Kauai’s idyllic landscapes, as well as those on the other islands, have for years been increasingly overrun by an unlikely invader: its feral chickens. These birds, once limited to rural areas, have taken over and are very much in charge. Their unchecked population growth threatens native plants, food crops, and even road safety when drivers swerve to avoid them.
From the incessant crowing that disturbs sleep at 4:00 am to health hazards posed by their droppings and damage done, feral chickens have become a big enough nuisance that a new law went into effect yesterday to deal with the problem.
History of Kauai feral chickens.
Kauai, particularly areas like Poipu Beach Park (pictured here), is infamous for its feral chicken population. The issue was caused or exacerbated by hurricanes like Iwa in 1982 and Iniki in 1992, which destroyed many domestic chicken coops and released the chickens into the wild. Later these domesticated chickens interbred with wild junglefowl to create the out-of-control feral populations seen today. Junglefowl are originally from South and Southeast Asia, and some are direct ancestors of domestic chickens.
These chickens are now a common sight in parks, on beaches, and even in urban areas. At Poipu Beach Park, for example, visitors frequently encounter these birds, which have adapted to various environments and, as adults, lack natural predators. Their presence can be charming to tourists, who often feed them. However, they also pose several problems, including noise pollution from crowing, health hazards from droppings, and road hazardsā.
Hawaii has enacted a new chicken law, effective July 1, 2024.
This legislation attempts to tackle the feral chicken crisis head-on. It involves a joint cooperation approach between the state Department of Agriculture and Hawaii county governments, focusing on control programs and public education campaigns.
Key aspects of the legislation include these.
Each county, working with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, will develop and implement strategies to manage its feral chicken population. Here on Kauai, that’s a huge challenge inasmuch as the problem has gone unabated for more than three decades.
Control efforts may include trapping and new and innovative solutions like OvoControl, a contraceptive feed that prevents eggs from hatchingā. The manufacturer proclaims it “The Humane Societyās #1 choice for pigeon control,” and it’s said to be equally effective on chickens.
“If attempts to physically remove the pigeons and prevent feeding have failed, OvoControl emerges as the most effective, safe, and humane solution.”
From our decades-long attempts to remove chickens, we can say that it is a virtually useless proposition. BOH editors had a friend who used to collect chickens caught from neighbors to use as food to control the population.
OvoCotrol interrupts the breeding and repopulation of chickens with “birth control” for the birds. They say, “The pigeon population will decline at a rate of 50% annually, with an ending population of just 5-10% of the starting point.”
Public education about feral chickens is another crucial part of these efforts.
Campaigns resulting from the new law will discourage residents and visitors from feeding feral chickens, which exacerbates the problem. This can be seen, for example, at parks and other places where feeding has resulted in larger populations.
Lack of funding may slow the results.
At this point, the state has only allocated $50,000 to each county, which the counties are required to match. Even then, it isn’t clear if $100,000 per county could be enough to make a dent. A previous campaign on Oahu, which was based on trapping instead of birth control, resulted in very few chickens being captured.
What will Kauai be like without feral chickens?
The success of this program is not apparent. This legislation marks a proactive approach to restoring tranquility and health to areas plagued by feral chickens.
Kauai feral chicken photo credit. BOH lead photo is at Poipu Beach Park.
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Concerning the feral chickens, how are you going to stop that feed from getting into native birds and now you’re stopping them from having eggs that will hatch.
On our trips to Oahu we saw chickens everywhere except in Honolulu. They were like the pigeons & English sparrows here.
One night we had dinner in a rustic bar in Haleiwa, dozens of them were walking around in the dining room. I ordered a chicken sandwich & I half-expected the cook to come running out of the kitchen with a hatchet & grab one, then give me the shaka sign & tell me Freshest chicken you’ve ever had, man!
Iām surprised they mention the roosters noises as a problem considering we are mostly having a problem in WaikÄ«kÄ« people noises from 8 pm to 4 am.
just cook more of them for the homeless
I will be running for a seat in council. I would have done it but it was too late. I would welcome incumbents and future challangers to do your research and due dillgence.
Sam
Given your taxes, let me ask you this? Do you think you should have access to the royal mosulem? Or is that special? Nothing is sacred right? Roads that cut across the land like scars, barreling trough mountains. And an expensive nonsense that tries to float above the landscape.
Aloha to all the islands; Solution is: Call the ” Colonel” Or otherwise known as KFC.
Sorry Kona…. Maybe you have other things to worry about.
Hopefully you do it in front of all the tourists. They would love that.
After reading the FAQs on the OvoControl website, I wanted to make sure that everyone is aware that it is classified as a pesticide and remains active in the soil for 49 weeks.
One has to ask how this will affect Kauai’s native bird population. If it’s in the soil, will it be absorbed by native plants?
I certainly hope there has been sufficient research conducted prior to Hawai’i’s approval because this could be a disaster for native plants and animals.
Well, most people are not chemist nor microbiologists, nor have any experience in short, intermediate or long term aspects on what could happen in an isolated biological structure.
All these people want is what they paid for.
Inconvenienice is not what they paid for.
The sperm whale head was only there for a time because the hotels complained about it. So tell me Hawaiian or Hotel?
Chickens are not the problem, itās people. Simple solution, donāt feed the chicken, fence your yard, live where there are no chickens. If you actually study chicken behavior you would find they act more humane than most humans do to each other. Their poop is used as natural fertilizer, their crowing sounds alerts, they tend to their young, they eat what people feed them or they scrounge for insects. They have predictors such as cats, dogs and mostly people.
