Don’t be chicken: Books offer help with those hens
Raising chickens seems to be getting more popular every year. So it’s no surprise that new “how-to” books are being published. Here are a few for homeowners who already have chickens as well as those considering raising them.
“The New Rules of The Roost: Organic Care & Feeding for the Family Flock” by Robert & Hannah Litt (Timber Press, 2018).
Here you get information for the novice chicken owner as well as those already involved. Advice on organic food and health treatments, expanding your flock, modifying behavior, coop management, the best breeds for backyards, siting the habitat to avoid ruffling human feathers, and feeding fundamentals can all be found in this book. It even explains how to perform a basic chicken exam.
Tidbit: The Rhode Island is “the iconic chicken of the backyard and homestead because it is a prolific layer of large brown eggs, has few health problems and a strong constitution, is a terrific forager and efficient consumer of feed, is infrequently broody, and adapts to confinement or free ranging.” The authors add that this chicken “can be a bit high-strung, but with a little extra attention, she’ll be your best garden buddy.”
“Chicken Fact or Chicken Poop: To the Facts and Fictions You Need to Know to Keep Your Flock Healthy and Happy” by Andy Schneider (The Chicken Whisper) (Quarry Books, 2018).
This author uses a fact vs. poop format and includes both “the research” and “the verdict,” with the information coming from chicken experts.
For example: “Adding red pepper flakes to your chicken feed will increase egg production” is listed as poop, and “Round roosts are better than flat roosts” is a fact.
Tidbit: Every hen does not need her own nest box. Hens are quite capable of using a communal box. There are hens who lay in nest boxes, and those that lay on the floor. It is preferable to have hens that lay in the boxes, as the eggs will be easier to collect, cleaner and less likely to be broken by being stepped on.
“The Chicken Chick’s Guide to Backyard Chickens: Simple Steps for Healthy, Happy Hens” by Kathy Shea Mormino (Voyageur, 2017).
Contents range from why should we keep chickens to landscape gardening with chickens. There’s information on predators and pests, choosing chickens, caring for them, diet, health and behavior.
The author writes: “Chickens are best served by keeping their care simple: provide them with a complete commercial feed, clean water in clean
containers, and plenty of clean dry living space.”
Tidbit: “Whenever possible, use container plantings in the chicken yard. Things planted in the ground are enormously tempting to dig into and walk on, but it’s slightly less convenient for chickens to uproot or trek through a potted plant — not impossible, just less convenient.”
“Epic Eggs: The Poultry Enthusiast’s Complete and Essential Guide to the Most Perfect Food” by Jennifer Sartell (Voyageur Press, 2017).
Raising chickens as well as how to use their eggs in the kitchen is the focus here. There is information on ways to cook eggs for best results, as well as how to peel and separate them. She also includes information on “other poultry and their eggs” such as turkeys and ducks.
You also can learn how to recognize and select
breeds, breed for colorful eggs, candle an egg and care for eggs once you collect them.
Tidbit: “Apply a light coat of cooking oil to clean eggshells. It not only gives the eggs a pretty sheen, but it will also help prolong the shelf life by sealing some of the pores on the eggshell.”