Cock-a-doodle-DON’T: Brick Township bans neighborhood backyard roosters after noise complaints
Brick Township leaders say complaints about the crowing roosters are the second highest to police and code enforcement but are hard to track down.
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Bringing roosters into Brick Township neighborhoods is now banned.
It comes as police and code enforcement respond to mounting noise complaints.
It’s a wake-up call that is driving some Brick Township locals nuts, and a councilman to laughter.
“When I read this, I was like, roosters? Really? I didn’t even know this was a problem,” said Brick Township councilman Gregory Cohen during a recent meeting.
“Yes. Councilman Cohen, it is funny until you’re woken up at 5 a.m. and you hear them all day,” said a frustrated resident in response.
Brick Township leaders say complaints about the crowing roosters are the second highest to police and code enforcement but are hard to track down.
“I’ve never heard a rooster, and they should have more important things to worry about,” said Mike Smith, a resident of the Lake Riviera section of town where some of the complaints originated.
If you live in Brick Township and you already own roosters and they’re properly housed, you can keep them. The ordinance council passed last week only bans *new* roosters in residential neighborhoods.
So where did the roosters come from?
A resident sent News 12 photos of his enclosure and said the roosters are for protection from dangerous predators, like foxes and hawks and have served that purpose well.
Allaire Community Farm co-founder JoAnn Burney says many roosters were mistakenly identified as hens when purchased as chicks during a COVID-19 boom for home-grown eggs.
As more towns ban them, Burney says more owners are giving their roosters up.
“What we get probably four to five times a week are people wanting us to take their roosters. They say, ‘We have backyard chickens, but the neighbors are complaining, or the town is complaining, can you take our roosters,’” says Burney.
People will likely hear roosters in Brick Township neighborhoods for at least a few more years. Most can live up to eight years under proper care.
