Florida's Free Range Poultry

The little tropical island city of Key West, Florida, has a large population of free-roaming chickens and roosters. They are descendants of birds that many years ago, local residents are up for food and eggs, and the taps were used for cock fighting.

Over the years, the little town evolved into an international tourist destination, promoting its history. District that housed the original inhabitants of Key West is now the historic district, which does not allow pets in it anymore. So the housing, where poultry and roosters were bred and raised are now tourist quarter, where the old poultry pens are now swimming.

Over the years, the hens and cocks have free range. You can not pass a bush or a tree in the "old city" which has not cackle of a chicken coming from. Traffic stops on main street like a chicken and her baby chicks crossing the road in a row. In contrast to the time when poultry was needed for sustenance and a rooster crows signaled the start of the day, people have been complaining about noise and comment on the fact that Key West roosters crow all night.

There was a terrible hue and cry from the local population when the city fathers decided to initiate an eradication program and the shop-owner of the local "Chicken Big" helped stop it. The local residents were very concerned about the welfare of poultry. So if any of the chickens or roosters are rounded up in these days after a complaint from a resident, they are shipped to a farm on the mainland to retirement. At least, is that what we're told. We hope so.