Chicken People (2016) Online

Hilarious but true, as someone has spent the whole of the Royal Easter Show in the Poultry Shed, it is all true, true! This is an affectionate look at chicken love in the US of A. (Not enough Australorps, as an Aussie). So they picked the prettiest, cutest breeds and then found the most obsessed owners, not hard, as all are like this, those who win. The chickens are cute, the people funny, the tightly held cameraman has to be congratulated on getting close to the action, and between the cages. Those chickens have a nice life. Pampered, washed, and manicured, their own homes and lots of outdoor range. Do you eat chicken? Do I eat my kids? Telling. This is a true documentary, not a mockumentary as was 'best of breed'. But you would be forgiven for thinking so. A little more information would be nice. Like an egg takes 21 days to hatch, like all chickens have the same basic genes and all come from one type of wild chicken. Documentaries need to teach us something as well as amuse. This falls a little short in the information supply category. But delightful.

I thought of this film as a metaphor...especially regarding the young man who said he was constantly being bullied in school -felt as though he had been judged his whole life. Now his chickens are constantly being judged, but they don't give a rat's a$$ Yet, they continue to be loved even when they don't win, but it seems to me they're all winners.

Enjoyable movie. I have new found respect for these people and those around them who willingly give their time. It was a fun watch. Who would've thunk!!!

They put so much love into the chickens, but honestly I cannot fathom how someone could eat one of them!

Yes, this really is about "Chicken People". Not scared people, or cowards, but about people who love and raise chickens. Most of the focus on this short documentary focuses on those who raise and breed chickens for show (though some do indeed find themselves on the dinner menu after a time) and competition, hoping--just like people who breed and show cats or dogs, hoping to win not only "Best in Breed" but "Best in Show". It's interesting to see the variety of breeds involved and (superficially) the techniques these breeders use to bring out their desired characteristics.

Filled with interviews, the film affectionately follows these self-acknowldged "Chicken People" as they care for--feed, bathe and even groom their chickens and prepare for competition. Some treat their chickens like members of the family--like true pets, while others love them but keep them as barn fowl. There is a sense of self-depecrating humor thorughout the interviews as these people seeem to be self-aware enough to recognize that their love--even self-described "obsession" of chickens is seen as a bit unusual. Still, they smile and never apologize for how they feel.

This is not the most lively of documentaries, nor the most scintillating or instructive. To me it spend just a little too much time on the breeder's outside interests (in a dicumentary this short it matters). However, if you are an animal lover, or a breeder of any sort, or even just curious about chickens, you should enjoy it. It also can servie as a breif introduction to the world of chicken breeding and competition.