Chickens Find Safe Home, Y’All

The Daily News returns today to the story of The Great Northeast High Chicken Prank. As part of, um, the most awesomest prank ever the night of Feb. 10, a group of people let loose 85 chickens in Northeast High School. They were discovered in the morning to much hilarity.

Now, the 85 Rhode Island red hens let loose in Northeast are headed to Fox Chase Farm in Northeast Philly. There are already four hens at the farm, so what’s 85 more? Although there was video surveillance of the crime scene, cops still don’t know who did it. They also have much more important things to worry about, like policing the flower show.

Hens found at Northeast High to rule roost at Fox Chase Farm [Daily News]

Chicken Prank Surveillance Video!

We now have a surveillance video from The Great Northeast High Chicken Prank, and… boy… is it sure… there. Okay, so the surveillance vid doesn’t show much beyond a couple blurry figures dressed in black spreading chicken feed around.

Meanwhile, Action News calls the prank “cruel and dirty.” And the Daily News has an article with so many puns even I’m cringing.

Your Chicken Prank Roundup

Ahh, yes, the chickens. Yesterday, somebody let 85 chickens loose in Northeast High School, leading to much hilarity and a bunch of kids writing “167″ in the PWD comments. (Is this the 167th class or something?)

Everybody did a nice job reporting this important news story. NBC 10 talks with the school and confirms this was most likely a senior prank. The station also talks to students, who do Tweety Bird impressions for the camera:

“I actually did see a chicken, I did, in the basement. It was running and the security guard was chasing it,” senior Satoria Bell said.

The floors were covered with chicken feed and chicken waste. Officials called in a farmer to help round up and remove the birds. Some witnesses said the chickens were laying eggs all over the building but most students said they didn’t see anything.

“I didn’t see any chickens,” one student said.

More »

Chickens Loose At Northeast High!

Pranksters, you are going to have to do a lot to top this one. The prank of the year: 50 live chickens were let out in the halls of Northeast High School.

Some time this morning, someone broke into the school and released 50 live chickens and chicken feed into the school. Maintenance men discovered the chickens just before light this morning. A school spokesman said: “At this point, we don’t know when someone broke into the school but someone did break into at the start of school this morning and dropped off fifty or more chickens into Northeast High School and spread chicken feed all over the school.”

Someone is going to have to put penguins in Audenreid in order to top this, honestly. I think we have a unbeatable front-runner right now.

50 Live Chickens Set Free Inside NE High School [KYW 1060]

Cocks Dig Rocky

Earlier this year, a small town in Serbia announced it was going to put up a Rocky statue in order to distract the citizens from the giant floods and landslides it had suffered. Putting up a likeness of Rocky Balboa would inspire the citizens of Zitiste, about 35 miles north of Belgrade.

They have now unveiled the statue, along with a few giant chickens. (Perhaps Rocky will fight a giant chicken in Rocky VII.) “Our idea has really stirred the public,” said the mayor, Zoran Kasalovic. “Now, no one in Serbia can say they don’t know about Zitiste.” Or its giant chickens.

Serbian village unveils Rocky Balboa statue [AP/MSNBC.com]
[Photo via AP/Yahoo]

This Is What Happens When You Mess With Our Cars

Ha ha, remember last week when that owl osprey shrew fox puppet giant sloth parked car red-tailed hawk blocked I-95 and made everyone late to work? (Of course you do. it’s still even on the front page.)

Well, apparently the motorists had their revenge, since on Friday the hawk was killed due to injuries sustained during her traffic blockage. Both of her wings were broken, and there was no way to correct the bone fractures.

Doctor Michele Goodman explained the decision:

“It’s just not to fair to subject a young raptor to the life of a chicken,” she said.

I’m waiting, chicken lovers/breeders/whatever, for your angry protests against this gallus-hating doctor.

Hawk that snarled I-95 traffic euthanized [Inquirer]

This city is a zoo

I apologize for not posting any Northeast Times letters yesterday. Things were hectic. But, today, I’ve refocused, and stumbled upon the continuing debate over Jeanne Smith and her chickens:

Chicken lady is getting a raw deal

Please tell me this is a joke: A woman by the name of Jeanne Smith has chickens and someone is upset.

I just retired from the police department. The entire area of the East Division looks like a farm. They have llamas, camels and chickens. There must be hundreds on every block living in everybody’s back yard. These evil people who are going after Jeanne should be ashamed. If she has the room and the kids like it, go for it.

Wow. Hundreds of llamas and camels inhabiting our city. Who knew?

Chicken lady is getting a raw deal [Northeast Times, fifth letter]

Bullish on chickens

I’ve spent all day trying to figure out just what Northeast Times letter I wanted to put up on the site and gently mock. It’s been a tough decision — the one mentioning the girl who spent an extra year at school so she could organize a dance, the one about the paint job at a local school, the one saying a priest should be aborted, the incomprehensible one from Tony Irish, &c. were all losers — and I’ve settled on this pair of letters that are kind of similar to each other:

The city took Jeanne Smith to court over her chickens in 2000 and the city lost. So then in 2004 they pass an ordinance that you can’t keep farm animals in the city. Why are they after Smith? She had the chickens before the ordinance. As long as she takes care of her animals she should be able to keep them. How much money has been spent on this case by the city of Philadelphia over the years?
A barking dog makes more noise than a chicken. Dog waste smells pretty bad, too. Will that be the next ordinance to be passed by City Council?

Ida Steer
Holmesburg

I feel the city should leave Jeanne Smith alone. She uses her chickens to teach children. Not only that, she has had them long before the new law was passed. This “grandfather” clause applies to every other law that is passed, why not now?

I believe there is more to this than chickens. What’s with Mr. O’Neill and his involvement? Why doesn’t the city go after people who don’t pick up after their dogs? That’s a law that’s not enforced.
Chuck Steer
Holmesburg

Thank you for your identical letters, Mr. and Mrs. Steer.

Letters to the Editor 02.16 [Northeast Times]