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These Roaming Chickens are Ruffling Bastrop Residents' Feathers

The city of Bastrop has been dealing with a flock of chickens that roam the city freely, protected by law.
Image via Pexels/Karolina Grabowska (Public Domain)
The city of Bastrop has been dealing with a flock of chickens that roam the city freely, protected by law.

From Texas Standard:

Since 2009, chickens are legally free to roam a paved road in Bastrop called Farm Street – there's even a sign that says so. The stretch of road is home to an  historic chicken sanctuary. But now there's so many chickens migrating into other roads in people's yards, it's creating considerable chaos.

Ken Kesselus, the mayor ofBastrop, says he doesn't give one cluck – if they wander away from safety, they might be fair game.

"I do care about them. If people want them in their yards, they have a right to have them. It's when they go into the yard, where they don't want them, or they're in the street where they don't belong,"Kesselussays. "Half the people in this community probably like the chickens – some people protect them...There are other who see them as a nuisance."

Many complaints have been about the roosters who crow late at night and keep people awake.

"We've had quite a number of people who have been really irritated and called our animal control people to round them up when they're outside the protected zone – but they're very difficult to catch."

Listen to the full interview in the player above. 

Copyright 2020 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit KUT 90.5.

Texas Standard reporter Joy Diaz has amassed a lengthy and highly recognized body of work in public media reporting. Prior to joining Texas Standard, Joy was a reporter with Austin NPR station KUT on and off since 2005. There, she covered city news and politics, education, healthcare and immigration.
Alain Stephens heads up investigative reports for Texas Standard. A graduate of the University of North Texas and a veteran of two of the U.S. armed forces, Alain served both in the Coast Guard and the Air Force. His work has won accolades for exposing how the state pays those with disabilities below minimum wage, as well as the fast-tracking of juveniles to adult prisons. Contact Alain at astephens@kut.org, or (512) 232-6173.