Our Feathered Friends - Reviews

Educational Media Reviews Online - January 14th, 2008

Our Feathered Friends: Adventures on a Chicken Farm

  Highly Recommended

Cock-a-doodle-doo so you want to know more about chickens too! This enlightening documentary is sure to capture audiences of all ages as it explores the history, habits and life cycles of chickens raised on a farm all year around. The film is creatively told from a child’s perspective when two brothers visiting their grandmother help to take care of a flock in the country. Loads of interesting facts about chickens and their habitat are revealed and are accompanied with playful music and dance.

Film quality is exceptional and the DVD layout is easy to follow, including special features such as a colorful photo gallery and online lesson plans in a downloadable PDF guidebook. The Lesson Plan/Guidebook includes discussion questions, a writing activity, word find, vocabulary list, and four additional resource links. This is an excellent source for elementary science educators and would be a great addition to any library collection.

Our Feathered Friends was awarded Winner for the Best Documentary (Children’s Jury), Chicago International Children’s Festival. Other recommended films include the award winning City of Bees selected for the Editor’s Choice, Video Librarian, and Video Pick, School Library Journal. 

Reviewed by Deidra N. Herring, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Video Librarian - January/February 2008

Our Feathered Friends

From the producers of City of Bees (VL-9/06) and Hanging with the Sloth (VL-1/07), Our Feathered Friends offers a gorgeously-filmed, intimate look into the everyday lives of chickens (as well as a few other birds, such as pheasants, hawks, and swallows). Featuring voiceover narration from a child’s perspective, the story follows two young brothers over the course of a year on their grandmother’s farm, along the way presenting a guided tour of all things chicken: the breed’s origins, development, eating habits, and social interactions. Viewers will see a surprising amount of soap opera quality drama in a chicken’s life, ranging from roosters struggling for dominance, to one hen’s quest to have chicks. The cinematography is beautiful—much of it from a ground-level “chicken’s-eye” view—bringing small details of nature alive in conjunction with the informative and charming narration and delightful soundtrack. Viewers may never look at an egg the same way again! DVD extras include a photo gallery, as well as a downloadable lesson plan/guidebook. Highly recommended. Aud: E, I, P. (E. Gieschen)

Booklist - December 1st, 2007

This engaging, live-action video with crisp scenes of a chicken farm follows the seasons, focusing primarily on spring, a favorite time of the year for chickens, according to the young (approximately age seven) male narrator, who is visiting his grandmother’s farm with his younger brother. Occasional background music heightens footage of chickens scratching the ground for food, nesting in trees, taking dust baths, and seeking a spot to lay eggs. Footage of roosters battling for dominance, a pheasant taking a fancy to a chicken, and newly hatched chicks are also included. The narrative leaves some unanswered questions concerning chicken behavior (the type of food they scratch for) and anatomy (the purpose of
various body parts), but thanks to the colorful images, this is an appealing choice for young viewers, who will come to appreciate and learn about chickens.
— Edie Ching

School Library Journal - December 2008

Our Feathered Friends: Adventures on a Chicken Farm DVD.

28 min. Choices Inc.
2007. ISBN 978-1-933724-15-7. $24.95.
K-Gr 6–

From the same folks who brought us the fascinating City of Bees (Aug. 2006, p.
50) comes Our Feathered Friends with a focus on chickens. Two young boys spend time on their grandmother’s chicken farm. The older child narrates the video, explaining what happens to the chickens throughout the year. A small flock of free-range chickens are followed, so viewers watch them scratch, strut, roost in trees, and lay eggs. Dust baths, preening, mating dances, and chick-hatching are also shown. Eggs are the focus, rather than drumsticks, so tender sensibilities will not be offended. Other animals such as pheasants, buzzards, farm dogs, and foxes make brief appearances. Chicken vocabulary is introduced and defined in context. Special features include access by chapters, a photo
gallery of chicken pictures, and downloadable lesson plans. There’s good information here, but the pacing might be a little too slow for classroom use. Still, children, especially those who have not experienced farm life, will find this a fascinating close-up view of the source of their breakfast entrée

.–Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA