Opinions split in Snettisham over flock of noisy chickens

Locals on the leafy lane have been complaining about a flock of almost 100 feral chickens which have set up their home there.

They say the birds are noisy and are keeping them up at night, as well as digging up their gardens.

Chickens forage along Common Lane, at Snettisham (Image: Chris Bishop)

They also claim that people from outside the village have been travelling there to leave them food, which is attracting rats.

There have even been reports of rising tensions between locals and those who visit the birds.

The villagers have now raised the issue with their parish council which is threatening to remove the birds altogether.

However, others are sticking up for the flock saying the animals add to the village's rural charm.Some of the 90 or so chickens living along Common Lane (Image: Chris Bishop)

'A PAIN IN THE BUTT'

The birds live wild on the edge of a wood on Common Road, on the upmarket outskirts of the village, and make frequent forays into the lane and adjoining gardens.

They have been a fixture of the area for years, but some villagers suspect their numbers have swelled recently with extra birds being dumped there.

Some of the chickens have had their wings clipped, suggesting they are newer arrivals in Snettisham.

Rod Mackenzie, a parish councillor who lives on the lane, said: "They're a pain in the butt. If they come into your garden they dig everything up."

He said people were dumping waste food along the lane as well as bringing chicken feed to the site.

"It's not just food for the chickens, it's every bit of detritus they can find and that brings rats," he added.

"What was it someone left the other week? A quart of pink prawns. The rats are quite sizeable around here and they breed like hell."

A cockerel and one of the numerous hens with chicks on Common Lane (Image: Chris Bishop)

'THEY ARE OUT OF CONTROL'

Company director Ben King, 48, who lives on the lane, said he has to wear earplugs to get a good night's sleep because of constant cock-a-doodlings.

"They're out of control now, there's not just one or two," he said. "They've started coming into gardens and you get rats as well.

"If someone came and moved them, I'd buy them a big beer."

"I think they're a total pest," another man said. "It doesn't help that people come and feed them.  I wouldn't want to buy one of these houses."

One of the noisier cockerels living among the floc (Image: Chris Bishop)

'IT GIVES CHARACTER TO THE PLACE'

One woman out walking her dog said: "There's a lady from Heacham that comes and feeds them and she's had abuse.

"People in the new houses are moaning about them but they've been here such a long time and there's more important things going on in the world than a few chickens. They should get a life.

READ MORE: The story behind Suffolk's famous 'chicken roundabout'

"Two of them have been in my garden since they were babies and they don't bother me."

Graeme McQuade, 43, has lived on the lane for 18 months after moving from Cambridge.

"I have no issues with the chickens whatsoever," he said. "Before we moved here, we didn't know chickens get up at 4am but it gives character to the place."Some say the chickens are part of the rural character of Common Lane (Image: Chris Bishop)

COUNCIL THREATENS EVICTION

The issue was raised at the latest Snettisham Parish Council meeting.

The minutes say: "It was noted that members of the public throw all sorts of food down for the chickens. This is causing a rodent problem which is potentially a health hazard."

A cockerel belonging to the feral flock (Image: Chris Bishop)

Councillors heard there is "uncertainty as to ownership of that land and ownership of the chickens".

The council has agreed to take specialist advice over the birds and consult a chicken rehoming charity to see if it can assist.

The authority has also agreed to put up warning signs asking people not to feed the birds.

A cockerel takes shelter from the rain under a tree (Image: Chris Bishop)

"Councillors noted the concerns of residents local to the area with people dumping food waste for the chickens," the minutes say. "This was leaving foul-smelling waste and encouraging rats to the area."

A cockerel crosses Common Road, at Snettisham (Image: Chris Bishop)

Moves to remove chickens from a housing estate elsewhere in Norfolk hit the headlines four years ago, after 200 birds invaded Ensign Way and Viscount Close in Diss.