Former Stockbridge librarian tells the story

My girl Peanut, world’s oldest living chicken

by Marsi Parker Darwin

Some readers may know me as a former Stockbridge branch librarian, where I served from 1986-1998. Those who remember me may not be surprised to learn we have a chicken living in our house. Her name is Peanut. She’s twenty years old, with a golden-brown, speckled body and a black tail. Most noteworthy is that Peanut just achieved the Guinness record for World’s Oldest Living Chicken.

Peanut’s mom was a Nankin chicken and her dad was a bantam Belgian Mille Fleur d’Uccle rooster. Twenty one years ago this spring, Nannette the Nankin was happily sitting on a nest of tiny eggs. When they hatched, Nanette moved her chicks off the nest, and I saw one unhatched egg.

I had learned that disposal of old eggs could be a smelly endeavor, so I’d usually toss them into our pond in order not to attract predators. Think of it as food for the fish and the turtles. That day, with the egg in hand, I brought my arm up to pitch it into the water. But as my hand came up parallel to my ear, I heard a chirp. With the egg still cupped in my palm, I moved it closer to my ear, and I heard another chirp. I examined the egg and discerned a tiny crack. Back inside the house, I shone a flashlight on the eggshell and could see that the chick inside was indeed struggling to get out.

Most chicks, on the seventh day of incubation, develop a small horn-like protrusion on the end of their beak called an egg tooth. This sharp instrument is used to peck at the inside of the shell to break free, then the tooth falls off after hatching. But this chick was having trouble. Apparently its egg tooth had not developed. I ended up peeling it out of the egg as the chirping grew fainter.

A pitifully wet, wadded-up mess sat in my hand. I wrapped it in a towel and carried it close to my heart as I set up a cage and heat lamp with one hand. I didn’t expect the chick to survive.

When I tried to introduce it to its mother, she wanted nothing to do with it. The other chicks were dry and fluffy and running around already. Mama Nan pecked at the new chick. I tried a few more times that week, slipping it under Nan at night, but she’d have none of it. I realized I had a house chicken, at least for the time being, so I moved her into an old parrot cage.

The “time being” became nearly two years. By then, my husband had built another coop designated for bantam chickens only, and I was able to integrate Peanut into the existing flock.

Fifteen years passed, with the addition of a few more coops and a lot more birds. But Peanut always came when called and had a habit of following me around, begging to be held. She often rode on my shoulder as I did my chores.

A few winters ago, when winds were howling and temperatures were frigid, Peanut followed me into the screened porch and hopped up onto the old parrot cage stored out there.

“Oh, you found your old home, Peanut,” I said. She simply gave me her wise old owl look, and hopped inside.

Last fall, a friend urged me to apply on Peanut’s behalf for the Guinness record. After six months of submitting evidence—photos, witness testimony, and a veterinary statement—we were notified in February 2023 that Peanut holds the record, and we have the official certificate to prove it.

Although doddering, she’s always alert, and eats like it’s her last meal. Once again this winter, Peanut is in our living room, watching TV and looking out the window, clucking over treats and sharing her cage with her 15-year-old-daughter Millie, oblivious to her new notoriety.

A hen named Matilda made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest living chicken at the age of fourteen in 2004. She was even on the Tonight Show! Peanut and I have been on the radio, local television and newspapers, but we have no wish to travel to the big city.

We’re just a couple of country chicks who want to put smiles on people’s faces, proving what a little spirit and a lot of love can do.

As a chick, Peanut almost didn’t hatch, but thanks to Marsi Darwin’s keen sense of hearing, Peanut is now a world record holder. Photo credit: Marsi Darwin

Peanut is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest living chicken. As befits a chicken of her stature, she now spends winters indoors at the Darwin household. Photo credit: Marsi Darwin