Whether you have rural acreage, a suburban backyard or an urban lot, you may be able to raise chickens. A complete guide to raising backyard chickens in 7 chapters. The chicken chicks guide to backyard chickens covers all aspects of keeping pet chickens in a beautifully illustrated, nononsense format. This book is a must if you have a backyard flock, or are interested in raising your own chickens. Chickens in my backyard chickens in my backyard chickens in my backyard chickens in my backyard. These books will provide the foundation of your knowledge to get your backyard chickens off to the to best start, help in selecting the best breed of chicken, explain hatching eggs and raising chicks, raising your backyard chickens, housing and feeding your backyard chickens, and reveal the top tips and secrets for getting the most out of your. There is an excellent book by clea danaan, zen and the art of raising chickens. In backyard chickens beyond the basics, readers will find not just answers, but a book full of coop truth that helps them continue on their journey. There are a ton of pictures of chicken coops online, but not all of them are practical choices. What to feed them for optimal health and egg laying, including if youre on a tight budget.
Raising chickens for fun and profit has everything you need for starting a backyard flock in one, easy to understand reference book. Besides the flock of chickens you maintain for eggs and maybe meat and the bees you keep onsite for honey and pollination purposes, you may want to have other animals around as residents of your. Her informative style and funloving personality permeate this book as she guides newbie, veteran, and aspiring chickeneers alike through all aspects of smallflock care from buying chicks to healthcare. As the authority on rural knowhow, grit magazine has long been leading the charge and is now proud to introduce its 2011 special guide to backyard chickens ebook. It is packed full of information and little pearls of wisdom. How to choose the perfect breed of chicken for you including our top 5 beginner picks. I have personally found that the perfect chicken coop by charlie tucke. As they learned to raise chickens, gail damerow and rick luttmann came to realize the need for a comprehensive but clear and nontechnical guide. Chickens can also be raised just part time for meat, or even as dual purpose birds.
They do have a little bit of learning curve, and there are things you can do to help your chickens have a happy life. Througout chickens in your backyard, the luttmanns express their wonder at the personalities of chickensthe role of brash protector played by roosters, and the instinctive motherliness of the hens. Try to hide housing or blend it into the landscape. A chicken in every yard is a book that provides a definitive guide. This book goes beyond introductory lessons and explores the realities of raising a flock for eggs and entertainment. Chickens in your backyard, newly revised and updated. If you have ever thought of getting chickens as pets, egg layers or meat, this is one fantastic book to start with. Raising small flock of backyard hens has become increasing popular over the past couple of. Guide to raising backyard chickens purina animal nutrition. It covered many different aspects of chickens that i havent found in other beginners books, such as hatching your own eggs in an incubator a tricky process. A constant battle with neighbors who dont like your chickens may lead to the municipality banning your chickens or even banning everyones chickens.
All about raising, feeding, and caring for chickens in our backyards. Most people know chickens provide delicious eggs, but dont realize the many other benefits that come with having your own backyard flock. Best 8 books on raising backyard chickens open book. From bringing your chicks home for the first time to putting eggs on the table, weve got it all covered. Raising chickens for eggs is really fun, heres my three tips for being successful with your backyard chickens.
Our number one goal, other than adding a large garden to our new homestead, was to have rotational chicken runs around the garden to reduce feeding costs rotational chicken runs can greatly help to reduce feeding costs because you can let an area rest and grow to have more weeds and bugs. This audio is great with teaching you the basics and getting you started. Written for the novice or intermediate backyard flock owner, chicken hot topics, is a resource to give you the wisdom of experience and scientific research, to help you sift through your options. Either they dont come with instructions, are hard to clean, or arent going to protect your birds from predators. For a limited time, raising chickens for fun and profit is on sale. Chickens in your backyard was a really nice, humorous introduction to keeping chickens. It is a great resource for both the experienced backyard chicken owners and those that are new to the world of chickens. Best books on raising backyard chickens a chicken in every yard. As they learned to raise chickens, gail and rick luttmann came to realize the need for a comprehensive but clear and nontechnical guide. We supply hobbyists and farmers with low minimum orders of as few as 3 fowl when starting or adding to their flock. Theres a lot to like about raising chickens in your backyard.
