Distance from Chicken Farm/Sheds

theFlash

Not sure if anyone has any experience of this, but I'll ask anyway:

We're looking at moving to a house with no near neighbours, in Herefordshire, and I've noticed on Google maps there is what looks like a farm with 6 very large chicken sheds a few fields away. The distance is around 1km - which does sound a long way, but I've heard these chicken farms can sometimes give off quite an odour, and it can carry some way, but being a town dweller, have no idea how far. We can't smell anything at the moment when we view the property, but I understand winter is the time when such smells are less obvious.


I would ask other houses in the vicinity, but we appear to be the closest to said farm.


Anyone have a clue if the smells from the sheds could be an issue at that distance?

Lorian

I believe Planning looks at the impact on properties up to 400M away - but the smell can travel further for sure.

What's the direction from the farm to the house? The prevailing south westerly can make a big difference on the spread of smell and sound.

As you realise winter is not when the effects are noticed.

Bossypants

I don't know anything about chicken farms or their smells, but as someone living across the road from a waste recycling facility (whose smells I was concerned about on moving in but in practice are minimal and have never bothered me), my suggestion would be to see if you can meet with the farm owner/manager person. They should be able to give you some idea about the smells, and you'll also get a sense of what sort of neighbours they are likely to be in general. If they are happy to chat and talk you through their protocols, I would be a lot more optimistic than if they are dismissive, surly or ignore you completely.

theFlash

The farm is South East of the property, distance 1.16km/3795ft. The land is pretty flat between property and farm, with open fields and a few boundary hedges.

agrinnall

It's probably far enough, but a long time ago there was a chicken farm nearer to my parents house than than that where the main nuisance was flies in hot summers, although smell was never a problem.

theFlash

Out of interest approx how far was that? I'm seeing newspaper articles where people have complained up to 300-400m away, but not finding too much publicly available for larger distances.

Forwandert

Don't think you'll have many issues with the smell on a day to day basis from the farm. The issue will be on the days they clean the sheds out usually by spreading the manure on the fields which potentially may be the 3795 ft between you and them.

AdrianC

I'm in the western edge of Herefordshire - fortunately, not so many chicken sheds around this area. Where are you looking? Golden Valleyish?

Yes, they can stink, but the thick end of a mile away, you should be OK. Also consider the HGV traffic to them - those birds have to get in and out somehow... They don't (can't) spread the manure around the farm it comes from - but they can have agreements with other farms to "swap"...

If you want to PM me a link to the property, I'll see what I can add with a bit of localish knowledge.

CBeardsworth

My parents live next to a battery farm, I think they are about 1 km away, maybe less as the crow flies (it is two fields away!). I have never really noticed the smell throughout my entire childhood. When walking towards the sheds (I had a brief summer job there as a teenager) I guess it was only about 400 - 500 m away that you could smell it. Whatever the case, the occasional whiff of the country is sometimes just something you have to deal with, farmers spreading muck is worse than chicken sheds, but it doesn't last too long and is a necessary part of country life!

Carer

I'm on the Eastern edge of Herefordshire so if you would like to pm me the location too, if it's local to me I can see what knowledge there is that might be helpful.

theartfullodger

You'll get used to it after a week:. i.e. roughly when you.become a vegetarian