A BEMUSED family of chicken-lovers fear their “handsome” countryside cockerel may have to be rehomed after complaints were made about his enthusiastic crowing.

Annabel Mutch, 23, lives in a rural part of Brightlingsea with her fiancé Joe Dines, 23, and their one-year-old daughter.

Last year the pair decided to hatch their own chickens as they wanted their daughter to grow up around some feathered friends - just as they had done when they were young.

The family instantly became attached to a French Blue Copper Maran, due to its upbeat personality and affectionate nature.

Gazette:

Annabel, who decided to call him Blu, said: “He would fall asleep on us and snuggle in and give us the best cuddles, which he still does to this day.

“Once he was a bit older, we realised he was a cockerel, but despite this we were going to keep him - we could not part with him, he just has the best personality.

“Our daughter has already got such a caring nature and loves the chickens dearly and Blu has become more than a chicken to us, he is apart of our family.”

Since their flock of chickens hatched, however, Annabel and her family’s joy has turned to sadness and uncertainty following a noise complaint.

The dispute, which started due to Blu’s regular crowing during the early hours of the morning, was first resolved after Annabel took action to mitigate the noise by shutting the birds up at night so Blu was not tempted to announce dawn rising so vigorously.

Shortly after, however, the same person who had lodged the initial complaint raised the issue again resulting in the family being served a notice by Tendring Council.

Annabel added: “We were still doing our best, but we are only human and sometimes we forgot to shut them up at night - it happens.

“We do not live in a city where I would understand it being a nuisance, but if you choose to live in the countryside, surely it is to be expected?

“You can hear the birds singing in the early hours of the morning, so why can’t a cockerel crow? This is nature.”

Gazette:

The second complaint has now been suspended after the family agreed to take Blu into their home at night-time, but Annabel has now launched a petition with the hope of changing the law. In the UK, a crowing cockerel is recognised as a noise nuisance.

Annabel is hopeful of success, however, after Maurice, a noisy rooster in France, was given the go-ahead to continue doing his thing after his owner won a court case.

Annabel added: “We love having our own chickens, especially as it’s great for our daughter.

“We have spoken to many of our neighbours and everyone who we’ve spoken to has said they don’t mind the noise or they hadn’t even noticed that we had him. We could have had to re-home him or risk being taken to court or fined.

“So my aim for this petition is to try and change the law regarding cockerels in the countryside, because they should not be classed as a nuisance.”

To follow the petition visit tinyurl.com/at5k3fwd.