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Chicken Roams Around Riverside Park, Watches Dogs

January 27, 2020 | 11:53 PM - Updated on January 28, 2020 | 9:47 AM
in ABSURDITY, OUTDOORS
31

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.

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31 Comments
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ZoomZ
ZoomZ
5 years ago

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.

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Sherman
Sherman
5 years ago
Reply to  ZoomZ

Good point.

I hope the coyotes or hawks don’t eat this chicken.

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cjc
cjc
5 years ago

Is the red tailed hawk in Riverside Park big enough to take the chicken?

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dc
dc
5 years ago
Reply to  cjc

I would think a chicken (or hen?) would be fair game for a hawk or other bird of prey.

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RCP
RCP
5 years ago

Another gets away
from Chick-Fil-A!

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Chris
Chris
5 years ago

Instead of taking pics, how about contacting the Wild Bird Fund and ask how the chicken can be rescued. Was obviously dumped by someone.

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lin
lin
5 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Agreed!!!!

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Anastasia
Anastasia
5 years ago
Reply to  Chris

The chicken was rescued by NYPD.

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suzanne m hines
suzanne m hines
5 years ago
Reply to  Anastasia

Does anyone know where the chicken is now? My friend who has chickens as pets in the country would take her.

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LongtimeNYer
LongtimeNYer
5 years ago
Reply to  Anastasia

I suppose I’m happy to hear the chicken has been rescued but wish the police worked on more pressing matters on the UWS.

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CAROL
CAROL
5 years ago
Reply to  LongtimeNYer

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.

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NYYgirl
NYYgirl
5 years ago
Reply to  Chris

+1

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Lord Of The Slice
Lord Of The Slice
5 years ago

“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

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Ruth Bonnet
Ruth Bonnet
5 years ago

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?)…

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BT
BT
5 years ago

“Good luck and welcome to NYC”…in such divisive times, this is what we need more of.

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Christina
Christina
5 years ago

Well, that chicken must have crossed a number of roads to get to the other side in Riverside Park. Possibly?

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Jill Sears
Jill Sears
5 years ago

Take it to the wild bird fund on the upper west side please!

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Chickity China
Chickity China
5 years ago

I suspect foul play.

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Reply
Marjie
Marjie
5 years ago
Reply to  Chickity China

“fowl” play?

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Mike Fields
Mike Fields
5 years ago

Thanks for pointing this out. The chicken was delicious

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Marjie
Marjie
5 years ago

were there any eggs around the chicken? I’ve always wondered which came first …

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JerryV
JerryV
5 years ago
Reply to  Marjie

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.

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UWS_lifer
UWS_lifer
5 years ago

Yes, either take him over to the Wild Bird Fund….or Popeye’s….either way.:)

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Doris
Doris
5 years ago

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.

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Barbara Morgan
Barbara Morgan
5 years ago

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.

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L.A.
L.A.
5 years ago

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.

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Jessica
Jessica
5 years ago

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.  

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Hylla
Hylla
5 years ago
Reply to  Jessica

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.

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LarryK
LarryK
5 years ago
Reply to  Jessica

“He”? Maybe not lost but just looking for the west east passage to 5th Ave. Wonder if it’s name is Lewis or Clark?

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Kathleen
Kathleen
5 years ago

Such a pretty chicken, I hope it’s safe and happy. And I wish people wouldn’t be so judgmental of each other.

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Patty
Patty
5 years ago

If you can Catch her i can take her – I have a coop She’ll be safe

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Reply

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