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Did you know that there are live chickens and ducks at Geylang?

To be more specific, these feathered creatures live in a huge cage-like structure at an open air car park between Geylang Lorong 21 and 23.

63-year-old cares for the birds daily

Mothership visited the coop on Oct. 30, and after asking around at the neighbouring coffeeshop, it turns out that a 63-year-old man is the birds' chief caretaker.

The birds are also cared for by other people in the community, such as the coffeeshop employees and its regular patrons.

The man, who goes by "Farmer Tan" and lives in Geylang, visits the birds multiple times every day, making sure that they are well fed and water is provided.

The birds are fed twice a day, at 7:30am and 3pm, with fresh ingredients such as cooked white rice, vegetables, corn, to list a few.

These ingredients come up to about S$300 to S$400 each month.  The retiree not only bears the cost of the birds' feed but also prepares and cooks these meals personally.

Tan also cleans up after them and maintains the coop's cleanliness. However, he is adamant that he is not the birds' owners, saying that he is caring for the birds to simply "pass time".

More than just a hobby

Is it really just for him to pass time though? These birds clearly mean more to Tan since he devotes much of his time and effort to caring for them.

In fact, he even told 8World News that he is determined to not catch Covid-19 so that he can look after the birds. Tan has not been infected with the virus thus far.

He said, "I cannot fall sick and travel overseas now because I need to take good care of the birds."

He was wearing not one but two masks during Mothership's visit.

Tan's dedication to the birds is evident as each bird in the coop appears to be in tip-top health, their bodies stocky and feathers glossy under his care.

The birds also acknowledge his efforts in their own way, all of them flocking excitedly towards Tan as soon as they catch sight of him during chow time.

Tan quipped that he has taught the birds to fall in like soldiers at his command.

Chickens appeared out of nowhere

However, how these birds appeared in the estate remains a mystery.

Tan said it all started with one chicken at the car park between Geylang Lorong 21 and Lorong 23, some time around January 2022.

Tan frequents the coffeeshop located across the street. When he returned the next day, more chickens appeared "out of the blue" at the same spot.

All these birds were then placed within a makeshift coop which was constructed using the fencing from the metal playpen for dogs.

Not long later, more birds, including a female duckling, started appearing at that very spot.

Tan shared that he once found 15 eggs in a plastic bag with a note stating that they were duck eggs.

He managed to get the eggs incubated, and 14 of the 15 eggs hatched into ducklings that were subsequently given away.

The number of the poultry grew over time and Tan swooped in and took all of them under his wing.

"So it became a shelter for unwanted poultry," Tan told Mothership.

Flock started growing

Whenever the birds produce offspring, Tan would give the hatchlings and birds away to suitable candidates to keep the population in check.

This is also to ensure that the birds have enough room to roam within the enclosed area.

When Mothership visited on Oct. 30, there were two ducks and at least 13 other birds.

Most of the birds were chickens of different breeds such as the silkie chicken, kampung chicken and serama chicken, which Tan said hailed from Penang.

Serama chickens are small and have a distinct puffed out chest, and they originate from Malaysia.

There were also a few chukars, a game-bird that belongs to the same family as chickens.

Stranger paid S$1,300 to build coop

All of the birds are kept in a large rectangular metal cage-like structure that measures roughly 1.5m tall, 8m long and 4m.

Tan disclosed that the coop was from a complete stranger who offered to build the birds a coop after he saw Tan feeding the birds.

He initially thought the man was making a passing remark but was surprised when the man returned a few days later, with his workers and materials to set up the coop.

According to Tan, the Good Samaritan forked out around S$1,300 for the construction of the coop.

Tan also noted other kind hearted individuals who left food that were meant for the birds on the exterior of the coop.

Intrigued passersby

The coop and its feathery inhabitants have intrigued passersby, from the young to the old.

Some parents intentionally made a trip down to Geylang with their children in tow, just so the little ones could see and learn about these birds with their very own eyes.

A few of these children were so taken by the birds that they even requested for younglings from Tan to keep as pets.

He declined these requests after some consideration, as he was afraid that the children may have a change of heart in the future.

The young children are not the only ones getting schooled as it appears that many adults have also never seen these live poultry, according to Tan.

He recalled a recent incident of a man who only realised that ducks can walk on land after he saw them in the coop.

Prior to that, the passerby was under the belief that ducks only wade in water bodies.

It is moments like this that reaffirms Tan's efforts as he wishes to raise the public's awareness about birds.

To raise awareness

Having the coop in such an open area where passersby can see the birds is a great opportunity to educate people, he shared.

He said that if not for the coop, many people in Singapore would only see chickens and ducks as food at the poultry sections of markets and supermarkets, or in food and beverage outlets.

When asked if he had consumed any of the birds, Tan appeared almost offended. He explained that these birds are more like his pets.

He recalled an incident of someone asking him for a chicken for consumption.

Tan recounted feeling appalled in that moment as he cannot even bring himself to consume the eggs laid in the coop, much less to think about butchering one of his beloved birds.

That said, Tan does give away eggs to others who are more than happy to eat them.

Was asked to move

On Oct. 25, Tan received some bad news from the car park operator.

A letter was issued, stating that he had three days to tear down the coop as it was not authorised.

This took Tan by surprise as the birds have been well loved by those in the community and he has not received any complaints thus far.

He had to scramble and look for alternate arrangements within the short period of time while trying to keep a level head.

The car park operator then told him on Oct. 27 that the coop could stay for the time being.

However, Tan's relief was short-lived as he was served with another letter on Oct. 28, only this time, it was from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

The letter requested for the owner of the coop, as well as those who own the two shrines and other miscellaneous items located at the car park, to remove their things by Nov. 11, 2022.

In response to Mothership's queries, a SLA spokesperson said it received feedback of encroachment on state land along Geylang Lorong 21.

SLA officers inspected the carpark on Oct. 26, and found an unauthorised fowl cage and shrines, a make-shift incense burner stove, plantings, tables and chairs among other items.

They said their officers also engaged the caretaker maintaining the site to explain that such encroachment constitutes a trespass offence under the State Lands Encroachments Act, and advised him to remove the encroachments by Nov. 11.

This was separately confirmed by Tan, who said he spoke with the officers before he was handed with SLA's advisory letter on Oct. 28.

Tan said he will comply with the authorities and shared that he has started looking for places to relocate the poultry.

Thankfully, several Good Samaritans who caught wind of the poultry's plight have offered up their spaces to Tan.

Tan has visited and surveyed these places over the past few days, but none have been suitable so far.

Top image by Fiona Tan