Key West gypsy chickens!!!

[birdlover]

Hi!
I've been on vacation in the Fla. Keys and got to mingle with the free range "gypsy" chickens of Key West!! Oh my, was it ever cool. Chickens (mostly bantams) wandered free on the sidewalks, peoples' yards, outdoor restaurants, etc. You could hear roosters everywhere you went and I saw a mother hen with ten chicks hanging out by a restaurant. I also discovered The Chicken Store whose owner works tirelessly to save the gypsy chickens of Key West. Half the population wants them gone by whatever means because they scratch up their perfectly landscaped yards.

: When I went in the store she was being interviewed by a reporter and what a cool lady!!! The floor was covered with wood shavings and a rooster was wandering about. She had tons of baby chicks that people had brought in and also tons of roosters and a few hens who play in the backyard during the day and are brought in at night. All of them are up for adoption to good homes. She had a beautiful rooster (that sort of looked like an asil) who was missing the bottom portion of it's beak and had to be handfed. Well, someone had come up with the idea of gluing an artificial fingernail on to the bottom and it was working!!! He was handed a treat and he put it on the floor and called over a hen who was up in the rafters. I brought home one fertile (I hope) egg from a beautiful mille fleur she had. I could go on and on. It was the coolest vacation ever!! If you want to read more about the Key West chickens, go to www.thechickenstore.com You'll see pics, too, of some of them. Well, just had to share; it was sooo exciting and I knew you'd relate! hehehe

Ellen

 

[domromer]

Kuai has a big population of wild chickens. Lots of real neat game cocks running around.



Shot at 2007-07-29

 

[birdlover]

That rooster is beautiful!! He looks just like my guy, Leviticus.

Ellen

 

[Lunachick]

Birdlover - I've been there! It is cool. Do they still have the rooster in a cage that you put in a quarter and he attacks a stuffed "Barney" doll? I didn't do the quarter thing cause I felt bad for the roo. But I met Miss Squeaky and her chicks when I was there, they were adorable. I gotta go back.

 

[yearofthedog]

That is sooooo cool!! What an awesome person! I'm going to check out the site...boy, if I ever plan a vacation to the south, I'm going there!

 

[Jay Bee]

High Springs, Fl. has wild chickens, last year the powers that be had the fire dept. go out with .22 rifles and try to shoot them. What a joke, no chickens and I heard one wounded cat. It made the local papers.

 

[birdlover]

Lunachick,
I didn't see any rooster like you describe (attacks a Barney doll). The one I found most fascinating was the one with the artificial fingernail beak. They used Elmer's glue, btw!

They also had a rooster missing one foot due to a spider or snake bite. Also saw some chicks they were treating for fowl pocs. THAT was sad!! They had these huge growths over each eye. Apparently it's caused by mosquito bites. Poor things.

Ellen