Keeping Pet Chickens: You don't need much space to Enjoy the Bounty of Fresh Eggs from Your Own Small Flock of Happy Hens

by Johannes Paul, Joe Stahlkuppe

When fresh eggs are needed for the kitchen, what could be better than going out to the back yard and collecting them, courtesy of home-bred chickens? Food simply doesn't come any fresher, and the good news is that keeping two or three chickens is quite easy. They don't require farmland or much special equipment, and today's modern chicken houses are designed so that anyone with even a little backyard space can keep chickens. The authors of this enlightening new book offer essential advice, provide the basic, easy-to-follow chicken-raising facts, and present their information in clear jargon-free text. Keeping Pet Chickens is arranged as a series of clearly-captioned pictorial spreads, each of which focuses on a particular topic of importance to chicken owners. Topics covered include pure breeds and hybrid chicken varieties, maintaining daily routines, catching and handling hens, keeping chickens in good health, and much more. Sidebars on every two-page spread present additional information and fascinating facts about chickens and chicken raising. Approximately 100 color photos.

Genres: Nonfiction, Natural History, Gardening

64 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Co-founder of the award-winning Omlet, an online retailer specialising in animal supplies.

http://www.rca.ac.uk/studying-at-the-...

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a charming book. I know 95% more about chickens (and eggs) than I did before, and all that new information encapsulated within a mere 64 pages. If you plan to get chickens, there are many varieties to choose from, beautifully photographed here, though some are more suited to backyards than others. (Hybrid varieties tend to “make affectionate pets.”) I was surprised to learn that you can purchase toddler-car-sized plastic pods with roosting bars, a droppings tray, and wire run already attached--an instant coop that will house two chickens! You can move it around the yard so the chickens will trample different areas of the lawn. And it’s easier to clean a plastic coop than a wooden one.

On that point, if you’re going to get chickens, you’d better be ready for a lot of maintenance…once a week regular coop cleaning as well as thorough washdowns three times a year. Nobody wants mites or lice. You also have to have a schedule that allows you to let your chickens out in the morning, collect their eggs around 11:00 a.m., and shut them back into their coop at night 100% reliably. If I didn’t have a bunch of geriatric cats and a job, though, I’d be all in for chicken-keeping. This book no doubt oversimplifies, but they look so decorative and seem so easy to keep happy. Give them mash, secure housing, a bug-infested lawn, a patch of dirt to roll in, maybe a mirror for fun, and they’re good. Once they’re tame, they may follow you around your yard as you putter about, and even check out the inside of your house. The adorable hippie boys shown handling the chickens in the book add to the allure of the project. Someday, man.

[Ayesha ( ˙▿˙ ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

chimkens

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so getting chickens 🐓

[Gustavo Balam · Rating 5 out of 5]

esta demasiado bueno a pesar de tener menos de 70 paginas, encantadoras las gallinas y muy utiles los consejos que brinda el libro sobre sus cuidados

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic, in depth beginners guide to keeping chickens. If you have never kept chickens before and are not too sure on the ins and outs of them, their natures and simply the dos and donts then this is most certainly the book for you.

We bought this to learn the basics that we should know for keeping them, and were actually recommended the book by a breeder (is that what they are called?). The photos are great and most certainly help when it comes to assisting with the text and even some clarification on something which seasoned chicken keepers might think simple.

In conclusion, the value for money against other books is great, all you will need to know to keep your brood healthy, happy and importantly, laying and safe. I cant recommend this highly enough.

[Gator · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book full of very useful facts and things to know about chickens. Anyone interested in keeping chickens, this is a wonderful beginners book. My wife and I have had our chickens for over a year now and there are things we know and things we don't, this little book was full of new information that we were unaware of. It was a fun, quick and enjoyable read, It basically covers everything you need to know about keeping chickens in a brief but to the point approach.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw this short book at the library and picked it up because we have a sudden opportunity to get some chickens and I have no idea where to start! This is an excellent book for beginners because it covers a wide range of information and is very quick and easy to read. It also has beautiful pictures.

[Dree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy-to-read guide to chickens with ample illustration. I think it is really useful--but I don't have chickens yet. I am only beginning the research now: and number one is finding a cheap way to build a coop!

[Mavis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for new comers to chicken keeping. Wonderfully illustrated and written in easy to understand language with diagrams and handy hint boxes. The breed section is particularly useful for helping to select a suitable breed.

[MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice pictures, but Keeping Chickens by Hobson and Lewis is better.

[Tamara Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a lot of detailed or useful information. More of an introduction to chickens in a backyard setting. I would suggest "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" as a more comprehensive guide.

[Marilyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have taken a few tips and the pictures are nice and it took about 20 minutes to read. sweet

[Kristal Stidham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, very basic book for someone who's thinking about getting chickens. Unfortunately, I didn't learn anything new and should have purchased a more in-depth book like Fresh Eggs Daily.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

B. has been pouring over this book lately. She wants chickens so much.

[Mark Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the subject of poultry keeping.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basics of chicken care.

[Bryton Gunderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was good because I like chickens.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful tips for a new chicken family.....very quick read