Weirton, W.Va., has something in common with Key West, Fla., and it's not beaches, climate or steel.

Both places share a problem with feathered fowl that crow loudly, make big messes and beg the classic question of why they crossed the road.

Weirton officials took action last week to resolve a problem with a few dozen to 100 feral chickens in the Kings Creek Bowl area near the city's northern edge.

Egged on by some residents, the city council voted unanimously to pay the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services $3,900 to investigate the problem and determine how best to rid the neighborhood of the pesky fowl living along Wall Street.

Carol Bannerman, USDA Wildlife Services spokeswoman, said the agency will work with Weirton to try to handle the problem without killing the chickens.

For now, noisy, pooping chickens are causing some residents to squawk while others couldn't give a cluck. There remains no clear explanation why free-range chickens chose to reside along Wall Street, but some people say they came from the other side of Kings Creek.

John Rosohac -- whose mother Margaret's house has chickens roosting overnight in front yard trees and pacing through her back yard during the day -- said the chickens originated next door, where a man living in a garage kept chickens outside. When the man went to jail, the chickens turned wild.

"The chickens have been here nine years, and now there's this big thing about it," Mr. Rosohac said, noting city officials have tried numerous times to bring the chickens under control. "To get rid of the chickens, how hard would it be to bring a cage, put feed in it and catch them?"

Mr. Rosohac said someone recently put out trays of poison that killed 50 chickens, which he buried. He also said his 82-year-old mother was arrested more than a year ago on charges that she was responsible for letting the chickens roam free. Those charges eventually were dismissed.

Christina Foley, who lives on Wall Street, said the chickens are threatening her family's well-being.

The 23-year-old mother of babies 6 months and 22 months old said besides the noise, feral chickens strut through her yard constantly. Easily chased away, they still leave behind feathers and droppings. She said they also have lice.

"My main fear is the diseases they carry because I have two small babies," she said. "If my babies get sick, I'm going to kill the chickens."

Yet another concern stems from the reason why people long ago domesticated chickens. They lay lots of eggs, including smashed ones in her yard.

"In the hot sun you know what rotten eggs smell like," she said, also noting the noise. "They stop making noise at dark until 2 or 3 a.m., and at 4 o'clock they are so loud you don't need an alarm clock."

After Weirton officials began dealing with the chicken problem in recent years, the city became the butt of jokes, and city officials, feeling henpecked by the ridicule, are reluctant to discuss the matter.

Police Chief Bruce Marshall said he had no comment about the chickens. City Manager Gary DuFour tried diverting the conversation to other issues.

"This is playing into a sad stereotype," Mr. DuFour said, claiming the story, like the chickens, just won't go away. "We are dealing with this in a humane way, in an orderly fashion. This is a legal place for government to step in.

"We're looking to handle the problem, which is a health and safety issue," he said.

Mr. DuFour noted that the feral chicken problem is not unique to Weirton.

The USDA said its Wildlife Services in 2007 removed 237 chickens from communities nationwide, including chickens threatening endangered lizards and snakes on an off-shore island. Those chickens were destroyed. The USDA also dispersed or chased away another 160 chickens. It caught and relocated three chickens and released two others from traps set to catch other wildlife.

Joe Stefko, wildlife education supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Southwest Region, said his office has never been called to handle problems with feral chickens. But there were cases of feral hogs in Blair and Huntingdon counties that escaped from hunting preserves.

San Juan Bautista, Calif., passed an ordinance in 2006 outlawing the feeding of feral chickens, even though they "contribute to the historical ambiance and small-town atmosphere of the city."

The practice of feeding the chickens led to a "significant nuisance" for residents and businesses "due to excessive noise, droppings and property damage."

That same year, in High Springs, Fla., firefighters went through a neighborhood and shot feral chickens, which raised protests about dangerous gunfire and the fact residents had to clean up the dead birds.

Then there's Key West, whose poultry problem reduces Weirton's to chicken scratch. In 2004, its chamber of commerce hired a chicken catcher to remove about 900 of the island's 2,000 free-roaming chickens and relocate them on a produce farm near Miami where the chickens were used to keep cockroaches and scorpions in check.

But even that plan drew protests that led to discussions about creating a chicken park and holding an annual chicken festival.

Back in Weirton, which is 17 square miles with a population of 20,000 and 30 miles to the west of Pittsburgh, Mr. Rosohac said the city officials are "making a mountain out of nothing."

"They say West Virginia is wild and wonderful," he said. "But if you're a chicken, stay out of Weirton."