Stevie and her siblings were the first batch of chickens I ever owned. I fostered them from a nearby animal shelter in 2021. Stevie was the most vocal of the three so I named her after one of my favourite musicians, Stevie Nicks.
I live on a huge plot of land in Malibu which I treat like an animal sanctuary – any animal that I can rescue and help, I will. I’ve been that way since I was a little kid. When my parents gave me a small allowance I would run to the pet store and bring a new animal home. Sometimes, I would find animals on the street and take them in.
Stevie, a Buff Orpington chicken, was different from the rest of her siblings. She had a confident, outgoing personality. As soon as she arrived, she ruled the yard. In particular, she took to the dogs – she wanted to be just like them. She would hang out and run around with them, sometimes I would find her curled up in their bed inside our house. Stevie would copy their every movement, she would run up to me and let me pick her up like a dog, falling asleep on my lap.
I hadn’t expected this. I had always imagined that chickens would frolic in the yard and barely pay attention to me. But Stevie was affectionate. It made me realise how social and intelligent chickens can be – they’re fascinating creatures.
Stevie’s most entertaining trick was laying her eggs anywhere she liked – on the bookshelf, in a dog kennel. Even though she had a coop outside, I would find her eggs hidden in random places around the house. It was like Easter every day.
When Stevie first joined our household, my six dogs were caught off guard. I think they were slightly put off by her. To begin with, I couldn’t leave them alone together, but as time went on, I began to trust that they wouldn’t hurt her. It took a week for Stevie to integrate and then the dogs just treated her like one of the pack.
As much as the dogs and I adored having Stevie around, I knew she would benefit from living with a bigger flock of chickens for her comfort and safety. So after a year and a half, we decided it was time for her to move on. A friend of mine owns a large property with more than 30 chickens, as well as two dogs and I knew that would be paradise for Stevie.
I still visit her from time to time, she remembers me and runs up to me just like a little puppy would. I’ve taken in so many different animals over the years but Stevie was definitely one of a kind. I don’t think I’ll ever experience another chicken like her.
