Retired Sentinel chickens granted reprieve by city

Norfolk's sentinel chickens, who serve as a front line of defense to mosquito-borne illnesses, have been granted a reprieve from their usual ending of euthanasia.

The dozen leghorn chickens, who were stationed in locations around the city during the spring and summer months, had their blood drawn every two weeks and tested for West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis.

Chickens that tested positive during the season were immediately euthanized to avoid cross-contamination of other chickens, said Penny Smelser, environmental health specialist for the city's Vector Control Division.

In previous years, those who survived until the end of mosquito season were euthanized in October, to the dismay of Vector Control staff.

Now, Norfolk is joining neighboring cities Hampton, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Suffolk in rewarding their hard-working sentinels with retirement.

"Our chickens escaped the guillotine this year," Smelser said. "We received permission from the higher-ups to send them to retirement at a poultry sanctuary on the Eastern Shore."

At no cost to the city, the 12 sentinels were picked up Oct. 15 by sanctuary director Karen Davis. They now reside at United Poultry Concerns, a sanctuary in Machipango, where they can roam and mingle with other poultry, including Hampton's former sentinels. When they're not socializing, the chickens reside in the safety of predator-proof cages.

"Karen called us after they arrived and told us they were very happy and getting along well with the other chickens," Smelser said. "The staff here is glad they were spared this year."

Suffolk sends its sentinel chickens to Chocowinity Chicken Sanctuary in North Carolina and Chesapeake offers theirs to local citizens, who care for them while enjoying freshly-laid eggs. Retired Virginia Beach sentinels spend their golden years on a 106-acre farm at the appropriately named The New Life Center, a residential treatment center for drug and alcohol abusers in Southampton County.

Lia Russell, 222-5829, lia.russell@pilotonline.com