We’ve Seen Feral Hogs, Feral Dogs, and Feral Cats. But Feral Chickens?

It's true.  Parts of New Orleans are overrun by them, and it's because of Hurricane Katrina.  New Orleans' wild chicken population has been exploding ever since that storm hit the city in 2005.

Most people figure the wild birds are descended from domesticated fowl that escaped backyard coops after the storm.

Ever since then, the feral chicken population has mushroomed, and the local SPCA chapter sends officers out every week to catch them.

These birds are mean, and they won't back down from anything or anyone.  Dogs, cats and even some people are terrified of them.

You would think dodging chicken droppings, or attacks on children or pets would be the most common complaints, but an SPCA spokeswoman says most of the calls they get are from people complaining about the noise.

The spokeswoman says the chickens are very hard to catch and it often takes several animal control officers to catch just one. The captured chickens are placed with a farmer they call the Chicken Man.

via Feral chickens have proliferated in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina | NOLA.com.

Some residents catch chickens and cook them for dinner, but some actually like having them around roaming the neighbornood.

"I love 'em, me," said Mattie Smith, who sees the chickens every morning as she putters in her garden in the Upper 9th Ward.