordinance against it, you might have to learn to live with it. Maybe go over and feed them or ask if you can help collect eggs. Cops make everything worse.

tinyahjumma −  I’m honestly surprised that the chickens are loud except for perhaps a small portion of the morning. Perhaps there is something bothering them that you could help her investigate. To be clear, you are NTA for wanting peace and quiet.

CasaCordings −  NTA, unless you live in the country on a farm. If you live in a city, then there’s no reason for chickens to be close enough to your house to annoy you through your own walls. Also, check your city ordinances. My city has one that says a coop cannot be within 80 feet of another house unless they have written consent from the owner of that house.

anglflw −  What did the cops tell you? I can’t imagine 4 chickens making so much noise for that long that it rises to the level of a noise complaint.

Balancing personal comfort with respecting others’ needs can be tricky. Was calling the authorities an overstep, or a justified move after other attempts failed? How would you handle this situation? Share your opinions below!