Published: March 10, 2009 12:51 pm      

Fitzgerald crowing over wild chicken fest success

Submitted by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources

FITZGERALD — Historic downtown Fitzgerald struts its stuff again March 20-21 with the city’s Wild Chicken Festival, an annual event announced by the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division in partnership with the community.

The lineup on Saturday, March 21, starts with a pancake breakfast and ends with a group chicken dance. But the festival itself began as a rattlesnake roundup that, after 28 years, organizers converted in 2001 to focus on the town’s wild Burmese chicken population.

The Wildlife Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources applauded the change, noting declining eastern diamondback rattlesnake populations and the illegal and destructive practice of gassing gopher tortoise burrows to collect rattlers.

The Fitzgerald sole festival isn’t missing the snakes. Event Chairman Barry Peavey said turnout has been “tremendous,” going “well past” expectations and easily surpassing the latter years of the roundup, which had trailed off in popularity.

Community involvement this year has been strong, even with the down economy, and new features include a motorcycle poker run, a classic car show, a Miss Wild Chicken pageant, art as part of the state’s Grassroots Arts Program and a nature show by The Parks at Chehaw. That’s in addition to crowing and wing-eating contests, crafts, food and a mechanical bull ride, all packed into a historic district laced with blooming azaleas and, well, wild chickens.

“A lot of the community has seen the value” of the festival, Peavey said.

A crowd of about 6,000 is expected. Admission is free, though there are fees for some activities.

The main draw at rattlesnake roundups, which are still held in Georgia in Claxton and Whigham, is diamondback rattlesnakes collected by snake hunters. Yet, although started by communities to remove the threat of rattlers near houses and businesses, today’s roundups include only a fraction of so-called nuisance snakes, said John Jensen, a senior wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Resources Division’s Nongame Conservation Section. Most of the rattlesnakes come from areas far away and even from “wild” lands where they pose virtually no danger to people, Jensen said.

“The roundup aspect of these festivals today is so limited in participation and interest that it could easily be replaced with captive snakes without impacting the success of the events, and without contributing to further declines of this magnificent predator and the many other species that seek shelter in gopher tortoise burrows,” he said.

Fitzgerald and Ben Hill County sport diverse wildlife and the state’s only resident population of wild Burmese chickens, Peavey said. The chickens were stocked across Georgia in the 1960s as a game bird for hunting. Populations dwindled and even disappeared elsewhere, but prospered in Fitzgerald.

Switching the theme of the city’s sole festival has spread awareness of the ecologically important role rattlesnakes play as natural predators in Ben Hill County and surrounding areas, Jensen said. The hope is that other rattlesnake roundups will also convert to wildlife and family friendly festivals, or at least drop the roundup aspect and focus on information entertainment regarding rattlesnakes.

The Wild Chicken fest always includes a quarter-a-vote Love ’em or Hate ’em poll on the chickens, which, according to www.wildchickenfestival.com, wake residents in the morning, sometimes clog traffic and possibly keep bug populations down.

“The Love ’ems have won every year,” Peavey said.



WILD CHICKEN FEST AT A GLANCE

** What: Annual Fitzgerald festival with the city’s wild Burmese chicken population as the theme.

** When: March 20-21.

** Where: Fitzgerald downtown historic district.

** Highlights: Food vendors, arts and crafts attractions, rock wall, bungee jumps, mechanical bull ride, pony rides, face painting, pancake breakfast, group chicken dance, wing eating contest, chicken crowing contest, Wild Chicken Sprint 5K, Love ’em or Hate ’em Chicken Vote and Pet Adoptathon, clowns, Spirit Riders poker run, classic car show, Miss Wild Chicken pageant, The Parks at Chehaw nature show, Fitzgerald Gymnastics Academy demonstration.

** Admission: The festival is free. Some activities cost.

** Details: 800-386-4642 or www.wildchickenfestival.com.