Chicken control proves success
A pest control firm nabs 130 feral birds around Hawaii Kai
An animal control company says it captured 130 feral chickens near the Hawaii Kai Park and Ride lot in four weeks after residents complained about crowing noise.
The city paid Waianae-based Action Pest Control/ Hawaii Bird Control and Netting $1,300 to get rid of the wild birds, said Dorothy DeTomaso of Action Pest Control. She said the chicken problem in Hawaii Kai appears to be under control.
Scratch feed was used to lure the chickens and two baby ducks into wire traps between late February and early this month. Most of the animals were taken to a Pearl City farm, DeTomaso said, and others were given away.
The roosters seem to thrive by the marina, where several eggs in nests were found during morning visits to the area. A sweep by Action Pest a few years ago netted some 60 chickens, DeTomaso said.
Residents told the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board last month they suspect chickens are proliferating by eating leftover food put out by cat caretakers and hiding behind bushes.
The Hawaii Game Breeders Association, which has a $40,500 city contract to trap wild chickens and solve disputes between bird owners and their neighbors, said it makes periodic visits to Hawaii Kai.
The association rounded up four roosters and two hens at the Park and Ride on Keahole Street about three weeks ago, said Bernie Panoncial, who runs the game breeders chicken-catching service with her husband and another couple. But she said her group, which sets up traps in residences and waits for homeowners to call when the animals are in, would have had to leave traps unattended for days for the Park and Ride job.
"Because it is in an open facility, we were not able to leave it there for 24 hours, because we've had so many of them stolen," said Panoncial.
The game breeders are not planning to bid for the chicken-catching contract when it goes up for renewal this summer, Panoncial said. Whoever wins the bid will also have to catch ducks, exotic birds and peacocks, all of which have become nuisances and will be added to the contract, according to the city.
Jeff Coelho, city director of Customer Services, said the city sometimes seeks help from other companies to deal with localized problems like the one in Hawaii Kai. Action Pest was hired by the city's Department of Transportation Services to remove as many chickens as possible, said Melvin Kaku, director of the department.
City Councilman Charles Djou, who represents Hawaii Kai and has unsuccessfully tried to ban chickens from urban Honolulu, said there appears to be a spike in nuisance complaints about feral roosters throughout Oahu.
"I hear this is a problem in a whole bunch of areas," he said. "They are zoned residential but are unfortunately being overrun by roosters."