Russell Smith of Ashburton has had a sad and sudden end to his life-long career of showing bantams.
The district council gave the 74-year-old one week to get rid of a flock of about 30 roosters after a neighbour complained about them crowing.
So as of Tuesday this week, he made sure there was not a single cock-a-doodle-doo from his oneacre section at Netherby.
Some of the roosters were put down, others given to breeders around the country. ‘‘I miss them,’’ Russell said. ‘‘I am to blame I think, by having too many roosters,’’ he said. One of the reasons he had so many, was people would often dump them at his front gate. ‘‘People just throw them over the fence. They arrive here and they stay here until they die.’’ Bantams are smaller than standard chickens, and do not crow as loud. Often kept as pets, they come in a variety of colours and are known for their gentle natures.
For Russell, the members of his flock have been both pets and show birds. He referred to them affectionately as ‘‘balls of fluff’’.
He did not hold any hard feelings against the unknown neighbour who had complained, as the roosters did start crowing at about 4am each day.
He had bred and showed bantams since the age of 10, all around New Zealand. He had also been a bantam judge. ‘‘This is my life,’’ Russell said.
‘‘I have got hundreds of ribbons.’’
Without any roosters, he would no longer be able to breed bantams, so would have no birds to show.
‘‘It’s been a wonderful career up to now, it’s the end of an era.’’
The relevant district council bylaw, adopted in 2016, says ‘‘No person shall keep within or upon any premises any noisy animal, bird, or poultry which shall be or cause a nuisance to occupiers of other properties in the neighbourhood’’.
Russell has managed to have the roosters on his section as no-one complained until now.
He still has about 20 bantams, all female.
