It appears I owe someone an apology. From the SCMP:

A widow who shared her bed with a rooster for 2-1/2 years is heartbroken after she was forced to give it away because of complaints about its crowing..."I cried and cried for weeks," said the woman.

The former hospital worker still shares her one-bedroom flat with three ducks and two hens.

She said she bought the rooster, known as "Ah Lui", in the Aberdeen wet market for $25. After her husband's death just over three years ago, she started sharing her bed with the male chicken. "The rooster was very obedient and loyal," said the woman, who asked not to be named. "We used to sleep together but had different blankets.

According to Chinese tradition, a rooster could take on the spirit of a deceased husband or act as a proxy groom at a wedding if the real groom could not attend. But the woman said she did not think of Ah Lui as carrying her husband's spirit, she was simply very attached to him as a pet.

The woman said she had a daughter with whom she had not been in touch for more than 10 years. She said she treated her poultry "as my own children". The three ducks and two hens live in a small kitchen on a newspaper-covered floor. A strong odour hangs in the air.