Travis, the rooster who 'found his voice,' rescued from stew pot

A noisy neighbour can betricky.

So when Travis, a baby chick,started to crow from his Fredericton home earlier in the summer,Pamela Mowbray knew she had to do something about it.

"I had to make sure that he wasn't singing to the neighbourhood," the chick'sowner said.

At first, Mowbray found the squeaky sound to be quite adorable.

And then it grewlouder.

"One morning, he totally found his voicelike a month early," she said.

Immediately, she jumped out of bed, ran outside, grabbed Travis andbrought him inside.

Travis is a serama rooster, meaning he's a pretty small bird.

But in the city, his voice was anything but small.

"He was just getting louder and louder."

Every time the sun came up, Travis got up too. And Mowbray was worried neighbours wouldcomplain.

"I was like, 'Oh my god, he's not stopping,'"

Pet roosters are illegal in Fredericton

Mowbray initially bought Travis as a gift for her nine-year-old son, Riott, who had been working hard on hisschoolwork during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the end of June, she bought Travis at Feather Patch Farm in Perth-Andover, along with three other chicks Tiny Diamond, Clara and Kimmy.

"Out of them all, we really bonded with Travis," Mowbraysaid. "He was our favourite."

They bought the four chicks when they were just two days old, anddidn't know whether thefarm animals were male or female.

So they bought an extra chick, just in case one turned out to be arooster.

About three weeks in, Travis started developing his comb.

According to a special provision,a maximum of three hens can be kept per Fredericton household.

Roosters are prohibited.

Shasta Stairs, a spokesperson for the City of Fredericton, said hens are permitted because theycan lay fresh eggs.

"Since roosters don't lay eggs, they are not permitted," she said.

Secondly, the "unpredictable nature and noise level of their crow" is another reason residents aren't allowed to have pet roosters in the city.

Mowbray knew right away that Travis had to go.

Weeks of rejection

In the meantime, sheput a curtain overthe homemade coop that sat in her backyard, so Traviswouldn't know it was light out.

And before she headed to work every morning, Mowbray had to put Travis in the basement so the neighbours wouldn't hear.

His daytime home consisted of a large container filled with food and straw. She put chicken wire over top so Travis couldn't get out and roam the house and dirty the floor.

"They poop so much," she said. "They're pooping machines."

When she came home, Mowbray would put him back outside with the girls.

Travis didn't crow often. But when he did, it lasted about 20 or 30 minutes.

One's enough

Mowbray's quest for a new home started a few weeks after shebrought him home.

"Going into this, I didn't realize how hard it would be to get rid of a rooster."

She looked all over the region for someone who would takeTravis. She called about 10 people, including a farm and petting zoo.

But no one wanted him.

"Everybody was like, 'No way, I don't want a rooster.'"

Many of the people she called already owned a rooster, and it can become problematic if a new one is introduced.

Some roosters can also be quite aggressive.

"I was like, 'Oh, great. Now I have this rooster in the city that I cannot get rid of.'"

The fateful stew pot

Finally, one family agreed to take him on one condition.

"They told me he would end up in the stew pot."

The couple already owned a rooster and eat a lot of their own stock.

Mowbray even loaded Travis up in a crate and drove nearly 200 kilometres to Perth-Andover, thinking she could change their minds.

But it was no use.

You can't not love a rooster named Travis.- Starr Bishop

"Logical brain was like, 'Pam you have to let this rooster go' but my emotional brain was like, 'Oh my gosh, my son. He would be devastated.'"

But the near-fatal visit eventually led Mowbray to Starr Bishop in Lower Kintore, a settlement about 14 kilometres south of Perth-Andover.

Bishop's family is known for rescuing birds no one wants including roosters.

"We don't want them to be eaten," Bishop said.

And she felt bad for Mowbray's son Riott, who was "super in love" with his pet rooster.

So Bishoptook him.

Travis 'the head of state'

Travis, who has been living with Bishop since September, has really adapted to his new life in rural New Brunswick.

Bishophas two ducks, who think Travis is "the head of state" and follow him everywhere.

She also has five hens, which Bishoprefers to as Travis's girlfriends.

"They're in love."

Even Beetlejuice, the family cat, spends his day chasing Travis around the yard.

At night, Travissleeps in his own coop in the garage. And throughout the day, he's free to roam around outside.

But he usually sits perched on the TV antenna his favourite spot.

And whenever one of thefive kids wants to hold Travis, he never flies away.

A 'little rooster miracle'

Although Travis's departure was difficult for Mowbray and her son, they still get Travis updates on Facebook.

"Now Travis is living the life," said Mowbray. "It's like a little rooster miracle."

As for his crow, Bishop said it's about a tenthof aregular rooster's crowand lower than normal.

But he uses his voiceabout every five minutes.

"You can't not love a rooster named Travis."