Yesterday someone came to the house to record me talking about the chickens, my book about chickens, and—of course—the chickens themselves. He had to stick the microphone right up to their little beaks to get the sound. They chatted and complained. We stood there silently, listening. At one point Emmylou jumped up on her swing right in front of us and we laughed, delighted. She chirped for attention and swung back and forth.
“Do you want to pet a chicken?” I asked eventually.
He did. Of course he did. We stood there for a while talking about how soft chickens were. You wouldn’t think it to look at them but their feathers are like silk. The hint of warmth from the 105-degree body beneath the feathers makes the experience even more sublime.
He hadn’t petted a chicken in a while but started telling me stories about the flock that had once been in his life.
I’ve been doing a lot of interviews lately to promote my book Under the Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them and it seems like everyone has a chicken story to tell. Maybe the chickens belonged to them once upon a time (a bookseller who asked me to sign an advance copy of my book had me sign it to her three hens who had all since passed on), maybe their friend or neighbor or family member had a chicken. Most of us don’t think about chickens all that often but once we do, we realize that we all have a story about a flock.
Over the course of writing this book, I’ve talked to a lot of chicken people. They’re young and old. They have chickens in palatial coops and chickens in DIY sheds. They keep the birds for eggs; they take the birds to the vet. The world of chickens is a surprisingly diverse place. These birds were domesticated 3,500 years ago and wherever we went, we brought chickens with us. Thanks to the fact that the hens lay eggs, people who might not feel they can afford a dog or a cat can often afford to keep a few chickens. And, at least some of those people, fell under the spell of these charming birds.
My book comes out on March 28 in the US (the 30th in the UK) and then I start my book tour. I’ll be away from home—and my flock—a lot but I’m looking forward to hearing the chicken stories people have to tell me. It’s also been wonderful to share stories not just about my chickens but my family and my grandma who was probably the first chicken person I met. I hadn’t known she and her mother had kept chickens when she was a little girl in North Dakota but the stories she told me made me think that maybe there was a world of chickens worth writing about.
Peggy, my oldest hen, will be five on April 16. It wasn’t long after I got her that I started thinking about writing a book about chickens. It’s been a long journey but never a boring one. Even after all this time and research, I still find more to learn about chickens and the chicken people who love them.
News from the Coop
The girls have finally moved into their new coop! I have a couple adjustments to make so it works better for them and me but we’re all happy with the upgrade. They have a couple skylights cut into the roof of the run and seem to really love that they have room to sunbathe even on days that I don’t have time to let them free range in the yard.
Meanwhile, press for the book is ramping up! Every day I have a couple things on my plate and a lot of people wondering if I have “a few photos of me with the chickens” to send along. Just a few. Ha!
I was on The Takeaway talking about chickens with host (and fellow chicken person) Melissa Harris-Perry. Yesterday I went to Powells to sign preorders which were shipped off to everyone who wanted a signed copy. (Thank you all!) I’m also on the Humans Outside podcast talking about how getting chickens made me fall in love with the nature in my backyard.
Tonight I’ll be meeting up with some friends for a small launch party. I rented a karaoke room and we’re going to sing together. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to sing with people I adore. It’s like when the chickens sing the egg song after laying only instead of an egg, I’m about to bring a book into the world.
Don’t forget to get a copy of your very own.
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If you liked this email, please share the newsletter with a chicken or animal lover in your life! As always, email me at underthehenfluence@gmail.com with any tips or comments. See you next month.
Have just found your Substack/Twitter/Instagram and laughing out loud as I read your posts as a fellow hen lover. ❤️