This chicken life by Fiona Scott-Norman
Pan Macmillan, 2019. ISBN: 9781760786083.
(Age: All) Highly recommended. I love this book! But perhaps I
should admit to a bias, as I keep chickens, and in our neighbourhood
our house is known 'Chicken Corner'. So I can readily relate to the
joys of chicken ownership that are revealed in this book. This is
not a 'how to' book, rather a fascinating collection of stories of
chicken lovers and their chooks, from celebrities like gardening
guru Costa, to comedians and performers, a member of parliament,
eccentric chicken collectors, animal liberationists and school
children. You may pick up some tips along the way with short
chapters on roosters, the pecking order, chicken breeds, foxes, and
even a history of chickens in Australia. But the main focus are the
stories of people who have discovered the joy of having chickens as
pets.
It is a wonderful collection of stories and photographs. Jareth
rescues broiler hens and keeps them in his one-bedroom flat. Miranda
makes chicken wheelchairs for incapacitated chooks. Jennifer does a
stand-up comedy act with her Silkie. Nash breeds rare birds. Mandy
crochets chicken bonnets. The stories come from around Australia,
including two from Alice Springs: chickens in a renal dialysis
centre and chickens in a correctional centre. There are also
chickens in schools. So many have discovered the rewards of caring
for chickens - a path to communication and connection for children
with autism, children in therapy programs, and elderly in aged care.
And just a heap of fun for anyone.
The photography by Ilana Rose is wonderful, capturing characters and
scenes, which is why I think even young children will enjoy the
pictures of exotic chickens and unusual poses. School children will
enjoy reading about other kids with chooks - Summer started an
autism therapy program 'Chickens to Love', and Max has created a
range of chicken accessories - cheanies, chickinis and choollery.
One school has a Chicken Club.
Highlight for me was learning about the chicken sitter, close to my
area! Somebody actually looks after chickens while their owners go
on holiday. So while Jareth may like taking his chooks for outings
to the beach, others of us may to prefer to go away knowing our pets
are in safe hands at home.
The final pages have a glossary of interesting words to do with
chickens and eggs, including 'brains' because it's a fallacy that
chickens are stupid. They have personality and charisma.
Helen Eddy