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Chickens in Sin Ming have been accused of being too noisy again, Shin Min Daily News reported.

This time, a complainant claimed that some 20 chickens roaming the estate would crow in the mornings and evenings, sometimes at 3am.

Noisy at 3am

A 58-year-old housewife, identified only by her surname Xu, lives in Block 454 Sin Ming Avenue.

She shared that the number of chickens in the estate has grown to more than 20, and are affecting the quality of sleep residents get as they start crowing even before the sun rises.

She said: "Sometimes the chickens fly up to the trees and crow, and they do it even at 2am or 3am. It's useless to close the doors and windows. My daughter and husband have to get up early for work, and they often don't get enough sleep [because of the noise]."

Spent S$6,900 soundproofing windows

The resident revealed that she recently spent S$6,900 to install soundproof windows in two bedrooms.

Although the crowing of chickens is still audible as the sound travels through the house from the living room window, it has stopped affecting the family's quality of sleep.

Shin Min visited the estate and found more than 10 chickens roaming around, but added that they are wary of people.

A 67-year-old resident in the estate said the chickens can be heard crowing in the middle of the night and have woken her grandson up, who then had to be coaxed back to sleep.

Another 70-year-old resident, who lives in the block across the road, added that the noise can be heard even from where she lives.

Not all bothered

Xu told Shin Min some residents are not bothered by the presence of the chickens.

She is aware that they feel chickens are reminiscent of their days of living in the kampung, and that humans should leave them alone.

However, Xu maintained that they should put themselves in affected residents' shoes too.

Most of the residents interviewed expressed their hope that the relevant authorities would approach the situation in a measured way.

Measures taken so far

A National Parks Board investigation in March 2022 showed there were 69 chickens in the area, up from 50 in 2017.

This was despite the culling of 24 chickens from the estate in 2017.

Currently, various groups have come together to address the issue.

The different bodies include NParks, Thomson Sin Ming Court Residents' Committee, Acres (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society), and Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council.

So far, the measures taken by the team include placing umbrella-shaped nets on trees to prevent chickens from roosting there, and regularly picking up eggs in the area to avoid over-breeding.

The authorities have also appealed to the public not to feed chickens indiscriminately.

There are signs located on the ground floor of the flats to remind the public that feeding of chickens is prohibited.

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Top photo via Shin Min Daily News