key west chickens

[key west chick]

Taken today. Ezmeralda in box.

Edith

The mom and daughter I caught while in KW this past summer.

Smokey, 9 years old. My head rooster.

Dark Meat. 2 years old. Only one NOT born in key west. Hatched out of an egg here. I am missing a picture of May. For some reason hers wouldnt download.

 

[chics in the sun]

 

[NoelTate]

How cute! I talked with a lady who does chicken rescue down there, and I am going to bring back a hen or two or maybe some chicks my next trip down there. Love seeing the wild chickens roaming free there!

 

[key west chick]

One of mine was a rescue. I first started with KW chickens 9 years ago when I caught a mother hen and 6 chicks from my aunts yard. Smokey is the only one I have left out of the original chickens. We then started catching one here and there while on vaca over the years. I did rescue one from Katha Sheehan years ago. I went a few years without a new one so this past year while down there, we caught a hen and 2 chicks while roosting in the tree roots one night. Something got the little cockerel chick on night while still in quarantine. So I ended up with a new hen and pullet. Both chicks had a bad case of fowl pox, not uncommon down there due to all the misquiteos. Here is a picture of them in the roots.

And some older ones I no longer have.

 

[key west chick]

Some more I found.

 

[flgardengirl]

They are all beautiful. I love the blue (?) hen on top and all your roos are gorgeous. The momma and chick are so cute!! I am totally going to get some of these. I've been looking for a breed that I could help preserve that would do well here in FL. I contacted a lady in central FL that has some that can be adopted out. If she gets back to me, I am going to drive down there and get some

 

[key west chick]

Thats a big reason I got into KW chickens. I wanted a little bit of home with me in Ga. Growing up we had a little red hen living in our backyard. She would lay a little egg everyday. My mom said we refused to eat it cause it didnt come from the grocery store!

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Quote:
Cool...I have a friend that lives in KW and talks about them..I would love to get some. How would I go about it? I live in Virginia...

 

[flgardengirl]

So is the KW chicken considered a mutt or an actual breed? I have heard some people refer to them as mutts. I read that some people are trying to get them approved for a apa standard in the next 5-10 yrs or something like that. They are originally a cross between Cuban, Spanish, and Puerto Rican chickens from what I read, but have been breeding for @ 175 years on Key West and pretty much have melded into their own breed. Don't most all the breeds we have today come from other crosses? So why would some people still consider them mutts.

 

[key west chick]

You know about as much as I do. They were brought over for fighting so they have strong game blood backgrounds. They are just a huge mix of different countries games I guess. My husband and I decided that I would no longer hatch out any eggs here, that any more birds I get will be totally native caught birds from down there. I still give away the occasional eggs if people want to come and pick some up. Technically, they are still 100% KW chickens, just not born there. Every time I go down there, Im on the lookout for a new hen. I lucked out and got 2 this past summer.