The Hollywood Freeway Chickens
There is a freeway in Hollywood California that is home to a wild brood of birds. Not just any bird, but the fine and noble chicken. These chickens have shimmied free from the shackles of domesticity to roam free, as feral and uninhibited as the wolves howling in the great North, or the lions of the Serengeti.
The chickens first arrived in the 1970's. Like many starry eyed dreamers, Hollywood seemed to beckon to the chickens. Like many humans still drawn to the ideal of the sixties, the chickens formed their own sort of chicken commune under the freeway. The Hollywood Freeway Chickens weren't just a small flock, there were around fifty of them clucking along the freeway, pecking at the dandelions that grew between the cracks int he cement.
The chickens weren't always called the Hollywood Freeway Chickens and once had a sweeter name: Minnie's Chickens. Minnie was an elderly woman with a nurturing touch. She couldn't imagine it was an easy feat for fifty chickens to find enough food underneath a freeway to survive, so she brought them food and fed them. She probably had children that she nurtured once. But they grew up and started their own lives as competent adults. She probably had a cat at home, but cats, while they need love also need their independence. But the chickens, Minnie's Chickens, needed her and her sprinklings of grain and seed and other delicious tidbits. They looked at her with 'Thanks' gleaming in their eyes. They bobbed and cocked their heads, with comb flaps swaying. They came close to her and let her reach out and stroke their soft feathers. Minnie probably smiled as she stroked their feathers and remembered bits of memories she thought she'd never remember again. Things like how it felt to swing so high your toes almost touched the sky, or what the first day of summer felt like with watermelon juice making your finger tips sticky. Warm memories, just like the feeling of befriending a skittish bird.
The exact moment that the existence of the feral chicken colony known as The Hollywood Freeway Chickens is unknown. But there are theories and legends and myths to explain this mystery.
In one claimed origin story, a man says that it was him and his brother who brought the chicken colony into existence. When he and his brother were just boys, they had their very own pet chickens. They showered the chickens with love and affection, but their neighbors showered the chicken-adoring brothers with disdain and irritation. The chickens were a nuisance in the eyes of the neighbors. They were tired of the gobbling, the cock--doodle-doing, the bock-bock-bocking. So in order to preserve the peace and to not be ratted out by the neighbors to the noise police, they conceded to the neighbors demands. The two brothers set out at night with the barrage of chickens. They found a place that looked warm and safe, and since they were only children and had skewed views of safety, the underpass of the freeway looked like a perfect place to set their chickens free. So, in this version of reality, it was two brothers that helped to manifest the Hollywood Freeway Chickens.
Another version of the story involves two siblings also, but instead of brothers the precocious siblings were twin sisters. They were both animal lovers at heart and the idea of an animal suffering was too much for them to bare. When they heard that a local school that raised animals was shutting down and the chickens would be sold for slaughter, they knew they must act, and act quickly they did! They birdnapped the chickens, bringing them to the hidden sanctuary of their home. But their parents, who didn't think even the most ardent love for animals was an excuse for thieving, would not take kindly if they knew of their daughter's escapades. So the two sisters kept the chickens secret. But the chickens weren't as keen to keep their own existence secret. The roosters began to wake up at 5 AM and it would take some pretty creative storytelling to explain the noises emanating from their bedroom. Claiming a weird sounding cough can only work for so long. So the two sisters spirited their chickens away from their house, out into the open air. they walked mournfully through a field, holding their chicken friends, before finding an open space to set them free. Some believe that it is their freed chickens that grew to be the Hollywood Freeway Chickens.
But in another story, it wasn't the misadventure of two siblings that led to the Hollywood Freeway Chickens. Rather, it was a sleep-dazed delivery driver in an unknown part of the roadway system. Maybe he was from a small town where chickens are usually raised. Hollywood is an intimidating place to drive even to the most seasoned of city folk. But the zip and the roar and the hustle and bustle of Hollywood can be a lot for a naive delivery boy with a head full of dreams. Maybe, distracted by a celebrity siting, the truck tumbled over, and out fluttered an array of joyous chickens, finally free! They waddled, shuffled and frolicked away from the wretched fate the delivery truck had been bringing them to. Instead, they stretched their wings and stretched their necks toward the sky, finally feeling what freedom felt like. They hustled off into the sunset, the orange glow of the setting orb making their downy feathers gleam. The warm shimmer of the last rays of the sun, making their hearts glow. They were free to start their own world together, under a freeway overpass, where a dingy corner of a city can become a chicken paradise.
