Orakei roosters ruffling residents' feathers

The Auckland City Council is working on plans to fix a frustrating fowl problem in Orakei.

Pippa Sommerville, Orakei parks advisor, said local iwi Ngati Whatua put a group of chickens at the bottom of Kepa Road on their land by the roundabout as a form of weed control for the wandering jew weed.

“Obviously since they were put there they’ve been having a great old time, they’ve bred and laid eggs, and more chickens have appeared,” said Ms Sommerville.

With the numbers increasing, some of the chickens were re-homed last year, but no chicken sanctuaries will take in roosters so they are looking into solutions for the issue, said Ms Sommerville.

“We might be looking at some kind of cull of the roosters,” she explained.

Local resident Sue de Boer said she has complained to the council because the chickens have begun to migrate up to neighbouring properties.

“It’s becoming a neighborhood nuisance. It’s not funny being woken at three [in the morning], and when you get to your late 60s as I am, you don’t go back to sleep again,” said Ms de Boer.

Ms de Boer hopes to start a petition to remove the chickens and roosters with the support of other local residents who are being kept awake by the "constant crowing" at night.

“Frustration is quite a mild term at the moment for how I feel about the chickens,” said Ms de Boer.

Shane McNeil, an Auckland Council parks ranger, said they want to remove the roosters from the group as humanely as possible, and are looking into options like sleep medication or alcohol.

“In that regard they might be able to be gathered up more easily if they’re drunk, so to speak,” said Mr McNeil.

Desley Simpson, Orakei Local Board chairperson, said it is a difficult issue because the chickens are successfully getting rid of the weeds.

“Obviously the noise is proving to be a bit of a concern for some residents, and from a purely animal welfare perspective there’s no fencing and they’re not kept contained in an area that’s safe for themselves,” said Ms Simpson.

Parks and Auckland Transport have not raised the issue with the local board, said Ms Simpson.

Ngati Whatua did not respond to calls for comment on the matter.

Rooster complaints can be directed to the Auckland Council Call Centre on 09 301 0101.