SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Those adorable balls of fluff and feathers that were so irresistible at Easter can become a backyard chicken fancier’s worst nightmare when four months later, one starts crowing.
With most California cities and even some counties restricting backyard chickens and banning roosters outright, there are few options for people who suddenly find themselves with a rooster in the hen house, says Ariana Huemer, director of Felton’s Hen Harbor rescue in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Some people have turned to desperate measures, dumping the birds in parks, abandoning them along the roadside or taking steps to de-crow the cock-a-doodle-doer. And the problem is on the rise.
