Lots of people raise chickens in their backyards these days for fun and fresh eggs. It gives us a connection to the Earth, self-sustenance and an awareness of nature. When I get up early to let my birds out of their coops, I often enjoy a beautiful sunrise. And when I shut them up for the night, I’m aware of our planet’s travel around the sun, the sunsets varying according to the season. Keeping birds has enriched my life in countless ways.

Not everyone is lucky enough to find an unhatched egg, peel the chick out, and obtain the Guinness record for World’s Oldest Living Chicken 20 years later, but that’s exactly what happened to me. In the spring of 2002, I was strolling around my chicken yard, enjoying my morning, when I noticed a hen who had been setting on eggs had abandoned her nest. Remnants of shells and one unhatched egg were all that remained. She was busily clucking at her newly hatched chicks nearby. It was obvious that she wasn’t going back to that nest.

So, I picked up the cold egg and walked to our pond to pitch it. I figured it was rotten since it hadn’t hatched. However, as I raised my arm to throw the egg into the water, I thought I heard it chirp. Sure enough, when I cupped it against my ear, it was cheeping.

I peeled the poor little chick out of the egg, never expecting it to survive. But, long story short, survive she did, for 21 and one-half wonderful years. I named her Peanut, because she was tiny, brown, and shriveled. When she was nearing 20, a friend urged me to apply for the Guinness record, and after months of providing “proof”—photos, testimony and a letter from a vet—we were rewarded with the world record.

Much fanfare ensued—a tribute from Governor Gretchen Whitmer, interviews with media from all over the world, a ride in the Chelsea parade. But our everyday life on the farm remained the same. I published a picture book of Peanut’s life for children as well as adults, fulfilling a lifelong dream of my own—to hold a book I’d written in my hands. She died in my arms on Christmas Day last year, but there isn’t a day I don’t think of her. Life goes on at Darwin’s Eden, but her courageous, curious, cheerful spirit lives on in the hearts of those who knew her personally or through the news, and my hope is to spread her story even further.

The lessons learned from Peanut were many. First of all, holler for help if you need it! Never give up. Trust someone. And be mindful of our beautiful Earth and all it has to offer, every single glorious day.

My Girl Peanut and Me may be ordered at DarwinsEden.com.