Bay Bridge chicken in transition to a happy schoolyard coop

San Francisco Chronicle/SF Gate/Bay City News, 9/7/15. "Ex-mayoral candidate claims ownership of Bay Bridge chicken."

Cozy chicken coop

Mama chicken is alpha

A 2014 Oakland mayoral candidate has claimed ownership of a chicken that tried to cross the Bay Bridge on Wednesday....  Ken Houston, a local contractor and chairman of the East Oakland Beautification Council said he was planning on bringing two chickens to the Stonehurst Edible Schoolyard on behalf of the council...  The schoolyard is adjacent to the Esperanza Elementary School and Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy in East Oakland.

Ken Houston said he already donated two chickens on behalf of the council and he was planning on delivery two others on Wednesday, when he stopped by the old Army base in Oakland near the Bay Bridge toll plaza to check on a contracting job, he said. He had both chickens with him, but when he came back to his car, they were missing. .... the box had been tipped over and (the chickens) had escaped," ....  Officers eventually found one of the two chickens, which they named "Chip." The other chicken has not been found, Houston said.

.... Suzanne Ludlum, the education coordinator at the edible schoolyard, said she's excited to begin caring for the hen. The garden was built approximately five years ago on land owned by Oakland Parks and Recreation, Houston said. Ludlum said they installed chicken coops six months ago and already have five chickens.  Read article.

Related article - CBS San Francisco News/Associated Press, 9/2/15. "Custody battle waged over chicken caught on California bridge."  "The Oakland Tribune reports Friday that the Oakland Animal Shelter has the chicken that strutted between cars at the Bay Bridge toll plaza early Wednesday. She was eventually captured by the California Highway Patrol. ... the chicken is named Chip in a nod to the CHP..."  (Note: article includes "30 photos", 29 unrelated animals in the wrong place).

Note photographs:  Chicken in front of car by Anne Makovec on Twitter from the SF Gate article, slide 5 of 10.  Chicken back of police car from the related CBS article.

Posted by Kathy Meeh