A chicken was seen clambering on the rocks around 84th street inside Riverside Park on Monday morning. The chicken did not appear to be with an owner, according to our tipster Matthieu Garcia, who was walking his dog when he saw it.
That would make it a free-range chicken.
Garcia took the photos above and below. Asked if the chicken was in fact his chicken (we were just making sure this wasn’t a publicity stunt of some sort), Garcia told us “No, I do not have any affiliation with this chicken.”
The chicken appeared to be intrigued by the dogs.
“She seemed very calm and just watched from the rocks,” Garcia wrote.
Update: Garcia spotted the same chicken on Tuesday morning too.
For more local chicken coverage, learn about the guy who walks his chicken in Central Park and the mystery of the backyard chicken.
Nice looking chicken. Looks like a she.
Hope no one makes a dinner out of her, including the local coyote.
Good luck and welcome to NYC.
Good point.
I hope the coyotes or hawks don’t eat this chicken.
Is the red tailed hawk in Riverside Park big enough to take the chicken?
I would think a chicken (or hen?) would be fair game for a hawk or other bird of prey.
Another gets away
from Chick-Fil-A!
Instead of taking pics, how about contacting the Wild Bird Fund and ask how the chicken can be rescued. Was obviously dumped by someone.
Agreed!!!!
The chicken was rescued by NYPD.
Does anyone know where the chicken is now? My friend who has chickens as pets in the country would take her.
I suppose I’m happy to hear the chicken has been rescued but wish the police worked on more pressing matters on the UWS.
o FOR HEAVENS SAKE,THE COPS DO THE RIGHT THING,BUT IS WRONG BECAUSE IT,S ACHICKEN …ALWAYS A FAULT FINDER.; NO WONDER THE SUN IS HIDING UNDER YOUR CLOUD.
+1
“It reminds me of that old joke- you know, a guy walks into a psychiatrist’s office and says, hey doc, my brother’s crazy! He thinks he’s a chicken. Then the doc says, why don’t you turn him in? Then the guy says, I would but I need the eggs. I guess that’s how I feel about relationships. They’re totally crazy, irrational, and absurd, but we keep going through it because we need the eggs.”
― Woody Allen, Annie Hall: Screenplay
This happened at exactly the same location some 14 years ago! The rumor at the time was that said chicken had escaped a Santeria ritual. I think it ended up at the ASPCA, though how it got there is anyone’s guess (did it cross the road, one wonders?)…
“Good luck and welcome to NYC”…in such divisive times, this is what we need more of.
Well, that chicken must have crossed a number of roads to get to the other side in Riverside Park. Possibly?
Take it to the wild bird fund on the upper west side please!
I suspect foul play.
“fowl” play?
Thanks for pointing this out. The chicken was delicious
were there any eggs around the chicken? I’ve always wondered which came first …
Marjie has asked that compelling, age-old question, “were there any eggs around the chicken? I’ve always wondered which came first …”. There are many possible answers. The theological answer is that God created the chicken and the egg at the same time.
Yes, either take him over to the Wild Bird Fund….or Popeye’s….either way.:)
My son in Brooklyn has a few hens and a fine protective
First-class pen with its own protective yard. Just for the eggs. Let’s them wander out to wander in his small carefully fenced yard too. Maybe he can take this to join his three or four before hen gets attacked by predator. Will forward photos.
I rescued a chicken from Riverside Park several ago, before my dog chased it down. It was a fancy-type male rooster, and I could not find a place that was willing to take it. I did my best to care for him, but he died. I have no idea why he had been abandoned out in the Park.
Is there any update on the chicken? I hope the N.Y.P.D. saved it, and didn’t deep-fry it. Did this bird even have a name? Or was it a no-name chicken? If only chickens could talk, it must have quite a story on how it got to be on that rock, possibly escaping a voodoo ceremony that really would have cooked its goose…er…chicken.
This article is the perfect demonstration of even intelligent society’s serious disregard for most animals, especially “farm” animals, and its utter lack of awareness of their needs, as well as suffering. This chicken is a domestic animal, bred for food production. As a domestic bird, his abilities to fly are limited. He would have no way to find food, water, or escape predators in Riverside Park. Not to mention that chickens, like most birds, are incredibly social “flock” animals–a single chicken is terrified to be alone, especially in an unfamiliar environment filled with dangers, like off-leash dogs. Would the piece have been equally “jokey” had it described an abandoned golden retriever, left in the park without sustenance or shelter, sitting alone on the rocks? Would it also have not occurred to either the finder nor the author of the article that the animal needed rescue? This article was rightfully classified as an “absurdity,” because such apathy with respect to a living creature is absurd. It is an an act of animal cruelty to abandon domestic animals, and it is also illegal. Thankfully, this bird was rescued and transferred to the Wild Bird Fund, where he will be placed in a sanctuary or private home where he will receive the care he needs and deserves. Animal suffering is not a joke.
Thank you! It’s a hen and was most likely someone’s pet. I’m very glad she got taken to a rescue and placed in someone’s care who’s familiar with chickens and their needs.
“He”? Maybe not lost but just looking for the west east passage to 5th Ave. Wonder if it’s name is Lewis or Clark?
Such a pretty chicken, I hope it’s safe and happy. And I wish people wouldn’t be so judgmental of each other.
If you can Catch her i can take her – I have a coop She’ll be safe