Yes, Chickenology is a real word. And we have questions. Such as: should you get a chicken?! Chicken-haver and author of “Under the Henfluence” Tove Danovich stops in to recall how her casual backyard chicken experiment turned into an obsession, a lifestyle, and then a book. We chat about junglefowl, chicken competitions, egg prices, chicken statues, bird personalities, coop logistics, avian flus, shell hues, earlobes, live chicken cams, and more on this Part 1. Stay tuned next week as we address a record-breaking number of listener questions. And watch out for leghorns.

Listen to Part 1 via Stitcher, Apple, Spotify, Google, Podbay, Podcast Addict, Overcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

transcript part 1

We’re back for Part 2! If you missed Part 1, start there for the chicken basics and then come back for the weird stuff like chickens eating chickens, why chickens bother laying unfertilized eggs, rooster gossip, fairy eggs, nest abominations, bird grief, beak accessories, soft burbling chicken sounds, spicy chicken feed, safe corners of the internet, multicolored eggs and the big questions: SHOULD YOU GET A CHICKEN OR WHAT. We help you decide.

Listen to Part 2 via Stitcher, Apple, Spotify, Google, Podbay, Podcast Addict, Overcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

transcript part 2

See Tove on her 2023 book tour!

Buy Tove’s book: Under the Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them

Visit Tove’s website and follow her on Instagram and Twitter

Follow Tove’s chickens on Instagram

A donation went to Second Hen’d

Links to things we discussed:

Polynesians brought chickens to Americas before Columbus

Chickenology is real, ok?

LA City Ordinance about chickens

‘Ethical' eggs could save male chicks from mass slaughter