Besides having nearly perfect weather every day, Kauai has wild chickens. The chickens escaped during the last hurricane, and established a large wild population – they’re literally everywhere.
The way it was explained to us, after they escaped, no one had the heart to “clean them up”. So, today you can see families of chickens (rooster, hen, and peeps) all over the island. They’re along the road, on the beach, and at the resorts.
The chickens were one of the things we loved about Kauai, they’re very colorful and interesting to watch, we felt right at home. Our non-chicken owning family and friends didn’t appreciate the chickens as much though – the roosters crowing woke them up and bothered them.
We must tune the roosters out now, we never even noticed them crowing. The wild chickens on Kauai are charming, and I hope they never do get around to “cleaning them up”!
Cynthia says
I’m relieved to know they’re not causing any damage to the natives – thanks for the update. Go island chickens!
Sara says
I LOVED the chickens on Kaua’i!!! I kept telling my husband, “I want to take some home!”. LOL!!
Jenn Andersen says
Actually, I asked about the environmental aspects of the chicken fiasco when I was in Hawaii (they are all over Maui also), and was told that because they are ground dwelling birds, they are not causing any problem at all with the ecosystem that anyone can find. That is the main reason no one has bothered to get rid of them. Also, the natives do eat them from time to time.
Cynthia says
I love your site and your POV, but I feel compelled to point out that the introduction of non-native species to island ecosystems has, in the past, been devastating to the native flora and fauna. As much as I love my chickens, I would hate to see native Hawaiian creatures under pressure or, worse, even out-competed by feral chickens. But I’m glad you had a great time there, and my hat is off to you for being a grown-up and accepting and enjoying the charm of the roosters crowing – I bet there were a fair number of people who complained about the early wake-up call!
Tanya says
I love these pictures! I especially love the first one with all the colors. Thanks for sharing!