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Books on raising chickens?

13 years ago

Hi all,

I live in a suburban area and am planning on getting three chickens. I'm wondering what books you'd recommend on keeping/raising chickens. Storey's Guide to raising chickens looks good as well as some others, but is there any particular book you wouldn't be without? I have an opportunity to order a couple of books from Amazon and would like something comprehensive.

Thanks guys!

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Comments (12)

brendasue
13 years ago
I hear story's guides are pretty good, I'm sure there's a few members with good recommendations though.

Might I also recommend hanging out on forums such as this to speed up the learning process. A lot of the discussions cover more than any book can.

I'm sure some of the more serious chickenfolk will be along shortly with their recommendations.

Brendasue
schrebergaertner
13 years ago
We like "Raising Chickens For Dummies." It had all the info we needed and everything seems to be going great.
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I have 2 rhode Island reds and 3 red star sexlinks. Sweet girls. I have a chicken tractor my hubby made me. Here is some pics of chicken tractors. www.thecitychicken.com. It is easy and with a chicken tractor, when the floor is dirty and the grass is ate, we move them. We have them get into their coop, shut the door and move the tractor. We don't move them when they are in the run so they don't get hurt feet. Protects them and allows them to be free range eating fresh grass, taking dirt baths (which they love) and They eat the weeds, seeds, grass and fertilize the lawn. Poop in the coop goes in my compost. My chicken tractor is bigger than alot of those on the website. It is really fun and healthier since they are free range. We put ours on organic chicken food pellets. It is double the price, but i am assured there is no pesticides in their feed which will make me more comfortable about eating their eggs. My property has no pesticides or chemicals. Cheryl Here is a link that might be useful: The city chicken
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I'll have to come back and look and the Peach and Pear Chili Sauce more carefully later. I'm in the midst of applesauce and apple butter. However, basically that's a tomato-fruit salsa with a good amount of vinegar, so my instinct is it's OK. But as I said, I'll look more closely and find some recipes to compare with in a bit. Or Dave or Linda Lou or someone might feel inclined. The Ball Complete Book is a compilation of all the best from Ball (U.S. Division), Bernardin (Canadian Division) and Kerr (the "other" canning supply company which was subsumed by the bigger corporation). Bernardin Canada follows the same USDA standards as Ball but tends to focus less on the "standards" and offers more ethnic and "gourment" canning formulas. The Ball Complete (Bernardin Complete on the North side of the border) is dual metric and imperial measures. I like metric and find that handy. Keep in mind Ball's main interest is in making money via the jars and other canning supplies they sell. Publishing the Blue Book is a way to promote their product. They aren't trying to cover every possible recipe; it's not in their interest to expend huge sums of money for testing of a lot of esoteric recipes. So each edition gains a few and loses a few. (I don't know who Ball's recipe testers are, but a few of their offerings have been real stinkers taste-wise.) So that fact that a chutney or salsa or pickle or whatever isn't in the BBB doesn't mean there's no safe way to can it. It just means Ball isn't bothering with it. Keep in mind there are also reliable specialists out there. Linda Amendt's preserves are fun, though she's too fond of liquid pectin for my taste. Except for the curds, which I alluded to previously, she offers some great recipes and some very helpful tips and strategies. For sweet preserves there's also Linda Ziedrich (totally reliable) and Madelaine Bullwinkel is A+++ by me. The Jamlady cookbook is also reliable and like a textbook for the art of jams and jellies. Ziedrich's first book was on pickles and provides a wide range of pickling options from traditional fermented to quick pickles, canned, refrigerated and freezer. She has a peach-Pepper Relish to die for. I think it's still posted on some thread or other. Ellie Topp's Small Batch Preserving takes canning in new and interesting directions. Because she is a food scientist, she has the skills to devise recipes just a bit out of the mainstream. So those are some of the options. Gotta go. Carol
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chelcass
13 years ago
Why spend money on a book when you can get all the information you need on the internet? You can google any question you may have and you will find an answer.
sakmeht
Original Author
13 years ago
Personally, my husband and I are concerned with the possibility of hyperinflation. If the s**t hits the fan and no more internet, I'd like good reliable references to have.
chelcass
13 years ago
Print out everything you think you might need. Also do you have a public library in your area? They usually have internet access free for you to use and you can probably find books there on raising chickens. I have had chickens for over 40 years, a lot is trial and error and a lot is good common sense. Chickens are not hard to raise. Good food, Good shelter, chickens are toughter then most people realize. Good luck with your chickens.
adel97
13 years ago
I have a subscription to Backyard Poultry, which has some good articles and even some useful advertising for items you may need. I think it's about $20/year.
aracelih
13 years ago
Scribd.com is the best site for downloading books on any topics... Else Google it in google books...

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aracelih
13 years ago
This is quite common... Marital Intimacy doesn't last for more than 6-7 years of marriage... But You can always talk this out with your Husband or with some other close family member .. Don't let it drag You to depression...

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sakmeht
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks everyone for all of the constructive replies.
Aracelih, your insights are particularly useful! I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't popped in and reminded me about my struggling sex life. *rolling eyes*

Sharonite - I'll look into the backyard poultry magazine. I went ahead and purchased The Chicken Health Handbook and Storeys Guide to Raising Chickens. Both so far have great info in them.
eyecndiggit
13 years ago
You need no book for chickens. You need a decent sized fenced yard, a shelter/egg laying space and water.
But three chickens are pretty much a waste of time and effort unless you live someplace that has good weather year round so you don't have to buy chicken feed. Otherwise store bought eggs would be cheaper.
Three chickens MAY produce three eggs on good days and NO eggs in winter months when there is less daylight.
My chickens lay enough to pay for their own feed in the winter time plus eggs for us and a little extra cash. During good months(non-winter weather) they feed us and put more extra cash into the till.....But we have 40 chickens.
seol
12 years ago
Great site and a great topic as well i really get amazed to read this thanks.
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velvet_sparrow
12 years ago
Great, now we're geting spammers on a farm forum. These people have no life.

Gail Damerow's book is a good start. Another couple of great chicken books are Rick & Gail Luttman's 'Chickens in your Back Yard' and Robert Stroud's 'Stroud's Digest on the Diseases of Birds'. The Luttmann book is more about everyday chicken keeping for the hobbyist, while Stroud's book (though dated, it was writting in the 1930's but still has tons of good insight, horse sense and info on disease) is more about health. I wouldn't be without either one.

Velvet ~:>

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