How do we decide which animals are family and which are food? Why are we surprised to see a rooster gazing out the kitchen window or a hen investigating the refrigerator? After all, chickens are present in many homes, as flesh and eggs, but not as individuals with personalities of their own.

In early 2017, I met a hen suffering from reproductive illness at the Wild Bird Fund in New York City, where I volunteered as a caregiver. During my search to find a permanent home for the hen after she was discharged from the Fund’s clinic, I discovered a network of people (primarily women) who turn their homes into sanctuaries for rescued chickens. I decided to make portraits of the chickens and their rescuers to honour both the birds who had suffered so much before their rescue and the people who invested so much love, time, and money caring for them.

Kehrer Verlag has published my book of portraits of chickens and their rescuers. The 120-page hardcover book is approximately 24 cm x 22 cm, with 55 colour photographs. It features essays from me, five of the rescuers featured in the book, Catskill Animal Sanctuary founder Kathy Stevens, and award-winning photographer and teacher Janelle Lynch.

50% of my profits from sales of Nest are donated to support animal rescue.

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