The Ashburton District Council gave the 74-year-old one week to get rid of a flock of about 30 roosters after a neighbour complained about them crowing.
So as of Tuesday this week, he made sure there was not a single cock-a-doodle-doo from his one acre (0.4ha) section at Netherby.
Some of the roosters were put down, while others were given to breeders around the country.
"I miss them,’’ Russell said.
"I am to blame, I think, by having too many roosters," he said.
"People just throw them over the fence.
"They arrive here and they stay here until they die."
Bantams are smaller than standard chickens and do not crow as loud.
Often kept as pets, they come in a variety of colours and are known for their gentle natures.
For Russell, the members of his flock have been both pets and show birds.
He referred to them affectionately as "balls of fluff".
He did not hold any hard feelings against the unknown neighbour who had complained, as the roosters did start crowing at about 4am each day.
He had also been a bantam judge.
"This is my life," Russell said.
"I have got hundreds of ribbons."
Without any roosters he will no longer be able to breed bantams, so will have no birds to show.
"It’s been a wonderful career up to now, it’s the end of an era."
The relevant district council bylaw, adopted in 2016, states: "No person shall keep within or upon any premises any noisy animal, bird, or poultry which shall be or cause a nuisance to occupiers of other properties in the neighbourhood."
Russell has managed to keep the roosters on his section as no one had complained until now.
He still has about 20 bantams, all female.
