Welcome to the Wacky, Sometimes Wild, but Always Fascinating World of “Chicken People”

Helicoptering beauty pageant parents may seem tame when compared to the breeders of show chickens, who spend countless hours in pursuit of the perfect example of their chosen breed – from Silkies, which sort of resemble alpacas more than poultry, to the Modern Game fowl, whose long muscular legs seem to hark back to its dinosaur ancestors. Show chicken breeders rely on a book that’s more than 100 years old, The American Standard of Perfection, to determine if their bird has the perfect comb curl, color, or tail length. For some, raising show chickens is about problem solving. For others, it’s about communing with nature, or even as a way to heal from adversity.

A new feature-length documentary from CMT and Motto Pictures, Chicken People – airing on CMT later this year – takes us deep into this world as it follows three breeders of show poultry: Brian Caraker, a young singer and dancer whose love for his chickens is sometimes at odds with his career; Shari McCollough, a homemaker from Indiana who spends her boundless energy on breeding and grooming several breeds, especially her prized Silkes; and Brian Knox, an engineer who makes his living designing drag racing engines and approaches chicken breeding with a similar mindset.

The film opens at the 2014 Ohio National Poultry show and viewers follow along throughout the next year as the three work to create the perfect chicken – amidst the worst avian flu epidemic in U.S. history – that they’ll bring to the next big competition. Chicken People premiered at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, and will be at the Nashville Film Festival April 23.

We spoke with the film’s Emmy-nominated director and executive producer, Nicole Lucas Haimes, about what it was like to make Chicken People, and how the experience changed her views on poultry.

As I spent time with the subjects I found that raising chickens helped them to become the best versions of themselves.

Modern Farmer: How did you become interested in the world of show chickens?

Nicole Lucas Haimes: I have two sons. My oldest, Lucas, is now 16. When he was 11 there was a fad at his elementary school where the kids were really, really into chickens so I bought him a book, Extraordinary Chickens [by Stephen Green-Armytage]. We were going through it together, and the book mentioned that people breed competition show chickens. I thought it was so cool. I knew I had to make a film.

MF: With all the mockumentaries out there – Best in Show, for example – were you sensitive about making sure that you presented the subjects in a way that didn’t seem exploitative?

NLH: It was my paramount concern. I wanted it to be lovingly told. Having a camera is a powerful thing. I am the kind of filmmaker who wants to find the most compassionate view of my subjects. I felt especially for Chicken People that I wanted it to be fun, funny, entertaining, but also a celebration of the human spirit. As I spent time with the subjects I found that raising chickens helped them to become the best versions of themselves. That became the story to tell. The depth of their passion was unexpected. It was an education, and a discovery as we went deeper and deeper into the movie.

Judging of Champion Row at Ohio National Poultry Show. Sean Kirby / courtesy CMT

Shari McCollough holds one of her Silkies. Sean Lyness / CMT

MF: The 2015 Ohio National Poultry Show was cancelled due to the avian flu epidemic, and you were planning to shoot there. When you found out, what was going through your mind?

NLH: I was pretty devastated. I knew that a lot of people were suffering, but I was suffering too! I thought the movie was over. No one knew what was going to happen. Ohio was shut down, all of these other states were shutting down, and the shows that were still taking place started requiring avian flu testing, which was cost prohibitive for a lot of people. I was very, very concerned about how we would finish the movie. Then we found out that the Dixie Classic Poultry Show in Knoxville, Tennessee was open, and that they were willing to let us film there, but it wasn’t clear whether our competitors were going to be able to get there. [Editors’ note: They did, and Haimes included footage from this show in the film.]

MF: What were some of the most surprising things you learned about chickens while making the film?

NLH: I learned how smart chickens are. I’ve seen them go through obstacle courses and solve problems. I could not believe how magical watching a chicken hatch is. They work so hard to get out of the egg. It’s a really long process. We sat there with our camera for hours waiting for the chicks to hatch. They start peeping, then begin to move about inside the egg before forcing their little bodies out of the shell. The range and beauty of chickens was amazing to me. I gained a lot of respect for the lowly chicken.

Brian Caraker holds a Rhode Island Red. Martina Radwan / courtesy CMT

MF: After spending so much time around show chickens did it make you think twice about what you eat?

NLH: I don’t eat a lot of meat. Every once in awhile I’ll have pizza with sausage or a bite of one of my kid’s hamburgers, but since making this film I have not eaten chicken. Not even once. I’m done. There will be no more eating chicken.

MF: Did making this film give you any desire to raise chickens?

Yes! At one of the shows I was holding a Polish rooster. This breed looks a bit like David Bowie from his Ziggy Stardust phase. I took a picture and sent it to my husband. I didn’t even ask him, “should we get one?” but he wrote back, “don’t you dare!” I live in Venice, California. It’s pretty urban, and we really don’t have the room for chickens. But if we were ever to leave LA I would definitely get chickens.

Watch a clip from Chicken People below: