You’ve probably heard about the Horse Whisperer….maybe even heard about the Dog Whisperer….but the Chicken Whisperer?  C’mon.  Well, yes, he truly does exist, believe it or not.  I had the fine opportunity to meet with the Chicken Whisperer last Sunday.  I know you must be jealous.

One of my friends and Wise Women readers gave me the heads-up that there was a small article in our paper about the Backyard Poultry group.  I checked out the blog, conversed with the blogger, Melina, who gave me advice on one of my chickens who was being pecked on (yes, there truly is a pecking order), and found out that she was organizing a “meet-up” at my local Cosi.  Too convenient not to check out, I thought.  So off I went, even though my kids (who are supposed to be into this) thought I was crazy for going.  There was a group of about 12 of us – some chicken owners, some wanting to learn more before committing, and a news reporter from another local paper. The first word of advice? Don’t name your chickens.  Oops; we already violated that rule.  Apparently, there’s always something out there that loves your chickens more than you do.  And there in started the conversation about predators in my neck of the woods – foxes, raccoons, opossums, bobcats, weasels, hawks, eagles – all looking for a nice Chicken Little dinner when readily available.  After about 15-20 minutes of idle chicken chatter, the excitement starting building at Cosi.  The computer opened, and there was Andy Schneider, A.K.A the Chicken Whisper, joining us live from his hometown of Atlanta ready to answer all of our feather oriented (or should I say feather brained) questions.

The Chicken Whisper apparently is the go-to guy across the country for anything chickens. He is a national radio personality, and is a special contributor for  Mother Earth News Magazine, Grit Magazine (this is one of my favorites, right behind Bon Appetit), and Farmer’s Almanac. He is the owner of Atlanta Pet Chickens, Classroom Chickens, and is the Founder/Organizer of the Atlanta Pet Chicken Meet-up Group that has quickly grown to over 675 local members! He has been featured on CNN, HLN, CBS, NPR, as well as in the Economist, and is currently working on his second book, Peep Show. (No I’m not making this up). I think more than anything, he is a brilliant marketer.

I subjected my college roommate to accompanying me on this venture, and she is probably the most gregarious, loquacious person I know.  Soon she was chatting up a guy a couple booths away, who was rolling his eyes at us.  A professional contractor, apparently he had just finished renovating a 10,000 square foot town house in mid town Manhattan, and the owners insisted on having a chicken coop as part of the plans.

I daresay this chicken thing is becoming a trend.  And so the chicken adventures continue….