Don’t Let Santa Cruz Erase 100 Years of Tradition — Protect Our Family’s Roosters and the History of Live Oak
My name is Maya McCrea, and my family has lived in Live Oak since before the Great Depression. My great-grandparents owned five acres on 17th Avenue, but when the Depression hit, they lost that land and walke down to Portola, then only a train track, with only what they could carry and their five children. At 2201 Portola, they found an abandoned chicken coop, fixed it up, and lived inside it while they built the home that still stands today. From the very beginning, the eggs from those chickens fed our family and kept them going. For nearly a century, roosters have been part of our land, our livelihood, and our story. Even my dad, Danny McCrea, when he was about 8 years old, was recognized in the Santa Cruz Sentinel when his hen laid an extraordinary egg, so large it was featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not and came close to breaking the world record. Now those traditions are being passed down to my kids. One rooster in particular, named Owl, is my oldest son’s pet. He has cared for Owl, loved him, and taken responsibility for him. But because of a single complaint, the County is telling us we must get rid of him. This fight is about more than just our family. It’s about protecting the rural character and history of Live Oak, where farming, chickens, and roosters have always been part of the soundscape and community. If we lose this, we lose a piece of what makes Live Oak unique. Please help us protect our history, our community, and my son’s beloved pet rooster, Owl.
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
August 30, 2025
108 Comments
I live in the Morrissey area. I used to hear a rooster every morning when I would jump online to work at 6 AM. Loved hearing him. My guess is someone complained and now he’s gone. Hope your son is able to keep Owl. He is absolutely a very handsome rooster.
I run a rooster sanctuary. Roosters have value as sentient beings. If you ban roosters you are discriminating against them just for being male. You are also denying families the right to feed themselves. This is the worst type of government oversight. We should be into supporting a families self sufficiency
The song of a pet rooster is preferable to illegal fireworks, barking dogs and traffic noise. Please allow rooster to stay in our neighborhood.
Born at the old Domincan Hospital in 1948 and raised in Santa Cruz. Lived at the McCrea family homestead where we always had chickens, including a rooster.
as a 5th generation native & senior citizen who lives in Live Oak, I would rather hear roosters than traffic or boom boxes any day or night. Please support this family’s multigenerational poultry business. Do not force them to give up their roosters!
California is supposed to be so hip and compassionate about animals but here you are harming them! Please! Please! Please! Do no harm! Stop the madness of harming these chickens/roosters and eradicate your need to put a rule on everything. Thank you.
Save the roosters!
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Don’t Let Santa Cruz Erase 100 Years of Tradition — Protect Our Family’s Roosters and the History of Live Oak
My name is Maya McCrea, and my family has lived in Live Oak since before the Great Depression. My great-grandparents owned five acres on 17th Avenue, but when the Depression hit, they lost that land and walke down to Portola, then only a train track, with only what they could carry and their five children. At 2201 Portola, they found an abandoned chicken coop, fixed it up, and lived inside it while they built the home that still stands today. From the very beginning, the eggs from those chickens fed our family and kept them going. For nearly a century, roosters have been part of our land, our livelihood, and our story. Even my dad, Danny McCrea, when he was about 8 years old, was recognized in the Santa Cruz Sentinel when his hen laid an extraordinary egg, so large it was featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not and came close to breaking the world record. Now those traditions are being passed down to my kids. One rooster in particular, named Owl, is my oldest son’s pet. He has cared for Owl, loved him, and taken responsibility for him. But because of a single complaint, the County is telling us we must get rid of him. This fight is about more than just our family. It’s about protecting the rural character and history of Live Oak, where farming, chickens, and roosters have always been part of the soundscape and community. If we lose this, we lose a piece of what makes Live Oak unique. Please help us protect our history, our community, and my son’s beloved pet rooster, Owl.
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
August 30, 2025
108 Comments
There were chickens & roosters on the adjacent properties when I moved here in 1989, and they are gone now. I miss hearing the roosters! The sound of the roosters, the waves and occasionally the sea lions - how lucky I felt to live in Santa Cruz.
I live in the Morrissey area. I used to hear a rooster every morning when I would jump online to work at 6 AM. Loved hearing him. My guess is someone complained and now he’s gone. Hope your son is able to keep Owl. He is absolutely a very handsome rooster.
I run a rooster sanctuary. Roosters have value as sentient beings. If you ban roosters you are discriminating against them just for being male. You are also denying families the right to feed themselves. This is the worst type of government oversight. We should be into supporting a families self sufficiency
The song of a pet rooster is preferable to illegal fireworks, barking dogs and traffic noise. Please allow rooster to stay in our neighborhood.
Born at the old Domincan Hospital in 1948 and raised in Santa Cruz. Lived at the McCrea family homestead where we always had chickens, including a rooster.
as a 5th generation native & senior citizen who lives in Live Oak, I would rather hear roosters than traffic or boom boxes any day or night. Please support this family’s multigenerational poultry business. Do not force them to give up their roosters!
California is supposed to be so hip and compassionate about animals but here you are harming them! Please! Please! Please! Do no harm! Stop the madness of harming these chickens/roosters and eradicate your need to put a rule on everything. Thank you.
Save the roosters!
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There were chickens & roosters on the adjacent properties when I moved here in 1989, and they are gone now. I miss hearing the roosters! The sound of the roosters, the waves and occasionally the sea lions - how lucky I felt to live in Santa Cruz.