Feeding Feral Chickens Keeps Flocks in Honolulu
Owners of property with feral flocks can use the city's discounted trapping and disposal services instead of leaving food out.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Wildlife
Live Poll
Do you currently feed feral chickens or other wild birds in your neighborhood?
The City and County of Honolulu Department of Customer Services has asked residents to stop feeding feral chickens, reminding the public on November 6, 2026 that feeding encourages flocks to gather where they create nuisances.
Why it matters
Feeding draws feral flocks into neighborhoods and parks and keeps them there, which undermines the city's trapping work and the ongoing nuisance complaints that come with roaming birds. Official complaints have declined, but the department says interference continues to set back control efforts.
The City and County of Honolulu has placed "Do Not Feed Feral Chicken" signs in public parks and on City buses. The city also offers discounted trapping and disposal services for private-property owners.
The players
City and County of Honolulu Department of Customer Services
The city department that runs feral chicken control, including the signage campaign, problem-area trapping, and discounted services for private-property owners.
The details
Feeding gives feral chickens a steady food source, so flocks gather and stay in the same spots, where they become a recurring nuisance. The City deploys specialized traps in problem areas, but the pest-control contractor has run into interference, including vandalized or tampered traps and captured birds that were released. Residents who want help with a flock on their own property can use the city's discounted trapping and disposal services instead of feeding the birds.
Timeline
November 6, 2026: the Department of Customer Services issued its reminder to residents about feral chicken control.
The Home Front
The city's signage campaign and discounted private-property trapping service form the current framework for managing feral chickens on Oahu. The November 2026 reminder shows the department still relying on public cooperation to make that framework work.
If feral chickens are roaming near your property, avoid leaving food out and contact the City and County of Honolulu about discounted trapping and disposal for private-property owners. Feeding them, even occasionally, can bring the flock back to your yard and keep it there.
The takeaway
The simplest step a Honolulu household can take is to keep food and scraps away from feral chickens and to ask the city about discounted trapping if a flock has settled on your property. Stopping the feeding is what lets the department's trapping and disposal work hold.
Further reading
For more on how urban wildlife conflicts are managed, browse the Wildlife section for related coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Hawaiinewsnow.
Live Poll
Do you currently feed feral chickens or other wild birds in your neighborhood?
