Brian Ross said he had returned from two days away on Boxing Day to discover his 4-year-old rooster had been left traumatised by the actions of apparently drunken youths who plucked the cock's tail feathers.
''We believe it happened between 24 minutes past midnight and 1am on Christmas morning. Our neighbours heard people yahooing at the time.''
Mr Ross said the whole of the rooster's tail had been plucked, which would have caused the bird a lot of pain.
''They have pulled the whole lot out one by one, and we are not talking about small feathers.
The rooster had previously been happy to be around people, but was now frightened of humans, he said.
''He's not a happy chappy.''
Police in Otematata said they had no suspects for the incident, but Detective Warren Duncan said anyone with information should contact either the Kurow or Otematata police stations.
