Kauai Feral Chickens

[KauaiHiker]

ChikNHawk: I don't think you're talking about Kaua'i anymore. I'm pretty sure it's legal to shoot or otherwise kill chickens on your property, but not on anyone else's property, regardless of whether they're penned or not. Not sure how chickens pose a health nuisance to others. And I suppose you could get fined if you keep too many chickens, but a certain number is allowed, call the county for information. Also, never shoot in such a way that if you miss, your projectile leaves your property.

Chickens can definitely be a nuisance, but I don't trust anyone who has such an attitude towards any kind of animal.

[pakadoodle]

Originally Posted by KauaiHiker

ChikNHawk: I don't think you're talking about Kaua'i anymore. I'm pretty sure it's legal to shoot or otherwise kill chickens on your property, but not on anyone else's property, regardless of whether they're penned or not. Not sure how chickens pose a health nuisance to others. And I suppose you could get fined if you keep too many chickens, but a certain number is allowed, call the county for information. Also, never shoot in such a way that if you miss, your projectile leaves your property.

Chickens can definitely be a nuisance, but I don't trust anyone who has such an attitude towards any kind of animal.

Chickens pose a health hazard when they are cooped without proper sanitation (disposal of fecal material). Especially problematic are flies which can breed in the material and then come into any food preparation area in a home or restaurant and contaminate food, utensils, or surfaces with bacteria including salmonella. I used to live in Kilauea (where fighting chickens are routinely raised by locals) and had 4 different episodes of food poisoning from (presumably) salmonella, twice when eating at a downtown restaurant where flies were seen in the food prep area, and twice when eating at a friend's house whose direct neighbor "housed" over a dozen fighting roosters. Wild chickens pose a similar risk, though their feces are spread out usually over a wider area. Under trees where roosting occurs, fecal matter builds up and flies proliferate.

I'm not a fan of these creatures for the health risks and also the damage these dinosaur descendants do to gardens. They scratch incessantly, digging up plants, destroying roots, and creating a huge problem of dirt from their digging on walkways and driveways. And of course there is the noise and the feces. They have taken over the island in the 15 yrs I have lived here. I've never seen them as bad as now, seemingly they are everywhere they are not killed or driven out. They need to be controlled through a systematic eradication effort. Unfortunately, wild bird "lovers" apparently stand in the way. How bad does it have to get before something is done? Should we walk out of our homes and on the streets scattering dozens of birds every time we take a step? Ridiculous you say? This is close to happening to me already.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by pakadoodle

............ Unfortunately, wild bird "lovers" apparently stand in the way. How bad does it have to get before something is done? Should we walk out of our homes and on the streets scattering dozens of birds every time we take a step? Ridiculous you say? This is close to happening to me already.

Just be glad it isn't cows, like in India. At least they are small and will move away from you if you approach them.

[laughing traveler]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Just be glad it isn't cows, like in India. At least they are small and will move away from you if you approach them.

Not always true. Mama chickens will attack sometimes.

[MickeyE]

Originally Posted by laughing traveler

Not always true. Mama chickens will attack sometimes.

When I was a kid we had chickens, cows, etc. We had a bantam rooster that attacked my mother when she was hanging clothes on the clothesline. Needless to say we had chicken for dinner.

Mickey