Reading time: 5 minutes
How did the wild chickens of Hawaii and other states become wild? A combination of accident, incident and evolution.
If you want wherefree range chickens, of birds that don't live by fences or rules, visit one of the many warm states. Wikipedia reportsfacts about chickensand populations in California, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Hawaii, and several island states. And it is not the vulnerable chickens and spoiled chickens that we keep in our coops. These birds are well suited to their environment and it didn't take long for them to adapt. Genetics had already done a lot of that.
Modernbackyard chickensare not so different from their ancestors, the Indonesian red ruffed fowl. They are larger, heavier and have developed thyroid glands that allow them to lay eggs almost every day. But the instincts to hunt and hide are still there.
How feral chickens occur in Hawaii and the contiguous United States is simple. Accidents and incidents.
Wild chickens insideHawaii
Local lore says the farms opened during two hurricanes: Iwa in 1982 and Iniki in 1992. The Audubon Society's annual bird counts confirm that populations ofwild chickens in Hawaiijumped a few years after each hurricane. Perhaps there are more birds on Kauai because the hurricanes only sidelined the other islands. Or perhaps there are fewer on the other because mongooses have never been released on Kauai.
But before that there were already chickens on the islands. Polynesian people kept chickens that looked a lot like red jungle fowl, and they arrived in Hawaii at least 800 years ago. Bones excavated from caves indicate that the inhabitants of Hawaii had their own breeds, as South American chickens do not have the same genetic characteristics. Studies of modern wild chickens in Hawaii confirm that they have a mix of ancestral DNA and European breeds. The result is that some wild chickens in Hawaii look really wild, like they just came from Indonesia, while others look like the fat chicken on an egg carton.
Hawaii's wild chickens are a local attraction, but not always a treat. The roosters always crow, just like domestic roosters. Chickens cross the road and encounter oncoming traffic. They fly over fences and into gardens. Large flocks damage native plants and can spread disease to wild birds. For a time, the Hawaiian Humane Society and police dealt with animal disturbances such as barking dogs and crowing chickens. The Hawaii Game Breeders Association loaned cages to capture birds. But even that came to an end because in addition to ducks, peaco*cks and exotic birds, there were also many chickens that had run loose. There just isn't enough space and money to contain them. HGBA continues to receive calls for help. They can only advise that residents can catch the birds, but not kill them.
Although the birds are described as 'rats with wings', they do something good for the state. They eat insects and Hawaii is full of insects. Hawaii's wild chickens are so popular with tourists that retailers sell souvenirs printed with Kauai's "official" bird.
Wild chickens insideFlorida
The Sunshine State's poultry problem is similar to that of feral chickens in Hawaii. Although the most famous herds are in Key West, they are also in Gotha, St. Augustine and Key Largo. It is said that there have always been chickens in Key West, but wild populations grew when co*ckfighting became illegal and people stopped keeping backyard flocks for meat. The locals call them 'gypsy chickens'.
The locals have a love-hate relationship with the birds. Often certain people love them, while others want them gone. Key West chickens have protected species status, so people cannot kill or injure them. Creative plans emerged to control the birds, including turning a huge pile of garbage into an island for the chickens. Others suggested releasing foxes or native bobcats, which would also cause problems with local wildlife or people's pets.
In 2004, Key West hired chicken catchers to address the problem. The birds are captured live and delivered to the Key West Wildlife Center and then to organic farms on the mainland. They are kept for egg and tummy check.
Wild chickens insideLouisiana
Hurricanes, wild chickens and New Orleans. It's easy to guess what happened. Like the wild chickens in Hawaii, the cages exploded during the storm. Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. More than ten years later, the residents of 9eWard says they don't see many stray dogs, but everyone has stray chickens. And while many New Orleans residents are following the growing trend toward mansions, the chickens don't appear to be refugees from backyard flocks. They are too difficult to catch.
The SPCA dispatches officers every week to respond to calls about chicken noises. If they manage to confuse the birds, they send them to a nearby farm. In the 7theWard, a group of fast teenagers sneak up and grab the birds.
Unlike Hawaii and Florida, residents of the 7theto 9eWards seem to be happy with the chickens. There have been some complaints about crowing roosters or protective chickens attacking small dogs. The residents keep an eye on the animals and even feed them. They will monitor supplies and chase away predators.
Wild chickens insideCalifornia
Far from the stormy origins of Hawaii's wild chickens is a simpler story: a poultry truck that was overturned in 1969. That's the explanation most often attributed to the herd that lives under the Vineland Avenue overpass to the Hollywood Freeway.
Other stories involve young twins who rescued chicks from an animal-breeding school that closed. They hid the birds until the roosters started crowing, then the girls walked to a clearing near the highway and put the chickens down. Another claims that a man named "Michael" and his brother, as children, relocated their chickens under the highway after receiving too many complaints from neighbors. But the overturned truck theory is supported by at least one witness.
In the 1970s they were described as the Rhode Island Reds: a bunch of fifty-somethings who achieved local celebrity status. For a time, they were called "Minnie's Chickens," named after the elderly Minnie Blumfield, who used $30 of her Social Security check every month to feed them. She became too weak and the chicks were moved to a farm in Simi Valley, California. But humans couldn't catch them all, and those that remained spawned a new herd. Several other attempts to relocate the Freeway Chickens had similar results.
Now there's another colony, New Freeway Chickens, breathing fumes two miles away at the Burbank ramp.
Throughout their decades of existence, Hollywood Freeway Chickens inspired countless creations. The video game "Freeway" appeared in 1982 and challenged players to help a chicken cross the road. Actress and animal activist Jodie Mann wrote a script that focuses on birds. And famed author Terry Pratchett wrote a short story titled "Hollywood Chickens," apparently inspired by that scattered colony.
However, Florida chickens have a charm. Tourists imagine themselves to be like the chickens that run around in towns further south in the Caribbean, an integral part of the mix of Cuban, American, Bahamian and West Indian cultures. And while local gardens may disagree, cameras are constantly snapping photos of the colorful animals.
Small municipal flocks
Other cities are battling chickens that hide behind boxes and eat trash. In the Bronx, animal workers removed 35 chickens after neighbors complained that the birds are believed to be the city's largest brood of feral chickens. Miami and Philadelphia also have problems with feral chickens.
In the middle of Phoenix, Arizona, hundreds of roosters roam a multi-block area, along with guinea fowl and even peaco*cks. Some neighbors say they come from a chicken farm that closed decades ago, but no one really knows. The phoenix birds are friendly and ask for alms, but the fool irritates the neighbors.
The means of managing wild birds differ from the prolific wild chickens of Hawaii, the protected chickens of Key West, and random flocks of New York and Arizona. Attitudes vary from region to region. But one facet remains constant: efforts to round them up and rehome them are resulting in more hatches and resurgent populations.
Do you have feral chickens where you live? How do you think local governments should deal with this?
