A chick magnet: Duke Gardens promotes chickens with naming contest

<p>Horticulturist Lindsey Fleetwood said that the Gardens wants to find names that fit the chickens’ personalities.</p>

Horticulturist Lindsey Fleetwood said that the Gardens wants to find names that fit the chickens’ personalities.

Dogs may no longer be allowed in the Gardens, but chickens are flourishing.

The Sarah P. Duke Gardens is hosting a contest for members of the Duke community to name several chickens currently kept in the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden. Out of the submitted names, favorites will chosen by the Gardens’ staff, and final names will be chosen by the community in another round of voting. A few of the best submissions so far have included “Tyrannosaurus Pecks,” “Lindsey Lo-hen” and “Yolko Ono,” wrote Orla Swift, director of marketing and communications for the Gardens, in an email.

The contest aims to generate excitement about the Gardens within the Duke community, explained Kavanah Anderson, education program coordinator for the Gardens.

“It’s a way for the families who have been visiting and may have favorite chickens to share that with everyone else and to share their excitement about the chickens,” she said.

Lindsey Fleetwood, horticulturist and chicken caretaker, noted that many people do not realize the Gardens has a new crop of chickens, which she said “came in the mail” June 29. When a chicken hatches, it eats the yolk inside the egg, which gives it enough energy and hydration to last several days—plus a journey through the postal service. The chicks are placed in a cardboard box with holes in it along with a heating pad during the trip, Fleetwood explained.

“The minute you open them, you give them water and they’re fine,” she said. “They’re pretty resilient.”

Now that they are settled in their new homes, the chicks are ready for some proper names.

Swift noted that over 140 entries have been submitted so far. In total, there are three contests, each to name three chickens—one contest for the public, one for Duke students and staff and one for the Gardens’ volunteers. The Doris Duke Center Gardens staff will select finalists over the weekend, which people may vote on during the final round Oct. 3-7.

Name ideas have ranged from celebrities to chicken puns to more elegant titles, Swift said. Other entrants offered themed trios of names from opera, Shakespeare and fairy tales.

Fleetwood emphasized the importance of finding a name that “fits the chickens’ personalities.”

“[The contest] is something that we’d been talking about doing for a while to help get the public more involved,” she said. “It’s a good opportunity to get more ownership from the public.”

Fleetwood added that her favorite submission so far has been “Nightshade,” but that as a David Bowie fan, she would also like to name one “Jean Genie.”

Anderson, who coordinates the children’s programs at the Gardens, said that the chickens are especially popular among kids.

“It’s a reason for them to visit the Gardens and get excited about plants,” she said. “And then you end up learning about all of the other exciting things that live here.”

The Duke Gardens made news earlier this month when it announced it will no longer allow dogs on its premises beginning January 2017. That might not be a problem though, with a new crop of chickens taking their place and submissions for name ideas flooding in.

“It’s going to be extremely hard for the staff to narrow the choices for next week’s final vote,” Swift wrote.

Correction: The final round of voting for the chicken names is from Oct. 3 to Oct. 7. The Chronicle regrets the error.

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