Orren and Cheesecake. Photo courtesy of Happy Chickens Lay Healthy Eggs.

Okay, things are starting to get rolling around here. One of my goals for this site is to make sure it stays focused on the people that I’m working with, as well as to highlight folks that somehow help inform my thinking, or move me with the work they are involved in. So, with that in mind I’d like to present an interview I just did with Orren Fox of Happy Chickens Lay Healthy Eggs. Orren is 13, lives in Massachusetts, and is happily raising a flock of chickens, some ducks, and as of recently, a whole lot of bees. I first came across Orren’s blog a couple years ago and it’s been a regular read of mine ever since. He’s always up to something interesting, and he’s super enthusiastic about everything he does. Invariably I learn something new every time I visit his blog, and I’m psyched to have him be a part of this site.

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To begin can you tell me the story of how you started raising chickens?

I get asked this a lot. I wish I had a really smart, funny answer for that. I don’t. I visited a farm one day with my babysitter and I guess I just got up the next morning and was obsessed with chickens. Some people love drums, racecars, or soccer, I’m naturally interested in chickens. When I figured that out my parents took me to the library and checked out all the books we could find on chickens and then I started to volunteer at a local farm that had about 50 hens. After having worked at the farm for about a year, Julie who owns the farm asked if I wanted to get my own chicks. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I went to the local feed store and picked out 12 little baby hens. They lived in our kitchen for several weeks until they were old enough to be in the colder barn. I have been interested in them ever since. That was almost three years ago when I was nine.

From the photos on your website your birds are amazingly beautiful. How many chickens do you have now, and which breeds?

I have 24 chickens and four ducks.

• Brahmas
• Polish
• Japanese
• Belgian D’anvers
• Hamburg
• Cochins
• Call Ducks
• Mandarin Duck

To name a few!

Are they free-range? Again from your blog it seems like they lead pretty good lives. How do you have things set up?

I’m not really sure what the definition of free-range is. My hens are not “Pastured”, meaning they aren’t out in a pasture all day. It is too dangerous. There are many foxes and hawks who all would try and eat the hens. They wouldn’t be safe unless I was there watching them. I go to the barn after school everyday. It is about a mile from my house. I let the girls out everyday because I can watch them.

All my birds have tons of space. One coop has both indoor and outdoor runs. The other hens are in the barn. The coops are really spacious with perches, areas to dust bathe and the barn itself has a clear roof so they have natural light. A hen needs 16 hours of light to produce eggs. All my hens have that. I am really focused on making sure the hens are happy. You might ask how I know? I just do.

I’ve met a lot of people who after starting to raise chickens develop a very deep respect for their flock, talk about how the birds have real personalities (well, they’re not people, so maybe chickenalities?) and soon they develop a real admiration for chickens in general. Can you relate to that? What have your chickens taught you?

I have tons of respect for them. They are smart. Really smart. They do have chickenalities. My Paprika is bossy, Cheesecake is sweet, Alice is chatty, Plum is brave, Francisco was super cool, and Sugar and Lola are mellow. Why wouldn’t they all be different? We are all different. We aren’t all the same because we are all people. They are awesome. I have to say I kind of know what they are saying too. Here is a poem my mom found for me. It is all really true. Mostly I’ve learned responsibility, because even when I am tired and have too much homework I have to care for my hens.

All I Need To Know I Learned From My Chickens

Wake up early, stay busy
Rest when you need to, but always stay alert
Visit your favorite places every day
Scratch out a living
Routine is good
Plump is good
Don’t ponder your purpose in life – your brain is too small
Accept the pecking order and know you enemies
Weed your garden
Look after your children
Sit on them if necessary
Take them for walks, show them the little things and talk constantly
Make a nice nest – share it with friends
Brag on your accomplishments
Protect your nest egg
Test your wings once in a while
Squawk when necessary
As you age, demand respect
Leave a little something for those who care about you
Chase butterflies

By Michaele Oleson

Can you explain what a pecking order is? Do your chickens have a boss?

