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Home > Desert Oracle Radio > Ziggy the Chicken, mayor of Morongo Valley, passes away at age five
Podcast: Desert Oracle Radio
Episode:

Ziggy the Chicken, mayor of Morongo Valley, passes away at age five
Category: Society & Culture
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2025-08-11 14:42:19
Description:

Last Friday, Z107.7 received sad news that Morongo Valley mayor Ziggy the Chicken has passed away at age five. Ziggy is survived by his girlfriend Lily and his owner Rita Tindell of the livestock feed and supply store The Hippie Chicken. Former Morongo Valley mayor Roxy of All-American Fuel and Food will be stepping back in to fulfill Ziggy’s term until this fall’s election season.

While the lifespan for a chicken is typically seven years, Tindell said at age five Ziggy “was definitely getting up there” and had started to be a bit quieter compared to his usual behavior. He began having seizures which they treated immediately, but Tindell says his dire situation persisted.

“It could have been one of three things: he could have just had a little brain tumor, which I guess happens; a little injury that I didn’t see happen; or, somebody could have walked something in, but the other hen, his girlfriend Lily, is fine so we don’t totally know. But I was watching him and hanging out with him during the day at the shop and then one day, the last day, he had a couple of seizures, and the medicine did stop one that was a little bit longer and then they came back, and the next morning he wasn’t here.”

When asked how Ziggy’s girlfriend Lily was navigating the loss of her partner, Tindell said:

“She is hanging out with me more. She’s usually very stand-offish… maybe not stand-offish, but she’s her own little person. But yesterday she was having some goat milk with my little Frenchy and then she hung out in the office most of the day eating popcorn, so she is sticking around us more.”

October 26, 2024: Ziggy is announced mayor of Morongo Valley, held by a MV Firefighter and cheered on by his owner Rita Tindell of the Hippie Chicken (left)

Ziggy was the surprise winner of Morongo Valley’s Dog Mayor election last fall, in a last-minute decision to run against incumbent Roxy and other local canines. Tindell explains the sincere choice behind what many considered a controversial race:

“Well, there weren’t a lot of dogs running and somebody had suggested it. I had joked about it before and then so we kind of did it at the last-minute kind of thing. All the kids that come in love him and a lot of people that are afraid of Roosters, he kind of changed their minds so he had a little bit of a following.”

Former mayor Roxy from All-American Fuel and Food will be stepping in as interim mayor to fulfill Ziggy’s term until this fall’s election. While Ziggy has passed on, his legacy allowed other animals to be involved in the mayoral race, so now it’s anybody’s guess what kind of animal might win.
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