The chickens first arrived in the 1970's. Like many starry eyed dreamers, Hollywood seemed to beckon to the chickens. Like many humans still drawn to the ideal of the sixties, the chickens formed their own sort of chicken commune under the freeway. The Hollywood Freeway Chickens weren't just a small flock, there were around fifty of them clucking along the freeway, pecking at the dandelions that grew between the cracks int he cement.
The chickens weren't always called the Hollywood Freeway Chickens and once had a sweeter name: Minnie's Chickens. Minnie was an elderly woman with a nurturing touch. She couldn't imagine it was an easy feat for fifty chickens to find enough food underneath a freeway to survive, so she brought them food and fed them. She probably had children that she nurtured once. But they grew up and started their own lives as competent adults. She probably had a cat at home, but cats, while they need love also need their independence. But the chickens, Minnie's Chickens, needed her and her sprinklings of grain and seed and other delicious tidbits. They looked at her with 'Thanks' gleaming in their eyes. They bobbed and cocked their heads, with comb flaps swaying. They came close to her and let her reach out and stroke their soft feathers. Minnie probably smiled as she stroked their feathers and remembered bits of memories she thought she'd never remember again. Things like how it felt to swing so high your toes almost touched the sky, or what the first day of summer felt like with watermelon juice making your finger tips sticky. Warm memories, just like the feeling of befriending a skittish bird.
The exact moment that the existence of the feral chicken colony known as The Hollywood Freeway Chickens is unknown. But there are theories and legends and myths to explain this mystery.
In one claimed origin story, a man says that it was him and his brother who brought the chicken colony into existence. When he and his brother were just boys, they had their very own pet chickens. They showered the chickens with love and affection, but their neighbors showered the chicken-adoring brothers with disdain and irritation. The chickens were a nuisance in the eyes of the neighbors. They were tired of the gobbling, the cock--doodle-doing, the bock-bock-bocking. So in order to preserve the peace and to not be ratted out by the neighbors to the noise police, they conceded to the neighbors demands. The two brothers set out at night with the barrage of chickens. They found a place that looked warm and safe, and since they were only children and had skewed views of safety, the underpass of the freeway looked like a perfect place to set their chickens free. So, in this version of reality, it was two brothers that helped to manifest the Hollywood Freeway Chickens.
Another version of the story involves two siblings also, but instead of brothers the precocious siblings were twin sisters. They were both animal lovers at heart and the idea of an animal suffering was too much for them to bare. When they heard that a local school that raised animals was shutting down and the chickens would be sold for slaughter, they knew they must act, and act quickly they did! They birdnapped the chickens, bringing them to the hidden sanctuary of their home. But their parents, who didn't think even the most ardent love for animals was an excuse for thieving, would not take kindly if they knew of their daughter's escapades. So the two sisters kept the chickens secret. But the chickens weren't as keen to keep their own existence secret. The roosters began to wake up at 5 AM and it would take some pretty creative storytelling to explain the noises emanating from their bedroom. Claiming a weird sounding cough can only work for so long. So the two sisters spirited their chickens away from their house, out into the open air. they walked mournfully through a field, holding their chicken friends, before finding an open space to set them free. Some believe that it is their freed chickens that grew to be the Hollywood Freeway Chickens.
But in another story, it wasn't the misadventure of two siblings that led to the Hollywood Freeway Chickens. Rather, it was a sleep-dazed delivery driver in an unknown part of the roadway system. Maybe he was from a small town where chickens are usually raised. Hollywood is an intimidating place to drive even to the most seasoned of city folk. But the zip and the roar and the hustle and bustle of Hollywood can be a lot for a naive delivery boy with a head full of dreams. Maybe, distracted by a celebrity siting, the truck tumbled over, and out fluttered an array of joyous chickens, finally free! They waddled, shuffled and frolicked away from the wretched fate the delivery truck had been bringing them to. Instead, they stretched their wings and stretched their necks toward the sky, finally feeling what freedom felt like. They hustled off into the sunset, the orange glow of the setting orb making their downy feathers gleam. The warm shimmer of the last rays of the sun, making their hearts glow. They were free to start their own world together, under a freeway overpass, where a dingy corner of a city can become a chicken paradise.