Your Victoria Times Colonist

Urban rooster runs afoul of city bylaw
Family told to get rid of pet after neighbour complains
Matthew Kruchak, Times Colonist
Published: Monday, July 23, 2007

To teach his daughters life lessons, Bill Murphy bought them some chickens. But he didn't think the lessons learned would make them feel so bad.

The family keeps seven rare-breed hens in their backyard chicken coop. But they're not the problem - the rooster is.

Hens are allowed in city backyards but roosters are banned, according to section 37 of Victoria's Animal Control Bylaw.
The family knew that. But they've grown attached to P.D. (short for Play-Doh) and so have the neighbours on Pinewood Avenue - except one.

When Melissa Bauer, an animal control officer with the city, arrived at their door last week, Rachel couldn't believe someone lodged a complaint because nobody came by to say he was a bother. Bauer said they'd have to find P.D. a new coop and that she'd help them locate a new home.

"I was speechless, it didn't hit me for three days," said Rachel, 16, Bill's daughter. "It's like getting rid of a kid's puppy. It's the same deal."

Four years ago, Bill brought home day-old chicks. They were all supposed to be hens. They thought they were for four months until they realized P.D. was a rooster.

"He's a comfort object," Rachel said. P.D. became her favourite before she ever found out he was a rooster. "He was a runt."

Over the years they've only had two complaints about P.D.'s early-morning crowing, Bill said, and he did something about it. He built a stone foundation to the pen to muffle his early-morning calls. It worked, Bill said, because the neighbour who complained asked if they got rid of him a few months later. Since then, they haven't had any problems, he said, and neighbours don't seem to care. They enjoy hearing him crow.

"It's great to be in an urban setting and hear the rooster," said Becky Matthews, who enjoys the crowing from her garden. "I love him."

Joan Jones, who lives across the street from the Murphys, said her dog makes more noise.

"That rooster belongs in the neighbourhood," she said, her dog barking in the background. "This is a friendly neighbourhood and it contributes to the atmosphere."

The family's found a home for P.D. in Metchosin and will be taking him there next week.

"I'm surprised how much I'm attached to him," Rachel said. "You don't really know until he's taken away."