What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird
by Sy Montgomery
Atria Books (November 05, 2024) 9781668047361
A soothing tapestry of home life with free-roaming hens… This little book should be required reading.
— Julie Zickefoose, The Wall Street Journal
There’s hardly a page without an eye-opening surprise.
— Nils A. Shapiro, Stroll magazine
Setting the record straight about the humble chicken. Montgomery’s portrayal of what she terms the “Chicken Universe” is packed with colorful characters, ranging from variously feathered chickens to variously informed neighbors, friends, and other interlopers who offer advice and provide delightful anecdotes. In turns laugh-out-loud funny and tear-jerking, Montgomery’s account is consistently thought-provoking and informative.
Montgomery reframes the assumptions that many lay people carry about chickens, debunking stereotypes about their lack of intelligence with support from specific scientific studies and stories from her own experiences with her “Ladies,” as she affectionately refers to her flock of hens. From the outset, Montgomery states that “almost everything people “know” about chickens is wrong,” and goes on to prove as much throughout her account. The author acknowledges these misunderstandings without much judgment, instead setting the record straight and sharing the vibrant and varied lives of these birds. As she says, “[Chickens] have a great deal of wisdom to share with us, as well as comfort and joy.”
Montgomery does not shy away from the more unsavory, less palatable truths of these animals, at times criticizing the human tendency towards anthropomorphism and at other times wryly questioning if she too is falling victim to the very same. With a subject matter that could easily lend itself to sanctimonious sentimentality, Montgomery maintains a degree of discernment, insisting that chickens do not deserve our respect because of the ways in which they are similar to humans, but instead for the simple fact that they are living things, with their own lives. An unflinching and surprisingly heartfelt account of a complex ecosystem.
—Kirkus
Montgomery’s language here is gorgeous, making her emotions palpable. Such affectionate interpretations of bird behavior are a pleasure to read.
—The Boston Globe
If you’ve never given the humble backyard bird much thought, try this short and sweet exploration that starts with the author’s own personality-filled flock. You’ll never look at the country’s most familiar fowl the same way again.
—People Magazine
Blending her personal experiences as queen of the coop with everything you’ve ever wanted to know about chicken behavior, it’s a fun and informative way to spend an hour… “What the Chicken Knows” joins “A Hummingbird’s Gift” and “The Hawk’s Way” as standalone mini-books pulled from the pages of “Birdology.” Each has a new introduction by the author and would make nice stocking stuffers for bird lovers in anyone’s life.
— The Associated Press
Montgomery’s account of her limitless devotion for her feathered friends is contagious, and its nifty 5×7 trim size makes it an ideal gift.
— Shelf Awareness
Take Kate’s advice. Kate knows what you should read next. She’s left this shelf note at the Village Well, a bookstore in Culver City in Los Angeles:
You probably don’t give the average, ordinary chicken much thought. But does it give any thought to you? Sy Montgomery has chickens in her backyard. She pays attention to them and tells you what she sees in this work by the author of the acclaimed book The Soul of an Octopus. Chickens recognize dozens of other chickens, chickens anticipate events, chickens remember the past and more. Plus, there are some 8 billion people on the planet but probably more than 9 billion chickens at any one time. So it might be polite to learn more about them, don’t you think?
—Parade.com, The 42 Best New Book Releases: Fall 2024
It may not be considered typical birdwatching, but award-winning naturalist Sy Montgomery has us looking at chickens in a whole new way in What the Chicken Knows. Promising “a new appreciation of the world’s most familiar bird,” Montgomery delivers—and not with buns and toppings. By the end of this snack-size, 70-page book, you’ll have newfound respect and an emotional investment in Pickles, Madonna, and some of the rest of her flock she nurtures on her farm. You’ll know more than their names, too (yes, she names them!).
Chickens have distinct personalities, 24 unique calls, a stringent social structure with a clear—ahem—pecking order, and a habit of identifying you through a distinct cluck and noise sequence that alerts others to your specific arrival. In this latest read, Montgomery continues her trademark blend of storytelling and science, made famous through her gentle writings on the relationships of humans, nature, and creatures around us.
From turtles to hawks (Of Time and Turtles, The Hawk’s Way), hummingbirds to octopi (The Hummingbirds’ Gift, National Book Award finalist The Soul of an Octopus), Montgomery gives not only informed overviews of a species, but also friendly introductions to many of its unique individuals. “My hens are gentle, subtle; they are Ladies. The Rangers [breed] are drama queens,” she notes with patient maternal pride as she explains differences among the 350 poultry breeds.
