Josh Collier is 14, going on 30.
“We call him our ‘old soul’ because his interests don’t exactly fit his age,” says Josh’s mom, DeLee Collier.
Josh loves antique shopping, collecting historical trinkets, gardening, crafting and, most of all, caring for his chickens. As a fifth grader, Josh began raising chickens after his mom and dad said no pigs.
“If I couldn’t have a pig, I figured taking care of chickens was the next best thing,” Josh says.
Now he has about 40 chickens on his family’s farm near Waco. Besides feeding and watering them daily, Josh washes and oils them so their feathers gleam for the competitive chicken shows he travels to in Kentucky and neighboring states.
“I have to make sure my chickens are perfect, which means not one feather can be out of place,” Josh says.
In addition to giving him an opportunity to compete with, learn about and tend to several species of chickens, Josh’s chicken operation is a way to explore other interests. For instance, Josh, who has always had a love for arts and crafts, such as weaving and stitching, has developed a system to turn his empty chicken feed bags into funky, hand-sewn handbags.
He also has incorporated his love of history and problem-solving into his chicken operation by beginning to develop his own organic chicken feed, which, in addition to being GMO-free, reflects the crops traditionally grown in Kentucky.
Although Josh knows his hobbies are far from ordinary, he says he is proud of what he does and who he is.
“No other kids I know do the stuff I do, so I guess the things I talk about aren’t really relatable at school,” Josh says, “but I love them and I don’t mind being different.”
