Realtors say roosters taking over Phoenix neighborhood deterring potential buyers

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — There are chickens and roosters all over yards and even some roofs in one Valley neighborhood. Many residents in the area say they enjoy it, but a real estate agent says it could be impacting home values.

For years, chickens and roosters have been roaming the neighborhood south of the Biltmore area, and they seem to be multiplying. The city of Phoenix says they have not received any recent complaints, but a realtor here in the Valley says selling there has been a challenge.

If you take a drive through the neighborhood of 34th Street and Earll, you will find roosters, chickens and even peacocks all over people’s yards, on roofs, and even crossing the streets. “I’ve been here 50 years the chickens were here before me,” resident Andrew Trombetta said. He explains why he believes the birds are still in the area. “Before the houses were built there were four farms and they had the chickens and let them run loose and once the houses were built the chickens were still there,” he said.

The city of Phoenix says because the birds are feral and have no ownership claims, there is no code they can enforce. Arizona Game and Fish says the free-range birds are out of their jurisdiction.

While most neighbors seem to enjoy their presence, realtor Sacha Blanchet says selling homes in the neighborhood has been challenging. “Every time I was going to show the house, all my plants were pulled by the chickens,”

He says some buyers don’t mind the birds, but others are turned off by the noise and smell. “There’s probably a 10-20% correction on the value based on what I’ve seen in that particular neighborhood because of that,” realtor Sacha Blanchet said.

“It’s fun for the kids, for everyone,” said Michael Arrizon, who has lived in the area for eight years. “People drive around and feed them like a drive-by zoo.” For Arrizon, he says it’s what makes their neighborhood unique. “We saw them when we moved in and we are ok with it,” Arrizon said. “We have to clean the driveway whenever the kids want to play, there is poop everywhere, but it’s part of living here.”

Neighbors we spoke with say there have been several incidents where people tried to steal the chickens, but no one has succeeded.