Looking for a place to roost: DuPage County Animal Services needs homes for 19 roosters
As Molly German made her way from Wheaton to a 5-acre farm in Marseilles, her travel partner could not stop cooing.
Noisy Hiro was one of two roosters adopted Friday from DuPage County Animal Services. Since March, the agency has worked to adopt out more than 80 birds, including hens, pigeons and roosters, taken from a property in Lemont following an animal wellness check. The roosters showed signs that they were being prepped for fighting, and a 41-year-old man has been charged with cruelty to animals.
German, who moved from Lombard to Marseilles last year, found out about the birds after several of her suburban friends tagged her in posts about a group of roosters at DuPage County Animal Services. She already has hens and other animals.
While all of the DuPage shelter's hens and pigeons have been adopted, 19 roosters still needed a place to roost as of Friday afternoon.
"Our hope is that we can find placement for all of them," said Laura Flamion, operations manager for DuPage County Animal Services. "But it's not realistic to indefinitely house animals who are hard to place."
The roosters have been housed in dog kennels at animal services since early April. With more dogs on the way, DuPage County Animal Services had set a deadline of Monday to adopt out all the roosters. Roosters that were not adopted by Monday would be humanely euthanized, they said.
However, Flamion said the agency likely will extend the deadline given the number of calls it had received Friday, including from a sanctuary in Pennsylvania and a farm in Georgia expressing interest.
The roosters were put in the agency's custody following an animal wellness check for a dog in Lemont. Flamion said spurs, or a roosters' back toes, had been removed, a sign that they might have been used for fighting. Spurs are removed so weapons can be attached to their legs. Many roosters also were missing the comb on top of their heads, Flamion said.
Uriel Perez, 41, faces five misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals that were kept at a property on the 16W200 block of Jeans Road in Lemont, according to court documents. One of the charges alleges that Perez failed to provide humane care and treatment to 50 to 60 hens on the property. He also is charged with failing to provide humane care and treatment for two dogs.
Perez is scheduled to appear in DuPage County court on May 15. The investigation remains ongoing, authorities said.
While the hens and pigeons have all been adopted, the roosters are more difficult to place. Their loud crows often make them unwelcome pets in many communities.
One, named Timmy, is headed to a 2-acre property in Oswego, where he will rule the roost with eight hens. New owner Teresa Pickett took her time choosing Timmy, visiting with several of the roosters, talking to them and offering them chicken scratch and meal worms to see how they interacted with her.
"I'm looking for one that's big enough that won't get bullied by my hens," she said.
Pickett, who has kept chickens on her property for several years, has acted as the protector of her hens, running outside to warn them of other animals in the area and gathering them together throughout the day.
"I'm hoping Timmy will take over my job," she said with a smile.
As for Hiro, he was set up in a small cage next to the hens when he arrived in Marseilles. Like Timmy, he will be slowly introduced into the flock, but so far all indicators are good.
"He seems pretty happy," German said. "He cooed up the females ... he already likes them."
• To find out more about the roosters available for adoption, visit dupagecounty.gov and click the "adopt an animal" icon.