Who else has these lovely birds? Please post pictures and information about your birds or the Key West Chickens in general.
I find the Key West Chickens history to be fascinating and romantic
There isn't a ton of in depth information out there but I found some general information on the internet.
It is believed that they have been roaming around KW for around 150-175 years or more (depending on the source). Thier ancestors were game birds derived from Cuban, Spanish, and Puerto Rican lines. They were originally brought by pirates, settlers, and later immigrants (Mostly Cuban during the revolution) who brought thier beloved chickens over by ship for either food, or cockfighting entertainment. I read somewhere that the gamebirds used for cockfighting were worth quite a bit of money in those days and highly prized. Eventually, as cockfighting lost favor, the birds went by the wayside or some just escaped and continued to flourish on bugs like roaches, ants, and scorpions, lizards, and handouts hanging around the restaurants (Yes even at the KFC!) in thier tropical paradise of Margaritaville. The females are good protective mothers and the males are excellent protectors (aware and alerting to the slightest percieved threat) as I have already observed here.
I found one article that suggests that the cubalaya chicken may have some heritage in Key West game chicken lines via the Cubans in the 1800s buying breeds of Filipino fowl in Spain and introducing them to the European chickens resulting in excellent fighting cocks. You can read that article here
http://www.explorekeywesthistory.com/Viva Weekly/Those Clucking Neighbors/Clucking Neighbors 2.html
Reference for Bird Flu sparking fear in KW citizens in regards to chickens
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12304172/
Somewhere around 2004 some of the KW locals became concerned that there were too many chickens running around loose. Crowing, pooping on and scratching up the lawns, visiting the shops, etc. The idea of the bird flu also fueled some peoples concerns about 'feral' chickens. An official chicken trapper was hired and many chickens were trapped, rounded up, and sent to exile on a farm on the "mainland" and there was suspicion from some folks that the Key West Chickens were being killed in secret. Now they are only sent to farms to be adopted out or to people directly who will not harm them.
http://www.ourkeywest.net/about-key-west/the-gypsy-chickens-of-key-west.htm
Today the Key West Chicken population in the wilds of KW is only a couple thousand or so. Mostly only the "nuisiance" chickens are trapped and taken to the Key West Wildlife Center and then distributed to farms to be adopted. Some of these will ship chickens or eggs to people who want to adopt them. I got mine from Sally in Eustris, FL that puts all her money recieved from chicken adoptions and donations into feeding and providing for the birds while looking for a home for them. Her contact information is posted here at the end of this article. I got a certificate of authenticity signed by the mayor with my adoptions.
http://www.suite101.com/content/key-west-gypsy-chickens-a100879
There are some folks (The Key West Chicken Club) who would like to have the Key West Chickens approved by the APA in several years. They have a rough draft on colors etc that they are working on. You can see that at the following link.
http://thegypsyproject.netfirms.com/kwccroughstandard.htm
These babies have sure come a long way!! They come in an array of colors and can have peacomb or straight combs.
My Key West Chickens:
I have five that I picked up that were up for adoption. I got one roo and 4 hens. I have some of thier eggs in the incubator. They are small birds, not as small as bantams but smaller than the regular large fowl. They seem very self sufficient and very wary of predators, which I guess, have helped them and thier ancestors survive so long wild on Key West. They were pretty wild at first and we had a fun time trying to catch them lol. I feed them a few treats every day and the hens who are especially skittish will now approach me and eat from my hand. I can't touch them yet or they run lol. The roo will allow me to pick him up. I think he is younger than the hens though.
Rooster, Captain Morgan
Hens (these 3 are more similar looking) There is one that has more of a wheaten coloring than the other two.
Another hen- she is different looking: darker with nice lacing all over her front and back.
I find the Key West Chickens history to be fascinating and romantic
It is believed that they have been roaming around KW for around 150-175 years or more (depending on the source). Thier ancestors were game birds derived from Cuban, Spanish, and Puerto Rican lines. They were originally brought by pirates, settlers, and later immigrants (Mostly Cuban during the revolution) who brought thier beloved chickens over by ship for either food, or cockfighting entertainment. I read somewhere that the gamebirds used for cockfighting were worth quite a bit of money in those days and highly prized. Eventually, as cockfighting lost favor, the birds went by the wayside or some just escaped and continued to flourish on bugs like roaches, ants, and scorpions, lizards, and handouts hanging around the restaurants (Yes even at the KFC!) in thier tropical paradise of Margaritaville. The females are good protective mothers and the males are excellent protectors (aware and alerting to the slightest percieved threat) as I have already observed here.
I found one article that suggests that the cubalaya chicken may have some heritage in Key West game chicken lines via the Cubans in the 1800s buying breeds of Filipino fowl in Spain and introducing them to the European chickens resulting in excellent fighting cocks. You can read that article here
http://www.explorekeywesthistory.com/Viva Weekly/Those Clucking Neighbors/Clucking Neighbors 2.html
Reference for Bird Flu sparking fear in KW citizens in regards to chickens
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12304172/
Somewhere around 2004 some of the KW locals became concerned that there were too many chickens running around loose. Crowing, pooping on and scratching up the lawns, visiting the shops, etc. The idea of the bird flu also fueled some peoples concerns about 'feral' chickens. An official chicken trapper was hired and many chickens were trapped, rounded up, and sent to exile on a farm on the "mainland" and there was suspicion from some folks that the Key West Chickens were being killed in secret. Now they are only sent to farms to be adopted out or to people directly who will not harm them.
http://www.ourkeywest.net/about-key-west/the-gypsy-chickens-of-key-west.htm
Today the Key West Chicken population in the wilds of KW is only a couple thousand or so. Mostly only the "nuisiance" chickens are trapped and taken to the Key West Wildlife Center and then distributed to farms to be adopted. Some of these will ship chickens or eggs to people who want to adopt them. I got mine from Sally in Eustris, FL that puts all her money recieved from chicken adoptions and donations into feeding and providing for the birds while looking for a home for them. Her contact information is posted here at the end of this article. I got a certificate of authenticity signed by the mayor with my adoptions.
http://www.suite101.com/content/key-west-gypsy-chickens-a100879
There are some folks (The Key West Chicken Club) who would like to have the Key West Chickens approved by the APA in several years. They have a rough draft on colors etc that they are working on. You can see that at the following link.
http://thegypsyproject.netfirms.com/kwccroughstandard.htm
These babies have sure come a long way!! They come in an array of colors and can have peacomb or straight combs.
My Key West Chickens:
I have five that I picked up that were up for adoption. I got one roo and 4 hens. I have some of thier eggs in the incubator. They are small birds, not as small as bantams but smaller than the regular large fowl. They seem very self sufficient and very wary of predators, which I guess, have helped them and thier ancestors survive so long wild on Key West. They were pretty wild at first and we had a fun time trying to catch them lol. I feed them a few treats every day and the hens who are especially skittish will now approach me and eat from my hand. I can't touch them yet or they run lol. The roo will allow me to pick him up. I think he is younger than the hens though.
Rooster, Captain Morgan
Hens (these 3 are more similar looking) There is one that has more of a wheaten coloring than the other two.
Another hen- she is different looking: darker with nice lacing all over her front and back.
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