Meet Peanut the Chicken, Guinness World Record holder

Living on a no-kill farm, Marsi Parker Darwin and her husband Bill live on a Michigan farm with dogs, cats, and various birds, including chickens, peacocks, and ducks, with the star of the show being their 21-year-old pet Peanut the Chicken. 

According to reports, Marsi Parker Darwin, the chicken’s owner, said in an interview, “The average chicken lives five to eight years, so it’s quite an achievement” commenting on Peanut the Chicken living up till the age of 21.

“Peanut is a sassy chicken; if she doesn’t get her blueberry yogurt in the morning, I hear about it,” she continued. Darwin recalls the day Peanut was born. “One of the chicken eggs that was supposed to hatch looked rotten and had been abandoned by its mother hen. I picked it up and was about to toss it into a pond for turtles to eat when I heard a small chirp”.

“I heard a second chirp, and I realized that the chick was alive and didn’t seem to have an egg tooth to get out of its shell,” she explained, referring to the section of the beak used by a chick to crack open the egg from the inside.

More than two decades later, the little chick has now earned recognition: Guinness World Records has named her the world’s oldest living chicken.

Courtesy of Marsi Parker Darwin, Peanut’s owner

“Peanut is a sassy little chicken; if she doesn’t get her blueberry yogurt in the morning, I hear about it.” Peanut is also a healthy chicken, according to Darwin. Peanut lives a healthy lifestyle, but this was not always the case.

Peanut turned 21 in May, and Darwin said she was still amazed her little hen became known as the world’s oldest chicken. Peanut’s quest for world record status began in the spring of 2022, when Darwin’s friend Todd Gillihan, who is also a chicken fanatic, encouraged her to apply to Guinness.

Gillihan had read about Matilda, the initial Guinness World Record’ oldest chicken. She was 14 when she appeared on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” in 2004, and she died two years later at the age of 16.

“He knew Peanut had that record beat,” Darwin explained. In March, Guinness made it official: Peanut ruled the roost as the world’s oldest living chicken.