Nest: Rescued Chickens at Home

by Janet Holmes

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 studying herself in the mirror? After all, chickens are present in many homes, as flesh and eggs, but not as individuals with personalities of their own. In early 2017, photographer Janet Holmes met a hen suffering from reproductive illness at the Wild Bird Fund in New York City, where she volunteered as a caregiver. During her search to find a permanent home for the hen after she was discharged from the Fund’s clinic, Janet Holmes discovered a network of people (primarily women) who turn their homes into sanctuaries for rescued chickens. She 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.

120 pages, Hardcover

Published June 22, 2020

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Janet Holmes always loved animals, but for many years she was afraid to get involved with rescuing them because she couldn’t imagine how she would deal with the heartbreak. In 2013, she decided that animals needed her more than she needed to be comfortable, and so she began volunteering with rescue groups as a caregiver and photographer. As she spent more time experiencing animals as individuals through the lens of her camera, she began to question how she could profess to love them, yet continue exploiting them for food, clothing and other materials. She committed to become vegan and use photography to advocate for animal liberation.

Janet completed the International Center of Photography's Continuing Education Track Program in 2015 and now focuses on portraiture of rescued animals. She has been recognized by Photolucida as a Critical Mass Finalist (2017 and 2018), and she has exhibited and won awards for her animal portraits in the USA, Canada and Europe. In 2018, portraits from her ongoing series about rescued chickens won the People's Choice Award as part of United Photo Industries' nine-city touring exhibition The Fence.

Janet works primarily on a non-profit basis, donating her services and a significant percentage of her profits to animal welfare groups.

Reviews

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just gorgeous! It's heartwarming to see these rescued darlings in their homes and with their families. The photos are stunning and really showcase the personalities of the chickens! Highly recommend.