Celebrity Chicken Walks the Walk

By GABRIELLA BOCK | Reporter

How did the chicken cross the road? Safely.

Because now, thanks to a celebrity Palisadian tastemaker, urban “pet guardians” have learned how they can take their favorite fowl out for a stroll and, yes, cross highways on foot and claw.

The growth of “backyard chickens” has been a noted phenomenon in Californian cities but until now most fowl have been kept out of the public (and coyote) eye behind high fences.

But in recent days there has been an explosion in sales of “chicken harnesses” complete with leashes that are permitting proud owners to take a favorite hen for a walk.

(Roosters, still banned from most backyards in Los Angeles, are a different issue.)

This followed a single social media post on Monday, Nov. 6, by actress Jennifer Garner introducing the world to her beloved backyard chicken, Regina George.

The hen is named after Rachel McAdams’ character in Tina Fey’s 2004 comedy “Mean Girls.”

A self-proclaimed “chicken lady,” Garner and Regina are shown strolling about their Riviera neighborhood with Regina George apparently quite calm in harness and leash.

The charming image on Instagram went viral.

Valhoma, an Oklahoma company that has sold harnesses to chicken (and dog) walkers for “many years,” said they have been “inundated” with orders from young urban couples who did not realize you could take your pet fowl for a walk.

But is walking a chicken easy?

“It depends on the hen, and her nature and curiosity, and also whether your neighbors will respect your space when walking their dogs,” said a Valhoma official in Tulsa last week.

“But with growing popularity in backyard chickens especially in California we have seen a leap in our orders, and role models like Jennifer Garner help.”

On Monday, Nov. 13, just a week after Regina George made her internet debut, the Valhoma site on eBay reported that its Hot Pink Henn stock was “almost gone.”

Over the years, local trends in urban farming have steadily increased as more Angelenos make the transition into greener living.

To meet the city’s swelling demands for backyard fowl keeping, the Los Angeles County chicken ordinance permits up to five birds per residence with the understanding that the coop must be kept 25 feet away from the owner’s dwelling and 35 feet from neighbors.

A recently conducted poll on social media site Nextdoor revealed that of 83 homes in Pacific Palisades, 5 percent of residents have backyard chickens while another 17 percent are interested in acquiring egg producers of their own.

In Marquez Knolls, local real estate agent Cece Webb’s Barred Plymouth Rocks and Easter Eggers—known for their beautiful, blue and pink colored eggs—make up part of the Palisades’ growing chicken population.

Inspired by other area enthusiasts, Webb told the Palisadian-Post that she took up urban farming last spring after her family took a trip out to a breeding farm in Lompoc.

With the help of her three children, the Webbs built their own backyard coop from recycled materials such as wooden pallets and old open house signs.

The specially designed hen haven helps prevent natural predators such as coyotes and raccoons from reaching the roosting birds, a problem that Webb said local chicken keepers should remain on alert for.

“During the day our chickens can be in the coop or go out into the run, and at night, I lock up the coop to keep them warm and safe,” she explained.

The birds eat a healthy diet of organic chicken feed, available at nearby farm and livestock feed supply store Malibu Feed Bin, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Back in The Riviera, Garner revealed that, along with long walks around the neighborhood, pampered hen Regina George loves eating a steady diet of beetles and cabbage.

And, much like her namesake, “hates foods with a high carbohydrate content.”