For many current or former farm kids across Saskatchewan it’s not uncommon to grow up with chickens running around. One of the benefits of living on a farm with poultry was the ability to have fresh eggs whenever you wanted. Even though it wasn’t fun cleaning out the chicken coops in the summer, it meant a little extra spending money for some farm kids. Unfortunately most chickens don’t have a long lifespan – unless your chicken is Gertie.
Gertie is a Golden Sebright chicken near Portland, Maine who is over 15-years-old! Providing she makes it, she’ll turn 16 in July. Currently the hen is blind, but still manages enjoys life alongside her owner Frank Turek.
According to Turek, Gertie the chicken came to him in 2010 with a number of other baby chicks. He realized she was going to be much smaller than the rest of the batch but had a much more impressive plumage. In fact, Turek tells Guinness World Records that Gertie has always been very photogenic.
Gertie took the record in November when she reached 15 years, 100 days old surpassing the previous record holder of Pearl the chicken in Texas. Perhaps, Hallmark will have chicken birthday card line by July!
Comments