Spring Equinox 2025
So much has changed since Farmer-ish last published an issue of our journal. The world is different now. Isn’t that funny? The whole world? But, somehow, there are still things that are constant, steady, right, and good. Chickens represent this for me and so many others. I am convinced chickens hold the secret of life. All the knowledge. It’s all there. And, now, I am convinced it’s all here within these pages. Chickens have been with us for thousands of years. Our histories are connected. I think our futures are as well.
In this issue you will find poems full of sorrow and wisdom, an interview with a giant in the field of animal studies, essays full of hope and understanding. You will also, for the first time in our journal’s history, find audio for the works. Farmers told me they loved our journal but wanted to be able to listen to it while they worked in the garden or in the fields or in the coops. Now, you can. For the most part, the authors have read their works themselves, and their voices are so beautiful you will surely cry the good cry when you hear them. When the authors couldn’t record, I did my humble best to do their words justice.
I hope you find peace, wisdom, and light in this issue devoted to the world’s most popular bird. I also hope you will consider supporting our efforts. I am so excited to announce the publication of my book ten years in the making–Chicken Stories: Life, Love, and Loss Living Ten Years with Chickens. It is available for pre-order now, and your purchase helps keep me and this journal going. The book will be released this summer.
If you cannot order the book, you can support this journal and help keep this kind of knowledge and independent publishing free for all by sharing this issue and any works from it that you enjoy. Share everywhere you can–on social media, in a text, in an email. We are working toward sponsors, and the traffic helps us so much. You can also subscribe to the blog. In my blog, I tell good chicken stories and write about strategies for living more self sufficiently. Right now, we really, really need that.
I am sending love to every single human reading these pages. I hope you love these works as much as I do. I hope you are changed for the better in some small way. Let’s celebrate love and empathy for each other and the animals we live with.
In This Issue
The Magic of the Chicken of Malang by Fendy Tulodo
The chickens in Malang are a part of the land’s natural rhythm. They are a part of every meal, every story, and every tradition.
Talking Turkey by Lauren Kessler
It all started when the first small flock of wild turkeys–a hen and her five poults–made our five-acre property one of their daily morning feeding stops.
What the Chicken Knows: An Interview with Sy Montgomery (audio) with Crystal Sands
The New York Times has called her “One of our finest chroniclers of the natural world.”
Beyond the Coop by Kami Redd
They are guardians of the land, survivors of adversity, and partners in farming.
Hover (poetry) by Sarah Kilch Gaffney
The pullets have been laying / their eggs beneath the bee balm, / and I don’t have the heart / to watch them hover.
Impressionist Eggs (poetry) by Amanda Galvez
Whether in the field, in the coop, at the market, or on the table, / All convey a sense of sustenance and sustainability
Little Red (poetry) by Teresa Stouffer
last hen / of her brood. / She free-ranged / the last months / of her life. / Followed us / as I watered, / as you weeded.
The Black Chicken Named Poe (poetry) by James Sands
She wasn’t quite a raven, / not even as close as a crow; / she was actually just a black chicken, / her people gave her the name Poe.
On the Intelligence of Chickens by Crystal Sands
I will work to serve the animals who serve me, and I will work to educate every single person who will listen about the intelligence of chickens.
Flat Out Delicious: The Joys of Spatchcocking Chicken (recipe) by Melody Wren
Why spatchcock? The chicken cooks faster. It also makes the skin crispier.
Better Scrambled Eggs (poetry) by Bethany F. Brengan
Seven. Do not look to the right or to the left. Keeping your / eyes on the eggs the whole time, pray for the morning and / the news you haven’t read yet.
On the Isolation of a Young Rooster from the Brood (poetry) by Jeff Burt
I knew a rooster / who had the largest nest egg / but without a hen /
to sit upon the shell / it never hatched.
Death of a Noble Bird (poetry) by James Sands
Looking back now, we saw the signs; we did; / one day a speck, just a tiny dot hovering high / a hint of something coming on the wind
Pecking Order: Chickens, Social Hierarchy, and Ruling the Roost by Randy Graham
Chicken hierarchies form through interactions between pairs of individuals, called dyads, where one chicken asserts dominance and the other submits. These interactions don’t always involve actual physical fights—sometimes all that is needed to establish rank is the threat of aggression.
Accidental Discoveries (poetry) by Natalie Wilkinson
Her devotion should be legendary. / Newly hatched chicks huddle under her for warmth. She takes them with her around the yard / teaching.