There are more pressing issues such as plant diseases, invasive pests, squatters, homeless, affordable housing, food sustainability, etc. Is it governmentās role to satisfy a few with tax dollars or to take care of the majority with real solutions not just talk.
Mainland, chicken keeper of 14 years, plus grew up raising chickens.
Been to most of the islands, and Kauai has a lot of chickens.
Chickens, especially bantam and jungle birds, are very smart.
The birds will quickly determine the feed changes their biology, and will reject it within a couple months. I supplement my chickens’ diet with a can of mixed veg. in bad weather. The roosters throw out the limas. The hens throw out the potato chunks. They decided this years ago.
Solution? Shoot and eat the chickens. Stewed, they would be delicious. Too tough to fry.
If you stay on your own property and have people bring them to you cheers.
Stay off of mine. Second Amendment.
Btw if you haven’t lived there for say 30 years maybe you want to think twice.
Cheers.
Allow the people to manage this issue.
Hi Guys. Gee, All I can say is Good Luck. How has this all of a sudden come to light? Kind of like the deer overpopulation. Could make lots of Huli Huli chicken dinners.
Hi Debra.
This is a decades old problem that continues to get worse. It’s just that the State has finally arrived at a tentative plan.
Aloha.
If people took proper care of their pets and had them spayed and neutered, there wouldn’t be so many at the humane society looking for homes. It would have kept the feral cat situation in check.
Too true! Human impacts outweigh so much more. Lands, tourists and their needs. If you want to look at how a species changes the landscape look no further than mega hotels and the roadways. But we cannot help to see what is right there. The brain is designed to see what is different not what is familiar. Thanks.
Cheers to that! But… What is responsibility? It is taking care of those that you have taken on the mantle to protect or is COVID pets that once people were free to travel again, given up because of inconvenience? Sorry… But it’s costly to save a family member and take care of them. When you include pets well euthanasia is convenient but do we euthanasise humans no to end suffering? Why? Ponder that for a second.
It’s really simply and a bunch of people will get butt hurt but they chickens need to be killed with air rifles and or suppressed .22 rifles. There’s just far too many of them and they will only continue to repopulate without serious actions taken.
It’s about time. They don’t just crow in the mornings anymore. They crow all day from very early morning until the sun goes down. Since many homes and condos have no A/C and the windows need to be open, this is a real problem. I love animals too, but the feral animals in the islands have more rights than humans.
And they crow all night for about a week when the moon is full.
Maybe law makers can cancel full moons.
This needs to be expanded to the parakeets that have invaded the Lawai beach area.
Those chickens are the reason we will not be returning to Kauai anytime soon!
You have got to be kidding me, lady… You might want to be careful travelling outside of the US then, if you think an adorable rooster is bad, just saying…
Well, have fun anywhere else.
This chicken thing has been an issue for a good many years. Some of the locals love them and some absolutely hate them. It will be interesting to see where it goes. Also, it will be interesting to see how much money is needed.
They are a major problem/irritant for residents. Besides the crowing, the cleaning up of their excrement from patios and sidewalks are my main complaint.
Hopefully using the OvoControl will make a difference. Are homeowners allowed to purchase and use it around their property?
Hmm, let’s see… what’s the typical Hawaii solution? I’ve got it! After charging tourists extra fees on rental cars to fix roads that never get fixed, gouging them ridiculous extra bogus taxes on hotel rental and timeshare usage(even if I Own the deed), and charging them almost Double what a local pays at your golf courses…
Let’s assess a $1 a head per tourist for chicken abatement. Chickens shot/captured, will be served to tourists at Happy Hour at twice the normal cost!
Dang, with ideas like these, I should be running for local office!
Though I’ve been to Kauai many times and am kind of used to the chickens, a little control probably wouldn’t be a bad thing. There is a long list of invasives beyond just chickens that could be looked at, cats, mosquitoes, castor bean, albizia trees, people, both foreign and domestic, etc.
Then there is the recipe for cooking the chickens. Take one large pot, throw in vegetables, rocks and a chicken. Cook for a while and then throw away the chicken and eat the rocks because they are softer.
Now, do cats.
Are the feral cats too lazy to go after the abundant extra chickens? Oh wait, you say those are government cats! That explains why they just bloat in numbers and do very little!
There are no reasons for the feral cats to bother with chickens, rats, or anything else.
The people that feed them twice daily near me in Kona are only adding to a serious problem.
Thanks for replying from lone where one Kauai it really affects you. How about criticizing rail instead?
Sorry… kona
I visited the Railroad Museum near Hilo, but there is not a problem with it.
If you knew anything about Hawaii, you would know we have feral chickens, cats who’s urine kills monk seals, so many goats and pigs that it is dangerous to drive in many areas.
Aloha
We had a feral cat ‘adopt’ us. He gets fed 3 times a day and still goes out to hunt rats regularly. He brings home the gory evidence!
If you’ve seen a cat try to attack a chicken, you’d know that the cat loses the battle every time. Chickens fight visciously, and the cat slinks away injured and defeated.
Itās about time the chicken issue is dealt with! Last time I was there they were in the eating establishments and it felt like third world
Hawaii Is a third world area! The first time we were eating in a restaurant and saw geckos climbing the walls I thought it was charming. After living here for years and seeing how they poop everywhere, even cleaning it off our lanai ceilings, not so charming. Doesn’t change the fact that I’d rather live here than anywhere else, but, it’s definitely not for everyone. If you can’t handle the ‘wild’ life here, you should probably find a sanitized version of paradise elsewhere.
Chicken soup for the homeless?