Orren Fox, 16, lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts. And his blog about chickens took him all the way to Washington D.C.

Fox says he really got fired up about chickens in the fourth grade. He read every book about chickens he could get his hands on and even started volunteering at a local farm where he could work with chickens.

Fox now has 32 chickens of his own.

His blog focuses on how to get started raising chickens. He says getting people involved is a large part of his goal.

“A lot of people have said that I inspired them,” Fox says.

He also takes on serious topics in his blog as well. He says another part of his goal is to educate people on where their food comes from.

“I’ve learned you can’t force an idea on anyone, but you can inform them,” Fox says.

He says some of the things he has learned really disgust him. He has learned about how chickens are raised in factory farms, the way they are treated, fed, and the tiny spaces they are forced to live in.

Fox promotes eating from small local farms. It’s better for you, the planet, and the animals, he says. Some factory farms pump the chickens full of hormones that make the chickens grow larger and faster, but those chemicals end up in your body, he says.

Fox feels strongly about supporting local farms. He says they are more likely to treat their animals better, like giving them more space and access to sunlight. They also don’t ship eggs across the county on polluting trucks.
Fox was invited to be part of a USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) discussion on local farming in Washington D.C. He also got to tour the White House.

“The room was filled with inspirational people, and I was the youngest by far,” Fox says.

Fox says he loves chickens and he doesn’t care if anyone thinks it is an unusual hobby.
“If there’s something you really like, pursue it. Don’t give it up just because it’s different—that’s all the more reason to keep doing it,” Fox says.