Pecking order is no joke. My hen Blueberry almost died because of it. In fact the vet said we should put her down because she was so beat up. But I wasn’t willing to do this. I stayed with her and made sure she was ok. I had to really help her for about two weeks, we built her own coop. She has her own little apartment next to the other hens. I know many people can’t do this, but that is what I did. Pecking order is a way for the hens to keep order. It is quite brutal, but I think many species do this. My boss is Paprika the light Brahma.

On your site you mention that you’re a committed vegetarian. What brought you to that choice? Was it before, or after you started raising chickens?

It was after raising chickens and seeing how almost all the chickens are raised. I think you can taste the torture. I ask people to consider only buying chickens from a local farmer, where you know how the hens were raised. I’m not willing to support Factory Farming. I think everyone should watch the movies Food, Inc, and FRESH. The basic message from Food, Inc. is that we get to vote three times a day for the kind of food we want. So if you care how animals are raised then find a place that cares for the animals while they are being raised and when they are slaughtered. Pay attention.

I just read that in the past, in China, if someone was sick, or couldn’t attend a wedding that they would sometimes send a chicken in their place, that’s how important chickens were to their culture. Have you ever sent one of your birds to a family gathering you didn’t really feel like going to?

HA! No not yet. But I may have to now. I can just imagine Paprika, and Blueberry marching into a family event. Funny.

What are your thoughts on industrial chicken farms like those seen in Food Inc?

Unethical. It isn’t right. Most people think this if you ask them, but most people don’t really want to think about it. Many people have said “I don’t want to watch Food, Inc. because I know I won’t want to eat chicken, eggs or beef, but I love chicken, eggs or beef” …. interesting.

Speaking of business, do you sell your eggs? How many do you get a day? How do they compare to eggs from the supermarket?

I do sell them and give them away. Right now I am getting about one dozen a day. They don’t compare to the eggs in the supermarket. Those eggs aren’t eggs.

And what about those blue eggs? What kind of chickens lay blue eggs?

Aren’t they beautiful? Each breed of chickens lays eggs of a specific color. Eggs may be white, light brown, dark brown, or speckled. Americanas and Auracanas lay blue / blue green eggs. Blue eggs come from chickens that produce a coloring substance inside their bodies called oocyanin. These eggs are blue throughout the shell, inside and outside, and the color can’t be rubbed off.

I see you’ve started raising bees now too, congratulations. (I love that photo of all those bees on your dining room table; I can see you have a very understanding mother.) Why bees? What got you interested in them?

Bees are awesome. I love honey. I am not afraid of bees. I thought the smoker and suit were cool. My mom and I went to Bee School this winter, The Essex County Bee School. I am also interested in Colony Collapse Disorder. Did you know that every third bite of food comes from the pollination by bees? Every Third BITE!

Seems to me you’re really focused on informing people about what you’re doing, i.e. you keep your blog updated regularly, you have a big active community on twitter, attend meetups, you speak at schools. To me there’s a really nice mix of politics and personal, which feels very natural, very compelling. Do you consider yourself an advocate for things like: animal rights, young farmers, vegetarianism, healthy living, etc? How important for you is it to get the word out?

Not at all. I just love it. Yes I want to share the info I have and want all the chickens to be treated better. I guess it is just who I am. Some kids like soccer, some kids like piano, I like chickens and bees.

What do your friends think of all of this?

I think they used to think it was cool. Maybe not as much now. Most kids are into other things. But I did start a Farm Club at school and it was the first to fill up.

Any thoughts on where all these chickens and bees might be taking you? Future plans?

I just started with the bees, so that should take me some time to figure out. Actually, I would love to have some sheep.

And to end, where do you stand on the chicken or the egg question? Which came first?

Both.

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Read more from Orren at Happy Chickens Lay Healthy Eggs, or find him on twitter as @happychickens.