DETROIT (WXYZ) — All 22 chickens and two geese stolen from a Grosse Pointe Park nonprofit's educational farm over the Fourth of July holiday weekend have been found safe and returned home.
The animals belonged to the Ribbons Farm 4-H Club and were kept at the Full Circle Foundation's garden. Volunteers discovered the coop empty after thieves took the birds over the holiday weekend.
The animals were found on a vacant property on Audubon Road off of E. Warren Avenue in Detroit — less than a mile from where they were taken — after the property owner, Pat Whittaker, received a call from her contractor.
"I thought it was really a prank. Could you imagine someone calling you saying there's chickens in your backyard in Detroit — in Detroit," Whittaker said.
Whittaker said when her contractor looked in the backyard, they found that a chicken coop had been built using boards taken from her property.
"The guys that broke in to get the chickens — I guess they love chickens — they stole all of our boards off our property and made a chicken coop, made waters, they had feeders," Whittaker said.
Whittaker's neighbor, Tim Reynolds, said he knew something wasn't right when two teens showed up at the property with the chickens.
"They were taking care of them. They cut the grass, they were feeding it, gave them water. They made a house for it, but I knew something was wrong," Reynolds said.
Reynolds added a warning for whoever took the birds.
"If they're smart, they'll stay the hell away from it. They know they're hot. We got hot birds and hot chickens over here," Reynolds said.
Watch Peter Maxwell's previous report when the animals were missing below:
I was at Whittaker's property as volunteers worked to gather all 22 chickens and the two geese. Detroit police were also on scene. All of the animals were healthy and in good spirits.
Stephanie DiVirgil, director of operations at the Full Circle Foundation, said the outcome was better than she had expected.
"This is just such an amazing ending to a story that I really did not think that was going to end very well," DiVirgil said.
DiVirgil credited the news coverage with helping bring the animals home.
"Obviously it was your story that brought awareness to whoever told you about it and you told her about it and yeah, it's a group effort and this time it actually has a happy ending," DiVirgil said.
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