WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Residents in this small town in the Berkshires are taking sides over a crowing rooster, dubbed “The Hawk.”

And now the town’s Planning Board could hear from the bird itself.

Members of the board agreed to gather at 7 a.m. on June 8 at Amy Loveless’ home, when the Rhode Island red has been known to crow, the Berkshire Eagle reported.

Loveless’ neighbors have complained about the smell and about being awakened by the rooster’s clarion call.

More than 60 people, including a woman who climbed into a chicken suit to express her support for The Hawk, crowded into a Planning Board hearing Wednesday night on Loveless’ bid for a special permit allowing her to keep the rooster and 10 hens.

Loveless, a caterer who sometimes uses the eggs for her business, argued that keeping poultry helps to preserve the town’s rural character.

To accommodate her neighbors she has reduced her flock by more than half, including giving away a second rooster, and soundproofed her hen house, she said.

But neighbors said they can still hear the bird.

“I sleep with fans on to drown the noise in the morning,” said Tammy Cardillo, who lives across the road from Loveless.

Members of 10 families in the neighborhood have signed a petition opposing the permit, according to a lawyer hired by one neighbor.

Rather than make a decision, the Planning Board scheduled the visit, mainly to view the residential lot where Loveless keeps her chickens. But members are also hoping to hear for themselves whether the rooster is a nuisance. However, chairman Mitchell Greenwald cautioned that no conclusions could be drawn from a single visit.

AP-ES-05-27-04 1214EDT