A Fascination with Chickens

There has always been something fascinating to me about chickens, ancestor of the red junglefowl, part of the pheasant family. They originally came from Asia, though there is debate about where, exactly. Was it India, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Java? Nothing for me to worry about.

Growing up, we had chickens for a while. I don't recall how many, but at least five or six of them, as well as a variety of other pets through the years. We had a coop in the back yard along the back fence line, I remember. And sometimes I'm who went to get the eggs to make French toast or omelets, or what have you. My Dad used to make the best scrambled eggs around; we called them Dad Eggs. And from the time of collecting eggs and cleaning coops on, I have enjoyed them and been fascinated immensely.

The chickens in this photo aren't from my childhood; they're from a blueberry farm owned by family friends. As a photographer, chickens have been one of my favorite animals to work with because not only are they versatile, they are pretty photogenic overall.