It’s time to meet the chickens. Hennifer, D.H. (Donut Hole) and Fluffer-Butt have arrived from for their summer sojourn from a farm in Upstate New York at the volunteer-run M’Finda Kalunga Community Garden on the Lower East Side. The nonprofit garden has hosted the chickens, who tend to be older hens whose egg production has declined, for at least a decade.

“It’s quite a long drive for them, but once they are down here, they love the garden,” said Carina Liu, co-chair of the chicken committee who has tended to the chickens for the past eight years. “At first they’re shy, and before you know it, they’re clucking and demanding to be let out of the chicken coop.”

Now that the chickens have settled in — and given names by neighborhood children who frequent the garden — the public is invited to Hello Chickens! on Saturday, July 18, 2-4pm. Visitors will learn about the chickens and how to care for them during the all-ages event which is FREE. Depending on the number of volunteers available, the chickens may make an appearance outside of the coop. The garden is also home to four turtles and a koi pond that families are welcome to explore.

The chickens will live at the park until the end of October and then return to their farm in Cambridge, N.Y., a participant in the Stanton Street CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program on the Lower East Side. Volunteers are responsible for feeding the chickens, providing fresh water, cleaning the coops and keeping track of the chickens, who are very quick according to Liu, when they roam outside of the coop. It’s also great fun to figuring out the different sets of personalities each year. Some are sassy, others polite or pensive.

M’Finda Kalunga Community Garden is located in Sara D. Roosevelt Park (enter at Rivington between Forsyth and Christie Streets), Lower East Side. Public hours are Tuesday, 5:30-7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday, noon-4pm. Follow the garden and the city summer adventures of the chickens on Instagram @mkgarden_

Posted on July 16, 2026