In this handson, easytouse guidebook, longtime chicken breeder and poultry expert christine heinrichs tells you everything you need to know to raise chickens in your backyardfrom laying out the yard and designing a coop, to choosing breeds. Chicken record book chickens backyard, best egg laying. This book contains proven steps and strategies on how to raise chickens in your backyard to produce fresh eggs. Your chickens should be able to access the food whenever they need it. Chapters are short and concentrate on the very beginning aspects of chicken keeping, such as chickens 101, which chickens are best for you, coops, feed and caring for. The simplest way to feed your chickens is the fullfeeding method. The eggs are a real temptationtastier and fresher than any storebought eggs and better for baking, too. The perfect book for anyone who has ever dreamed of having that little place in the country, barnyard in your backyard offers triedandtrue, expert advice on raising healthy, happy, productive farm animals. Author jenkins in his book backyard chickens describes very well about how to raise chickens in your backyard for fresh eggs, and it has all the tools you need to start working on building your own chicken coop. Book overview your backyard can be the source of the best eggs and meat youve ever tasted.
Here are some of the most common reasons to raise chickens. The answer is chickensendearing birds that require but a modest outlay of time, space and food. The best book on raising chickens in your backyard would definitely have to be one which includes all aspects of chicken life. Given some freedom and attention, these birds can become much more than the eggandmeat machines of commercial hatcheries and broiler factories. This insightful book is a compilation of expert advice on the frequently asked questions about raising backyard chickens. How to raise chickens backyard chickens learn how to. What is the best book on raising some chickens in your. This author has the experience needed to be able to give advice. Chickens are individuals and reallife chicken keeping often takes you far from the beaten path.
If you didnt see yesterdays post, theres still time to enter the drawing for the green teen. Once you plan out your space, the chicken breed, and how many chickens you will have, you can decide if keeping a rooster is for you. Chickens in your backyard is an outstanding book which teaches a novice how to raise chickens from the domesticated confines of a surburban back yard. Welcome to day two of green book week, where im giving away a green book a day. Much of the day, the birds entertain themselves, picking at grass. Your backyard can be the source of the best eggs and meat youve ever tasted. The way of the hen, that delves into the backyard chicken movement and the simple, zen nature of chickens existence. Raising backyard chickens for beginners also consider your area of land and if you can consider miniature cattle breeds and a livestock guardian animal to complete your homestead. Kathy addresses everything needed to keep chickens simply, including coops, chick care, breed selection, chicken health, and beyond. Personal narrative nonfiction, 455 words, level k grade 2, lexile 510l. In chickens in my backyard, savannah narrates her experience of raising chickens in tucson, arizona.
Raising chickens is a quick way to start producing all the eggs your family will need. Backyard chicken runs and designs around the garden. Hot topics should be one of the books in your backyard chickens library the book isnt the only backyard chicken reference youll want. Lets open up these 8 books on keeping your own backyard chickens to find out which ones will be the best resource for you. Chickens for backyards hatchery sells over 100 beautiful breeds of dayold baby chicks, ducks, geese, turkeys, and guineas. Imagine an almost endless supply of eggs and meat of thr highest quality from your own backyard. This revised and updated edition combines all the classic techniques with the most uptodate informationfrom incubating, raising, housing, and feeding, to treating disease and raising chickens for show. Hang a feeder in the coop, fill the feeder full, and fill it up as needed from that point on. Learn how to raise chickens for eggs in this guide to raising backyard chickens. From picking the right chicken breed to building the perfect chicken coop, this weekbyweek guide provides everything you need for your first year with chickens. A practical handbook to raising chickens by claire woods. Her family lives in the city, and they dont own a farm, but they do. Chickens are easy and inexpensive to maintain when compared to most other petssee what our members say in this poll.
Chickens in your backyard has been the goto guide for chicken care for more than 40 years. The eggs are a real temptationtastier and fresher than any storebought eggs, and better for baking, too. The shells, along with the chicken poop, can be tossed right into the compost pile. Its a great book for beginners since it covers the basic essentials of chicken care, especially for the smallscale hobbyist, without being overwhelming. How to raise chickens in your backyard mother earth news. Community chickens guide to backyard coops community. This book tells the reader everything about chicken raising, from what to do before the chickens arrive to butchering the birds. Keeping a few hens in your backyard will give you fresh eggs that are. Her book discusses how chicken watching increases our mindfulness skills. Chicken coops were invented for a good reason and that reason is to keep your chickens safe, healthy and alive. This is an authoritative and accessible book that provides information about. A backyard homestead opens up opportunities for sharing your farm with other types of animals that you may not have thought to add to your homestead. Much of the day, the birds entertain themselves, picking at grass, worms, beetles, and. Living with chickens by jay rossier is another good book for the beginning hobbyist.