by Chris Tobin
Two peacocks and four guinea fowl are making life hell for a Temuka couple and their neighbours.
For six months the birds have been treating Pat and Brenda Healey’s home in John Bull Pl as their own.
Most days the peacocks come in and out as they please, wandering around the Healeys’ property, perching on the roof and making a racket as they clamber over it.
“It’s like a hobnail boot man up there,” Mrs Healey said, explaining how the peacocks sound when they are on the roof.
Before departure, the peacocks leave their calling cards all over the lawn and roof.
The Healeys are not happy, nor are their neighbours, who have been similarly affected.
“We’ve come to breaking point,” Mr Healey said.
“They’ve lovely birds but they’re out of control – they’re tormenting us.”
“They say having peacocks is karma and good luck [but] not to us,” Mrs Healey said.
When the Courier visited, the two peacocks, male and female, were making themselves at home on the neighbour’s property.
One bird pranced boldly around the back lawn while the other surveyed the surrounding scene from the roof. When they were approached, the pair took fright and flew off to their owner’s property over the road from the Healeys.
The Healeys have tried to explain their plight to the owners, but said they were unsympathetic. The Courierwas unable to locate the owner.
“All her partner said was ‘they’ve got their freedom’.”
Freedom, said the Healeys, to drive the neighbours to their wit’s end.
“If the owner has got no control she should give them away,” Mr Healey said.
