BENNETT, Colo. — Colorado has a bird problem — so much so that a rescue group is offering $4,000 to anyone that helps convict someone who intentionally abandons a rooster.
Jewel Johnson is the founder of Rooster Sanctuary at Danzig's Roost in Bennett. She told 9NEWS the boom of backyard chickens has an unexpected consequence: abandoned roosters, because baby chicks are hard to gender.
Four months after they're purchased, they mature and start to crow. That's when the calls come in.
"It's always the same, like I said, you know, 'We purchased these chicks in the spring, it's August and now he's crowing, we legally can't have them, can you help me?'" Johnson recalled.
But not all people call, and others take it upon themselves to try and rehome the roosters.
Back in September, Johnson said she got a call about a rooster dumped near 32nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard in Denver. She found a roughly 4-month-old male bird near a busy street. She took him in and called him Steve.
"He's lucky, as unlucky as he is to be thrown out like trash, but it's another one," she said. "It's a problem we really can't keep up with."
Roosters are illegal in the city of Denver — so are male ducks, also known as drakes, and intact goats. So when a family hoping for eggs gets a noise complaint instead, there aren't many options.
The reality is that the rescues can't afford to take them all in. Johnson currently has 90 roosters and dozens of other birds. She hopes those in Denver looking to farm their own food do something else.
"Yeah, grow a garden," Johnson said. "People need to ask what’s happening with those male birds, that’s millions of birds."
Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary, another rescue, said there are certain times of year where they get five calls every single day, and they know at least one of those people reaching out will likely end up dumping their rooster.
"It’s a widespread problem, every year we end up with rooster who have been dumped in cities, in parks, in wildlife areas, places that they don’t belong and can’t thrive," said Andrea Davis, the director of Broken Shovels. "Everyone thinks that their situation is completely unique that they’re the only ones that accidentally got a rooster, and really we’ve got 2,000 requests every single year."
Anyone found with a rooster in the city of Denver will likely get a citation.
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