As proof, she had only to walk out her back door to observe the “Chicken Universe” and absorb the ongoing “discoveries” about her 40 hens and occasional protective rooster. However, these insights took a while. Since her first forays into chicken-tending in the late 1980s, Montgomery—a vegetarian—quickly learned that “almost everything people ‘know’ about chickens is wrong,” despite the fact that it is the bird of greatest familiarity to most Americans. Indeed, chicken is by far the most popular meat eaten by Americans, who each consume an average of 100 pounds of such poultry annually, according to the National Chicken Council. Less common, though, is daily exposure by these consumers to the live bird that is “part of the soundtrack of rural life.” The gap leads to “disrespect” and misunderstandings about chickens as a bird worthy of more than wing sauce. Montgomery has thus stepped in to build compassion and share sweet surprises. Angry rooster? Cuddle it (seriously). “Stupid” hen? They recognize more than 100 of their fluffy peers (and you), can turn doorknobs, and have distinct personalities and relationship-building skills.
Boring? Witness them go berserk at the sight of blood. Emotionless? Chickens “are really feathered dinosaurs” made “less of flesh than of air” and with an incessant “need for companionship … and affection.” They even love music.
Montgomery’s delight at what one researcher calls “the hidden depths to chicken” is contagious to the reader, leading eggs-actly to the heightened appreciation hoped for by the author. With the holidays pending, this little book is a perfect stocking stuffer, hostess gift, or even family read-aloud.
— Kristin Clarke, AuthorLink
With a winning combination of personal narrative and science, “What the Chicken Knows” is exactly the kind of book that has made Sy Montgomery such a beloved and popular author.
— Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books, in Oxford (Mississippi) Magazine
This short, delightful book by National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery delves into the lives of chickens, particularly her flock of hens she dubbed the Ladies. Adding to her collection of books about the octopus, the hummingbird, and the hawk, What the Chicken Knows highlights the things that make these birds so remarkable: some of them like to be held and cuddled; chickens have different levels of intelligence and distinctive personality characteristics; they have individual voices so that no chicken sounds the same as any another chicken; and they communicate with at least 24 distinct calls including numerous calls signaling distress or an emergency. While Montgomery is familiar with these details about chickens, she realized over time that most other humans are not; instead, they know surprising little about this very common bird, so she sets out to change that with humorous anecdotes and her engaging narrative style. This charming book will make a great gift at the holidays or as a hostess gift and will appeal to animal lovers as well.
— The Buzz Magazine
Perhaps best known for The Soul of an Octopus, a National Book Award finalist, Montgomery has established herself as a natural teacher. She has written more than 30 books for adults and children, with more on the way. Readers have come to know that they can live vicariously through her: She is singularly unafraid of embracing wild things.
All together, the latest offering makes for an informative, bite-sized survey on living with and understanding chickens. It may even prompt readers to follow in Montgomery’s footsteps and collect their own bird observations. “The longer I watch them,” she says, “the more clearly I see how rich and varied their lives are, as fraught and joyous and changeable as our own.”
— The Christian Science Monitor
Sy Montgomery speaks, and understands, “chicken” well. For that, we are grateful. Gained from years of tending chickens (before it was trendy to do so), Ms. Montgomery shares enduring, delightful experiences about living with, and caring for, her clucking friends. Despite what non-chicken-caretakers may think, those simple hens and roosters live a very complicated and elaborate life. Her observations will make the reader smile and, perhaps, provoke an appreciation of an often overlooked fowl.
— Jeffery Payne, assistant retail manager of Poor Richard’s Books, Colorado Springs, in the Colorado Sun
What you discover about these intelligent and affectionate creatures may make you want to change your diet. You may never think about them in quite the same way. If that happens, I’m sure Montgomery would be delighted….
This paean to chickens — their sometimes quirky personalities, their ability to form relationships and recognize people, and their physical beauty (photographs of some gorgeous birds are included here) — is not only informative and fascinating. Because of Montgomery’s direct writing style and personal anecdotes, it’s also extremely touching.
— Book Reporter
The only complaint you may have about this book is that, at less than 100 pages and light as a feather, it’s too slim and needs more stories! If you’re a chicken lover, especially, “What the Chicken Knows” is egg-zactly the book you need.
— The Bookworm (Terri Schlichenmeyer)
Noted author and naturalist Montgomery (The Hawk’s Way; The Hummingbird’s Gift) invites readers into the cozy, companionable world of her chickens, known as the Ladies. Beginning with day-old chicks delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, Montgomery and her husband have raised chickens for several decades. Montgomery immerses herself in what she calls the “Chicken Universe,” and when the chicks’ feathers emerge, everything in her office, including herself, is coated in keratin dust. Her involvement in the lives of her Ladies never diminishes. This sometimes tragic and frequently comic chicken-chronicle acquaints readers with a variety of personable hens and is infrequently garnished with photographs. Montgomery weaves research results into her tales of daily life with her Ladies, challenging commonly held notions that chickens are not terribly smart. In addition to generations of hens (and a few roosters), Montgomery introduces readers to other chicken enthusiasts, including a couple who run a rooster sanctuary and a neighbor who engages in small-scale construction projects for the benefit of the Ladies. Back matter includes a selected bibliography. VERDICT Montgomery’s expertise as a naturalist and fluid writing style combine for an engaging and eye-opening read. For all collections.
— Library Journal