Giant metal roosters spread autism acceptance in Maine after town zoning spat

Giant metal roosters spread autism-acceptance" class="entity-link entity-topic" data-entity-id="170358" data-entity-type="topic">autism acceptance in Maine after town zoning spat 1 of 5 | Beach-goers pass by a large tin rooster set up outside a motel in solidarity with a young girl with autism in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 2 of 5 | Tin roosters flank Rte. 1 in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 3 of 5 | David LeBlanc sets up a rooster in front of the Memorial Library in Ogunquit, Maine, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 4 of 5 | A tin rooster stands outside the Wells-moody-motel" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="170356" data-entity-type="organization">Wells Moody Motel in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 5 of 5 | A large tin rooster stands alongside Main Street as a sign of solidarity for a young girl with autism in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 1 of 5 | Beach-goers pass by a large tin rooster set up outside a motel in solidarity with a young girl with autism in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 1 of 5 Beach-goers pass by a large tin rooster set up outside a motel in solidarity with a young girl with autism in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | Tin roosters flank Rte. 1 in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 2 of 5 Tin roosters flank Rte. 1 in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | David LeBlanc sets up a rooster in front of the Memorial Library in Ogunquit, Maine, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 3 of 5 David LeBlanc sets up a rooster in front of the Memorial Library in Ogunquit, Maine, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | A tin rooster stands outside the Wells-moody-motel" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="170356" data-entity-type="organization">Wells Moody Motel in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 4 of 5 A tin rooster stands outside the Wells-moody-motel" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="170356" data-entity-type="organization">Wells Moody Motel in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | A large tin rooster stands alongside Main Street as a sign of solidarity for a young girl with autism in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) 5 of 5 A large tin rooster stands alongside Main Street as a sign of solidarity for a young girl with autism in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Ogunquit, Maine (AP) — Giant metal roosters are popping up on lawns in and around a community in southern Maine and as far away as New Zealand in support of a 6-year-old autistic girl and her love of the colorful creations.David and Sara LeBlanc had a rotating display of the roughly 6-foot-tall (1.8-meter-tall) ornaments decorating their Ogunquit lawn until officials in the small coastal town deemed them to be impermissible advertising for their attached restaurant, The Omelette Factory. The couple initially resisted the town’s removal order, insisting the roosters were meant to comfort their daughter Pyper, not advertise their business. Tin roosters flank Rte. 1 in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Tin roosters flank Rte. 1 in Wells, Maine, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share “Roosters don’t lay eggs,” David LeBlanc told The Associated Press on Wednesday.But they eventually came to an agreement with the town allowing them to keep two of the roosters in front of their home.As for what to do with the others? That’s where friends, neighbors and complete strangers came in. It started with a beloved stuffed roosterThe LeBlancs took in Pyper as a foster child and later adopted her. She arrived with a stuffed rooster and roosters became her favorite animal, her parents said. When her father took her to a Tractor Supply Store to play with baby chicks last year, she noticed a large rooster sculpture for sale and asked her dad what it was saying.