Nyborg rules threaten Jørgen Hansen’s 50-year poultry breeding

New rules in Nyborg Municipality mean Jørgen Hansen may no longer be able to keep roosters at his home, where he has bred chickens for more than 50 years, DR reports.

The rules prohibit roosters if a neighbouring residence is less than 100 metres away. Several municipalities on Funen have tightened regulations on keeping chickens and other poultry after receiving complaints about noise.

Hansen says the rules are wrong and could make breeding impossible. Without roosters, he says, his association and its activities could come to an end.

Nyborg Municipality says it receives up to 20 complaints a year about disturbances from crowing roosters. Kaj Refslund, a Venstre member who chairs the municipality’s Climate, Nature and Environment Committee, said regulations were needed to address the complaints.

Hansen’s neighbour, Michael Lassen, says the birds do not bother him. He called Hansen skilled at keeping chickens and said the birds were beautiful.

Under Nyborg’s rules, flocks of up to eight chickens, including roosters and chicks, must be kept in a fenced coop and run at least 2.5 metres from the boundary of a neighbouring residential property. The same boundary rule applies to flocks of up to 30 chickens, which must also be at least 15 metres from the nearest residence.

Roosters, peacocks, parrots and other noisy birds must be kept at least 100 metres from neighbouring residences. The rules apply to bird keeping except for free-flying pigeons and birds kept indoors. Odense Municipality has also recently introduced new rules.