An estimated 1,000 wild chickens are wandering Yuba City. Here's why there are so many
YUBA CITY - An entire city is living side by side with wild chickens and they've become a part of people's everyday lives in Yuba City. People even fought to keep them running around.
But why are there so many chickens in Yuba City?
"Everybody goes bananas here. And you better not run over one or touch one or do anything to one or people will hunt you down," said Yuba City resident Mary Thompson.
The chickens of Yuba City are a staple in the community. There's even an Instagram page and a website dedicated to them.
"They've been around a long time. I've always seen them hanging around this area. I know they mean a lot to a lot of people," said Yuba City resident Thomas Welden.
So much so that a few years back, someone was spearheading an effort to round them up and bring them to a farm, but the community was uproared.
"There was a letter in the local newspaper about this lady collecting our chickens and the community all responded back with a letter saying don't touch our chickens. They are our chickens," said Jacki Lee with the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce.
But how did they even get there in the first place? Well, it all started in the 1950s.
"On the other side of the movie theatre, there used to be a livestock auction in the 50s. So when the farmers left, they left some of the eggs, they left some of the roosters and they left some of the chickens," said Lee.
They've multiplied over the decades. The chamber of commerce estimates there to be around 1,000 wandering the city.
"They live off the land. Every once in a while you will see the chickens crossing the street using the crosswalk and the cars all stopped," said Lee.
It's apparent how loved the chickens are because people have put out food and water for them.
"I see them around my house a lot, they venture quite far from this area you'd be surprised," said Welden.
"I've had a lot of people tell me when they get to this corner, 99 and Franklin, they know they're home because of the chickens," said Lee.
Technically you're not supposed to feed them due to city ordinance, but the people of Yuba City look at them like community pets. The mascots of Yuba City.
"They love the chickens, that's part of our town now," said Thompson.
Residents said Yuba City just wouldn't be the same without the chickens.
