From: John Bendel jrbendel@gmail.com
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2021 4:22 PM
To: Health health@framinghamma.gov
Cc: Christine A. Long clong@framinghamma.gov
Subject: Pet Rooster
Hello:
I understand that the Health Department has jurisdiction on chickens, so if this is not the case,
please forward it to the appropriate department/person.
Will try to keep this brief, but its convoluted:
1.) Got a 6 Chicken license from Framingham, picked up 6 one day old “Hen” chicks a few weeks
later.
2.) After some denial, with the start of “crowing” reached the conclusion that chicken “Tomas Hertl” was a rooster (all named after Hockey players)
3.) At this point, we looked into relocating the rooster, as well as checking with neighbors on noise issues to determine how quickly we needed to get rid of him.
4.) What we found:
A.) No one wants a rooster …They apparently don’t taste good, and Chicken farms don’t want
them because roosters fight each other.
B.) The 2nd surprise: All the neighbors love him… “don’t get rid of Hertl, we love him”,
“Whenever we hear him, we smile” is the common response. Some like to discuss how his “voice” has evolved. (we live in the northwest of Framingham, so population is not dense)
6.) At this point we proceeded with “No Harm, No Foul”.. no pun intended.
5.) I understand Framingham has issues with roosters, so I ‘d like to address some points:
A.) Cock Fighting – A non issue here … feel free to check with the coop inspector… he knows these
chickens are set up as pets and living well.
B.) Noise: If one neighbor complains about noise, I’ll be the first to have him removed, which
sadly means he will probably have to be “put down”.
C.) Hatching Chicks – eggs are removed daily, no Hens want to hatch them and we do not want
any more chickens.
D.) I am unaware of any public health issues with respect to roosters that do not apply to Hens.
Suggested Solution
A.) Put Hertl on house arrest and if there are any neighborhood complaints, we will get rid of him.
B.) I have a Coop Camera, so that Framingham may monitor him at all times (I can supply current
login / password if requested … a neighbor already uses it)
C.) Chickens are never let out unless under supervision, and that will not change.
Conclusion
It would be sad to destroy a beautiful animal that is not endangering or harming anyone. In fact he
guards the hens against predators and has defended a Hen from a hawk attack (it was amazing how fast the Hawk came down splitting the trees… I was about 15 ft away).
Winter is setting in, chickens will be in their coop and I hope the city can understand and allow Hertl to live per the above suggestion or something similar.
Hertl standing guard:
image.png
Best regards,
John Bendel
From: John Bendel
To: Robin E. Williams
Cc: Jacqueline Mature-Hill; Noelia L. Valdez; Christine A. Long
Subject: Re: Pet Rooster
Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2021 1:13:39 PM
Attachments: image001.jpg
image002.png
Variance Request – 15 Parmenter.pdf
Hello Robin,
I have collected my neighbors’ signatures on Parmenter Rd, and would like to respectfully
request a variance to allow rooster Hertl to continue to reside at 15 Parmenter.
A pdf is attached, and can supply a hard copy with the actual sign up sheets, if you require.
It has been a hectic year for all, so would also like to wish you a very pleasant Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
John and Louise Bendel
15 Parmenter Rd
On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 4:32 PM Robin E. Williams rwilliams@framinghamma.gov wrote:
Hi John,
Thank you for submitting your variance request and information. The next Board of
Health (BOH) meeting is scheduled for December 14, 2021 at 7 pm via Zoom. During
this meeting, please present your variance request to the BOH including any
supporting information.
A week prior to the BOH meeting, I will send you the Zoom meeting information/link.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best Regards,
Robin
From: John Bendel jrbendel@gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2021 10:43 AM
To: Robin E. Williams rwilliams@framinghamma.gov
Subject: Re: Pet Rooster
All is well here, and hope the same with you.
I have 5 Hens and Hertl …. nobody goes looking for a rooster … we got 6 “1 day old” chicks from
Erickson’s in Acton sexed to be hens with the caveat that there was a 10% chance we could end up
with a rooster. … so we won!
After trying to find a place that would take him, I have learned there are actually quite a few
positives about having 1 rooster, although once Hertl “lives his life”, I don’t plan to get another, and that is why I wrote the variance specifically for Hertl.
Since this is a zoom call, I was planning to be the only one attending/presenting (Louise is working on the 14th). If I should pull in neighbors, please let me know.
Best regards,
John
