Our Story
Phone Number: 305-292-1008. Since 2009, the Wildlife Center has been part of a concession agreement with the City of Key West to provide rescue, medical care, re-homing and adoption services for the feral chickens of Key West. Since that time, we have striven to provide the best possible environment for the chickens under our care with an emphasis on nutrition and cleanliness. We rescue many sick, orphaned, and injured local chickens as a result of car strikes, respiratory diseases, avian pox, botulism, cock-fighting injuries, broken legs, wing injuries, and eye injuries, just to name a few. Our center focuses on all aspects of optimal nutrition and a clean facility to help rehabilitate the sick and injured birds we rescue. We provide high protein chicken feed and add fresh produce as a dietary enhancement donated by St. Mary’s Star of the Sea soup kitchen. We provide medical care to help sick and injured birds get in optimal shape before we find them new homes.We do not provide medical treatment for pet chickens. Pets should be treated by a licensed veterinarian.
WHERE DO THE CHICKENS GO?
Since June of 2011 we have worked pro-actively to find a number of properties and partner with the individuals on the Florida mainland who can provide care and good homes for Key West chickens. Some of our rescued chickens are housed on an organic orange orchard in Lake Worth to provide pesticide free bug control. We also partner with Peat Marsh Ranch, a 12,000 acre free range home near Okeechobee that also provides space for our birds. In August of 2012 we partnered with a ranch outside of Fort Meyers that has an eight acre free range space to provide a loving home for our chickens. These are just a few of the locations we have found where caring individuals maintain properties that provide ideal homes for the Key West chickens.
FUNDING AND SERVICES
While our wildlife rescue and rehabilitation services are solely funded through donations, our chicken services are funded by the City of Key West. Our annual budget for the City of Key West’s chicken program is approximately $49,000. We provide rescue services for injured, sick, and orphaned Key West chickens and find them homes under our concession agreement. We also partner with the citizens of Key West to provide solutions for chickens that are not wanted on their private property or businesses. Citizens can borrow humane chicken traps for a totally refundable security deposit of $100.00 to trap chickens on their own property. It is the individual’s responsibility to bring the chickens to the center in a timely manner. The chickens brought to us are provided care and then given new homes on the Florida mainland. For individuals or businesses who do not wish to trap the birds themselves, we also work with independent local Belinda Coyner who will trap chickens for a fee and then bring them to our center. Belinda can be reached at 305-748-7205.