Chicken Invasion: Yuba City Woman Says Feral Fowl Took Over Her Yard

YUBA CITY (CBS13) — A Yuba City woman says chickens have taken over her town and she's sick of it.

She says they're making a mess, causing damage, and no one is doing anything about it.

"When I go to unlock my front door and I got a chicken that attacks me on my head? I got a big problem with this," Brynda Delong said. "I want the chickens gone."

Feral chickens are invading Brynda's home. They poop on her porch, scratch up her car and attack her on her doorstep. When showing Call Kurtis' team the damage, Brynda singled out a particular chicken that attacked her.

"That's the one right there that jumped on my head yesterday. I'm gonna start shaking. I'm serious," she said. "I got home from a meeting yesterday and opened my front door and a chicken flew on my head and it would not get off my head."

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It's impossible to say how many have moved in, but Brynda says the smell is atrocious. She's counted three roosters, dozens of hens and at least 25 baby chicks. And that's just the live ones. She also showed off the more gruesome side of this chicken invasion.

"I shouldn't have to deal with stuff like this. You can see the blood on that you know? The county doesn't want to do anything about it. Now I get to smell another rotting chicken," she said.

Love 'em or hate 'em, Yuba City is famous for its free-roaming chickens. Some people like to feed them in the grocery store parking lot. Animal Control said they have no idea how many feral chickens are roaming the streets.

"I'm glad they embrace them. They probably don't have to deal with chicken crap in their yard on a daily basis or a chicken flying on your head and scratching it," Delong said.

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Brynda wants them gone but says Sutter County is not doing anything. Animal control said they'll take them for $25 a head, but Brynda said that's not going to happen.

So who is responsible for removing wild chickens from private property? Megan Anderson with the Sutter County Animal Shelter said every case is different. In an agricultural community like Yuba City, removing chickens is typically up to the homeowner.

The shelter will pitch in by loaning out traps and taking in strays, but after the Call Kurtis team got involved, Anderson agreed Brynda's case is extreme.

"It's one thing to be annoyed by a chicken, but it's another thing when they're starting to jump on you and cause harm," Anderson said.

She sent an officer out to assess Brynda's problem. They captured the chicken that attacked her head, removed a rooster and helped Brynda remove 18 fertilized eggs, but she wants them all gone.

"It's about time," Brynda said. "I feel like I'm constantly looking over my back, not knowing if a chicken is going to come at me or not."

It's technically illegal to feed feral chickens. If caught, you could face a fine.