My Friend, the Chicken Whisperer

  • Post published:01/03/2008
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My friend, B J Roche says she is too busy to blog, but she maintains a website for her journalism students at the University of Massachusetts, and all the rest of us who want to read what she has to say in a whole variety of publications including the Boston Globe and Commonwealth Magazine. However, she is not strictly speaking the truth. Her website includes a link to her chicken blog, The Chicken Whisperer, “because let’s face it, chickens make the world go round.”

I like to think that we inspired her chicken wrangling. We’ve had our flock ever since we moved to Heath, trying out the various breeds, Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, and Silver Laced Wyandottes. Right now our favorite from the Murray McMurray Hatchery is the Americauna. This breed lays Easter egg blue eggs, all through the winter, and well into their old age, which takes about three years.


I like having a varied flock because they are so pretty. BJ likes some of the more humorous breeds as you can see here. And even though I had chickens first, she was the one a neighbor turned to when he needed three tail feathers from a live cock for a feng shui ceremony! She has many tales (pun intended) to tell.

Chickens are great. They look cheerful strutting across the lawn, lay eggs with brilliant golden yolks, and produce lots of useful manure for the garden. We also raise enough meat chickens to get us through the year, but that is another story.

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