Page 10 - Hobe Sound Reflections - November '24

Page 10, Hobe Sound

Book review

What The Chicken Knows: nation enjoy the company
of chickens (how many
A New Appreciation Of The “pets” offer the gift of eggs
World’s Most Familiar Bird in return for their care?)
and name each of the birds
in their precious feathered
By Nils A. Shapiro family members for its
All you need to know individual personality, color
is that the author is Sy or other physical feature.
Montgomery. As she notes, some are
For millions of readers shy, some more aggressive;
around the world, and some affectionate, others
I do mean millions, the aloof. Just like humans.
name Sy Montgomery is And they are smart!
associated with more than Here are just a few examples of the many surprises you national fame as Mike the Headless Chicken from 1945
35 books, many of which will find in these pages. (Some text has been omitted for to 1947.”
have climbed the bestseller lack of space): For me personally, as I turned the last page of
lists in 25 countries around • “In 2023, a study reported that roosters recognize their What the Chicken Knows, one thought struck me most
the world – most describing her exciting adventures with own reflections in mirrors – common … measure of self- poignantly: Ever thoughtful and considerate of her readers,
some of nature’s most fearsome creatures. awareness. Previous experiments show that apes, like Montgomery has kept this book’s focus entirely on helping
It is with good reason that the Boston Globe has humans, do this.” us to better understand and enjoy the fascinating and fun
described award-winning author Sy Montgomery as “a • “Only hours after leaving the egg they are able to walk, facts about these remarkable birds who are so much a part
combination of Indiana Jones and Emily Dickinson” for run and peck.” (An adult chicken can run as fast as nine of our lives.
the beautiful way in which she has written about such miles an hour!) Not once in these pages does this author mention that
experiences as being chased by a silverback gorilla in • “Relationships are important to them. The average she herself is a vegetarian, nor does she devote a single
Africa, hunted by man-eating tigers in India (National chicken can recognize more than 100 other chickens. sentence to the suffering of these sentient creatures from
Geographic produced a TV special about that), worked in They can remember the past and anticipate the future, and the cruelty of the factory-like poultry industry. It was not
a pit with 18,000 snakes in Manitoba, swam with piranhas they communicate specific information through at least her purpose in writing this book.
and dolphins in the Amazon, studied octopuses in their 24 distinct calls.” A warning signal from a rooster to his Sparing us such a balanced narrative is her gift to this
Gulf of Mexico habitat for her classic National Book hens, for example, will alert them to whether an enemy is book’s readers despite what I know to be her own deep
Award finalist Soul of an Octopus, was undressed by a wild approaching by ground or from the air! feelings on the subject, having read and reviewed half a
orangutan, learned the art of falconry so she could hunt as There is hardly a page without an eye-opening surprise: dozen of her earlier books.
a partner with one of the world’s most feared predators … “The disturbing fact that, on the way to the soup pot, a As a senior now, I realize that if this book had been written
and too many more to touch on here. chicken can continue to run around after decapitation does decades ago it might have been a life-changing experience in
So, I was more than a little surprised when I learned little to bolster appreciation for the species’ more refined one sense for me. Perhaps it’s not too late. I hear those plant-
that Sy’s new book, published this month, is devoted to … traits. In fact, one rooster was able to live for 18 months based burgers and other meat substitutes are pretty good …
chickens! My first thought was, what could there possibly after his head was cut off. Farmer Lloyd Olsen, hoping to and I would feel so good about myself.
be to learn about these birds that all of us already know please his visiting mother-in-law, who particularly savored I strongly suggest you lay your hands on a copy of this
so well? boiled chicken neck, failed to kill the rooster when his axe book as soon as possible … even if you have to scramble
How wrong I was! And how fortunate we all are to missed the bird’s carotid artery and left one ear and most to get it!
have so knowledgeable a guide as Sy Montgomery to of the brain stem intact. Not only did the victim survive, but
enrich our lives once again in making us aware of what he grew from two and a half pounds to eight and attained
unrealized wonder and beauty surrounds us, all too often
under-appreciated.
For those not yet familiar with Montgomery’s
background, I should point out that she and her author-
historian husband, Howard Mansfield, live in New
Hampshire and for decades have shared their home’s
property from time to time with an assortment of animals,
from their border collie dog, Thurber, to a pig that they
raised from a tiny runt to 500-plus pound Volkswagen-
sized Christopher Hogwood who wandered the town on
his own getting handouts from the butcher, pet scratches
from the kids and became the subject of a bestselling book
by Montgomery.
But always among her favorites have been the small
flock of egg-laying hens that she calls her “little ladies,”
who have their own chicken coop but are allowed free
run of the backyard under the protection of several of the
latest team of roosters.
And one could not want a better protector than a rooster,
as two episodes described by Montgomery make very
clear: one in which a fox that had sneaked onto the property
with chicken dinner in mind got the shock of its life facing
an angry, charging rooster and did a rapid about-face …
and another time, when Sy’s husband, Howard, was lying
on the ground repairing a lawnmower. As she describes it:
“Just beyond the narrow space between the grass and
the machine’s metal undercarriage, movement catches
your eye. Scaley reptilian, yellow feet, heavily armed with
long, pointed claws – and, just above the toes, curved,
knife-sharp spurs – are purposefully striding toward you
at face level. It feels like that scene from Jurassic Park,
where the humans are hiding from the hunting velociraptor
– an animal from which, in fact, your avian assailant is
descended.
“You have been detected. The ominous feet hurry now,
pounding the ground in a frenzy. There is no mistaking
it; this is a rooster on a rampage – the bane of many an
otherwise peaceful barnyard.”
What to do? The answer, shockingly, is to pick it up
and cuddle it!
It is from Montgomery’s several decades of her own
experience raising her “ladies,” many from chicks, plus
her roosters and all that she has studied about her ever-
changing flocks, that she has filled the pages of this
deceptively slim 96-page book with an extraordinary
number of surprising facts about the birds we all –
mistakenly – thought we knew.
Within the first few pages you will readily understand
why more families than you might imagine throughout the