Cock Blocked

A photo taken of the rooster in front of 579 Myrtle.

A rooster that has been spotted on Myrtle Avenue in Pine Hills over the past two weeks was caught this morning thanks to a joint effort between Animal Control and Kyle Madden and Daniel Curtis of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association (PHNA).

The rooster was first seen on the morning of April 16 on Myrtle between Quail and S. Lake, but had disappeared by the time Animal Control arrived. Residents of the area could hear the rooster crowing each morning, sometimes as early as 5 AM.

"I'm looking forward to sleeping a little better," Curtis wrote in an e-mail to PHNA.

It was Madden who spotted the rooster at around 11 this morning while on the way to his car and to meet Curtis. The rooster was behind some bushes and "almost sleeping" according to Madden, who called Animal Control.

"We chased it around a several-house radius for around 10 minutes or so," Madden said, "before we were finally able to put a big net over it and catch it."

How the rooster came to reside in Pine Hills is still unknown.

"It's very unclear," Madden said. "I've heard some rumors that there's been some frats that are required as part of initiation to steal one and maybe they had done it and then just dropped it off. It's kind of a mystery."

Curtis assured residents that the rooster would not be "destroyed," but will place the rooster in a more appropriate home.

"They're going to make some calls and try and give it to somebody who can use it," Madden said, "instead of having it play around the neighborhood."

Despite the early-morning wake up calls, residents of the area said that they will miss the rooster and had begun to refer to the rooster as the "Myrtle Ave. Mascot."

"It's been the running joke of the neighborhood for several weeks now," Madden said.

Comments

[Leah Golby]

I left a message on the Animal Control phone number yesterday after seeing Dan's email about the rooster being captured. I was hoping to learn where the rooster ends up going. I put in a plug for Indian Ladder Farms as a possible new home, because then my daughter and I would actually visit the rooster -- though the Normanskill farm would be even better!

[Barry]

They should drop it off at 188 Jay St. We love chickens and roosters! And we are always up by 5 am anyway!

[Martin]

I'll miss the feisty little guy for sure. The 5am wake-ups were worth the excitement of having a rooster patrolling the block.