An older gentleman with a quick smile and twinkle in his eye sits on a wooden porch swing in front of the store, slowly swinging back and forth. Everyone seems to know him. “Hi, Jim! How are you doing?” “Hi, Jim, enjoying your swing, I see.”
It’s almost like the episodes of Cheers where everyone is saying “Hi” to Norm. But his name is Jim Lucas, and he’s not at a bar, he works at Tractor Supply Company, formerly Del’s Feed and Farm Supply. And he is known as “The Chicken Whisperer”.
Lucas began working at Del’s about 25 years ago. He had been living in Ohio when he and his wife decided to move out here closer to their son and grandchildren. He went into Del’s one day looking for part time work.
“They said, ‘How about if you start in the morning full-time,’ so I did,” Jim says. “I threw feed, loaded alfalfa, all that stuff,” Now, at 83 years old, Lucas only works Saturdays. “I’m the greeter, I show people where things are, answer questions. They’re good to me here, a lot better than they should be,” he chuckles.
Jim’s relationships with the customers is proven in the form of a wooden porch swing in front of the store. Across the top beam is carved, “Jim’s Roost” and that’s usually where you will find him sitting, swinging, and joking around with people.
About ten years ago, a customer at Del’s said to the owners, “Boy, Jim sure likes that swing. I’ll pay the first $100 for one for him if the company will cover the rest.” “And they did!” Jim says. “It’s really been a good conversation piece, I can swing as much as we want. I just talk to customers and that’s it. And I do that pretty darn well,” he says, laughing.
When I asked him about being called “The Chicken Whisperer” he nods. “Yep, I love chickens. I’d probably trade my wife for a dozen,” he says, laughing. He describes how he got his first chicken at two years old and at one point had around 300 of them. He took about 40 chickens at a time to poultry shows around the northwest and won many awards. Now he has about 30.
“I don’t know what draws them to me,” he muses. “I just love them. They’re easier to handle than a horse,” he says, smiling. He doesn’t have a favorite breeds, he just likes them all. He can’t eat all the eggs, so he brings them to work and the other employees take them home and eat them.
He has even shared his chickens with many people over the years. “I’ll give them some of mine if they can’t afford to buy any. I’ve never sold a chicken in my life, I just give them away.”
Jim’s history with chickens includes working at a feed store that sold Purina feed. He prepared deceased chickens to be sent to Purina for study. Once a year he went to their research plant in Missouri and spent four or five days learning. The chicken industry really hasn’t changed much over the years, he says. “Although there is more interest now than years ago,” he says. “Everyone has more money to spend and it’s easy to spend on chickens because they don’t cost much. A lot of people are wanting their own eggs too. It’s a fun hobby, not very expensive, but you can tie up a lot of money in them if you want to, just like anything else.”
The most unusual thing that has happened for Jim is Del’s store move and change. “This is a new store. It’s very different. Del’s was basically all feed, but now it’s like a big hardware store.” But, he says, “It’s all good. I’ve never had a bad conversation with a customer, it’s always been great.”
Jim plans to continue working at the store as long as he can. “My wife doesn’t mind, she has her quilting,” he laughs. He gets asked a lot of questions, mostly about which breed is the best layer and other general chicken questions. He can also help you if your chickens get sick, he knows just what to do. But he also knows where to direct people in the store to any other product or supply they might need.
When asked what advice he would give to someone wanting to start raising chickens, he is ready to talk some more while sitting on that swing—“Just come on in and talk to me about it. We’ll figure it out,” he says with that warm smile and a quick wink.
You can sit on the swing with Jim Lucas at Tractor Supply Company on Saturdays. He’s there until about 4:00 pm, located at 1050 Northwest Maryland Ave. Ste. B, Chehalis WA 98532.
