Downtown Chicken, AK. Population is 21 in the summer and 6 in the winter. There are no phones or cell service here. Chicken was supposedly named by early miners who wanted to name their camp ptarmigan, but were unable to spell it and settled instead for chicken. Chicken is probably best known as the home of the late Ann Purdy, whose book Tisha was based on her experiences as a young schoolteacher in the Bush in 1927.