some of my Key West gypsy chickens

[key west chick]

Most of these pics are old, I dont even have some of these chickens anymore.

young rooster

my beloved Dennis.

My only KW roo, Smokey.

Edith

Esmeralda

May

 

[canada-goose]

Beautiful birds!

 

[nelgkel]

your roosters are gorgeous! Wish I could have one!! Your chickens are pretty too!

 

[key west chick]

Thank you. Dennis was one of my favorite roosters until he was killed by his father, Smokey. The latch didnt close all the way and Smokey got in there. Poor Dennis never had a chance. Smokey is the only KW roo I have now. He is going on 10 years old.

 

[keeko]

Do you still have any chickens from Key West?

I'm a Key West native and thinking of starting a mini flock of gypsy chickens...

In captivity, do you find they become more tame, or are they always sort of wild? Do they lay regularly, and are the hens friendly?

 

[gritsar]

Very nice

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

 

[key west chick]

Keeko, I find they tame down quite nicely. Smokey, is the best roo in the world. Not a mean bone in his body unless you're another roo or a predator. He has NEVER come after me in anyway, shape of form in 10 years. Even when I mess with his girls, he gives me my space. The girls are getting up in age. But I do get regular eggs from them. They go broody at the drop of a hat. We just got back from KW and I caught a hen and 2 chicks. The chicks have fowl pox and are being quarintined far away from the others. They are already becoming friendly. I was born down there and when I decided to get chickens, they were the first ones on my list. With the new editions, I now have 7. My only complaint is you can NEVER keep 2 adult roosters together. Smokey will give his sons about 8 or 9 months and then I can tell he is ready to have them gone.

 

[keeko]

So interesting! Given their ancestry as fighting gamecocks, I would assume that the roos would be quite aggressive. I've also heard some people that are familiar with chickens mention that they're also very mean as far as rooster go. Did you handfeed and raise Smokey from a chick?

I think more than laying hens, I'd want a KW roo to protect my flock. I've got 12 heavy breeds now and there are already more eggs than I can eat or give away!

Have you ever visited the woman's farm, Sally, in Eustis FL? She takes in hundreds all the time, let's them free range on her 50 acres, and finds them home if people want.

And does anyone give you a hard time if you just catch them yourself? I know it's against the law down there, but who would ever know, right?

 

[key west chick]

I did raise Smokey from a chick. But I have had several hens I got from Katha, the chicken lady who used to have a shop on Duval but moved to Homestead. They were older but settled in nicely. My real good friend works for the police dept down there and I told her if I got arrested I was calling her! We used to just go by the airport, pick out 1 I wanted, and chase it with nets until we got it. But they are no longer there so we went to plan B. I saw a mother with little chicks roosting in the roots of a kapok tree in front of the post office downtown. It was about 9:00 cause we had been to sunset. I just picked her up, DD picked up the 2 little ones and we stuck them in a box. I named the mom Bonnie, after the storm that was heading towards KW while we were there, and the chicks are Zip, for the post office, and Kapok, for the tree.