The article in your August 23 issue advised that Qualicum Beach council voted in favour of referring a bylaw amendment on backyard chickens to the Select Committee on Environment and Sustainability.
We have lived on the same street in Qualicum Beach for over 20 years, and several years ago our next door neighbour suddenly put up a wire screen chicken coop.
Next thing we noticed was she had about four bantam chickens; and one was a rooster. Every morning we were woken by the rooster crowing from 3 a.m. to after
7 a.m. We talked with the neighbour and she advised that permission was given to her to have the chickens. We put up with this for several weeks but finally we had enough of this noise.
A complaint was lodged with Qualicum Beach town hall, and they in turn advised our neighbour to get rid of the rooster.
Well shortly thereafter, the crowing commenced. Now how was that possible? As it turns out hens can mimic a rooster and sound like a rooster.
So once again we complained to the town. Our next-door neighbour was advised to get rid of the chickens. And later on advised that she and her husband were also losing sleep because of the early morning noise.
So if you value your sleeping time, best voice your concerns now; or as an alternative, request your taxes be adjusted from residential to farm. Maybe your taxes will be lower.
I would suggest there are more important matters the council could be spending their time on instead of cock a doodle-do and feather dusting an old bylaw approval that should never be hatched again.
Wayne & Margery HamiltonQualicum Beach