FAIR OAKS, Calif. — If there's one thing the town of Fair Oaks is known for, it’s chickens. The love affair with hens and roosters is so great in this Sacramento County community that every September they celebrate the birds with a cluck n’ crow contest at the annual Chicken Festival.
The Fair Oaks Chicken Festival attracts chicken fans of all kinds, but it isn’t just some feather brained idea to attract tourists. Oh, no. Chickens have been free ranging around town for as long as anyone can remember.
“They date back all the way to the early 1900s because we were a farming town,” said Mai Linh Tompkins, who operates Odd Bird Rescue.
She watches over the feral chickens roaming around town and cares for several dozen feral or abandoned chickens at any one time.
“Someone thinks they're getting hens as little babies; they grow up as boys. They're not allowed to keep them in city limits and they think, 'I'll just take them to Fair Oaks because there's chickens here,'” said Tompkins.
Abandoning chickens in Fair Oaks is a big problem that warrants a big fine if you are caught doing it.
“It's considered cruel, and it's a code violation with the county of Sacramento and it's up to $36,000 fine,” said Tompkins.
Chickens have always been raised on farms in Fair Oaks but there is one man believed to have caused the feral chicken problem in town.
“Reputedly, Hugh Gorman, our local artist, had some escapees from his house, which is across from the park. So, naturally the chickens had to cross the road to get to the park,” said Ralph Carhart who is with Fair Oaks Historical Society and Parks Department.
He says Gorman admitted to losing his chickens sometime in the 1970s or 80s. At first it wasn’t a problem, but several years later the population grew.
“Then some media from downtown caught on to that and publicized it and suddenly we became the chicken capital of the county,” said Carhart.
Now in his 80s, Gorman was not healthy enough to do an interview with ABC10, but says the chicken flock he started in town has declined.
“There’s a lot of conspiracy theories going around,” said Tompkins.
Tompkins said the chicken population started to decline around the time construction at the park started, but there are other factors, too.
“The construction displaces them, we have coyotes, racoons, there’s lots of cars. I think it’s a little bit of everything,” Tompkins said.
For now, the remaining chickens are taking refuge wherever they can: in people’s backyards, back alleys and with Tompkins at Odd Bird Rescue.
MORE FUN WITH ANIMALS ON THE BACKROADS: How one town became infested with donkeys. Buy Oatman's mayor some donkey pellets and see how residents respond.
