Customer Reviews

The Joy of Keeping Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit (The Joy of Series)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a gorgeous book! Obviously, the author loves chickens and knows a lot about them. This book has a ton of full color photo's on thick semi-glossy paperstock. It will survive repeated reading and referencing. Of all the numerous chicken books I have this one is one of my very favorites.

This book covers the basics of chicken keeping, getting started, housing, feeding, keeping chickens for eggs, keeping chickens for meat, using the eggs, showing chickens and it touches very briefly on a few of the most common chicken ailments and diseases. My favorite chapter was on housing. It was very thorough. It also had lots of information on the behavior & habits of the top predators of chickens and how to protect against attacks.

I'd recommend adding this to your chicken book collection!

I am still in the "information gathering" stage of keeping chickens, but this book stood out from others on the same subject for me. The author marshals a great deal of information and makes it understandable. The book is very well written and well-structured. I learned a LOT. And you have to love the story of how she acquired her first chicken by rescuing a beak-clipped battery hen that escaped from a truck that was transporting it (and a bunch of other hens dying from heat exposure due to poor conditions on the truck) to the soup factory. She writes with affection and respect for the chickens, even while she gives very thorough information on how to butcher your meat chickens should you choose to go that way. And, the book -- the photo, the layout, even the type -- is beautiful. This is definitely one to keep.

Nice images, simple and clear style, good info. As a book on keeping (underscore 'keeping') chickens, I'd expect a bit more info on chicken biology, and somewhat less info on cooking recipes for chicken meat and eggs (this isn't " the joy of cooking chicken", after all!).

Isn't it ironic that a book designed to appeal to the sustainable, local living crowd should be printed in China? I was going to give this book a 5 star review until I saw that.

On the content of the book...lovely. I literally read this book in one day. We are moving from big city to a small property in the boonies very soon, and I can't wait to try raising chickens. I found the book to be a great introduction. The chart for selecting breeds is helpful.

Short and sweet, this is a must have for chicken fanciers. This author knows her chickens. