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Living with Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock
by
Jay Rossier,
Geoff Hansen (Goodreads Author) , American Poultry Association
Straightforward prose and dozens of detailed illustrations offer advice on everything from choosing the best birds for your needs to suggestions for building a windowed coop.
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
June 1st 2002
by Lyons Press
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Extremely thorough yet readable, this photo-illustrated book answered most of my questions and resolved my concerns as a suburbanite and erstwhile city dweller who is planning for a future with chickens and other farm animals. Rossier goes over all the chicken-raising basics, such as food, shelter, and the prevention and treatment of disease (though this last topic is a little sketchy). He also includes -- and I am grateful for this -- a description of and instructions for the butchering and pre...more
A beautiful book--the photograph are teriffic. Good info on feeding, but parts of it were a little more technical than I'll probably ever need (and aimed at those keeping bigger flocks than I'm planning on). Also, big emphasis on meat birds, including a step-by-step butchering guide. Not for me! On the plus side, a very detailed explanation (with illustrations) on how to determine if a hen is laying, and how many eggs she's laid in her lifetime--cool!
What I learned that I didn't previously know about keeping chickens:
1. the progression of a molt. Our Leah should be starting to lay again any day.
2. letting the manure mix with the litter on the floor of the coop and composting there over the winter. This is accelerated by throwing some scratch over it so the hens break up the droppings. Clean it out in the spring and add fabulous compost to the vegetable garden.
1. the progression of a molt. Our Leah should be starting to lay again any day.
2. letting the manure mix with the litter on the floor of the coop and composting there over the winter. This is accelerated by throwing some scratch over it so the hens break up the droppings. Clean it out in the spring and add fabulous compost to the vegetable garden.
This book certainly has some useful information. However, much of the coop information assumes you will have 10 or even 25 chickens. That's not for someone with a backyard--that's for someone with land. Many pictures of chickens coexisting with horses and a pig. Again, those are not backyard chickens.
So--interesting, but the subtitle is misleading.
So--interesting, but the subtitle is misleading.
Good primer for us as we raise our six little chicks. Interesting chapter on butchering!!! Also, kind of rough advice on what to do when the missus gets too old to lay an egg. (I advise against chuckling about this with your post-menopausal friends--believe me, they will NOT think it's that funny.) A Spanish Fork Library book.
if you're interested in chickens, this is a great place to start. not too overwhelming, but gives you a good idea of the basics. great pictures and really solid pages -whole thing is in color - feels kind of fancy - I like that!
Really, really interesting, and the writing style was fantastic. Information was technical enough without being too technical.
Although I must admit I did skip the chapter on slaughtering. (ech...)
Although I must admit I did skip the chapter on slaughtering. (ech...)
I thought this book was excellent and gave some very good insights into what is needed to raise chickens. Though it probably doesn't go into enough depth for a real chicken lover.
This book has beautiful photos but not much else. If you are looking for information on raising chickens I would suggest "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" instead.
Great book! Chicken farming here I come! Because it was a library book, I am looking to buy a copy. Lots of info in it and it will come in handy next spring when we buy our chicken babies.
Chicago and Evanston now allow for raising poultry at your residence! I am waiting for my burb to allow it, I am ready. Great book, quick read as well.
Helpful and very informative. Kids, especially Hannah, loved the pictures! Can't wait to buy our own little chicks...once we actually have a home...
Very good information on chicken breeds,health etc. Although, as a vegan I found it maddening to have to sift through comments on butchering.
Another all around good book on chicken raising.
Good beginning book to take care of chickens
This is actually an incredibly informative, interesting and fun book. I just checked too many books out from the library and didn't have enough time to finish this one. Unfortunately, someone put it on hold, so I can't renew it, either.
I'm thinking I'm going to buy the e-book version. This is just one of those good-to-have books.
I'm thinking I'm going to buy the e-book version. This is just one of those good-to-have books.
All the basics, easy to read and follow.
Really good, basic information.
Easy to read with good info -- we'll see how my chickens do!
Wonderful book for starting out, covering the essentials in an informative and engaging style. As an added bonus, beautifully printed typography and full-color photos.
Lovingly done. The photos are gorgeous -- Wyandottes are beautiful hens! Who knew?
And rich-in-potential-metaphor info on chickens. For instance: Did you know that you can tell how many eggs a hen has laid by how yellow her body is? After laying about ten eggs, her flesh loses its yellow tint in her head. After laying 100 eggs, her breast is pale.
Go ahead. Make something of that.
And rich-in-potential-metaphor info on chickens. For instance: Did you know that you can tell how many eggs a hen has laid by how yellow her body is? After laying about ten eggs, her flesh loses its yellow tint in her head. After laying 100 eggs, her breast is pale.
Go ahead. Make something of that.
This is quite a good beginners guide to raising chickens, though it is aimed more toward large flocks than to the small backyard flocks most will choose to have. Also, unlike books that aim to educate small-flock owners, Living with Chickens also includes a section on butchering your own birds, in case you want to go that route.
If you only have time to read one book before launching your backyard chicken mission, this is the book for you. It covers all of the basics concisely, without chincing on the details beginners really want to know more about (like what exactly you do about poo control).
Very enjoyable, but if you're going to get chickens read at least one other book. All of the chicken books I've ever read (except Storey's Guide to Chickens) are that way
If you have chickens, this is a great reference book to have. We bought it from the hatchery when we bought LuLu Chicken and the other one (can't remember her name). And its been a constant guide to chicken life!
Sep 26, 2008
rebecca
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
did-not-finish,
simple-living
David probably read way more of this book than I did. We both have a dream of owning chickens sometime in our future, but perhaps we will do more research when that time is drawing closer.
Oct 21, 2007
Samira
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone thinking about living with chickens
Shelves:
non-fiction
I think this is a very good introduction to raising chickens, but since I am not in a position to actually get a flock going, it is hard to predict whether there are gaps of information.
Not as helpful as I would have liked. Color photos, anecdotes and nostalgia seem to take the place of useful information.
May 13, 2008
Kellyann
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people interested in keeping chickens
A good introduction to keeping chickens, with photographs of local chickens by a neighbor of ours. Instantly helpful.
Well written, very basic information about keeping chickens on a small scale, lots of photos. Author lives in Vermont.
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Dec 15, 2011 09:26am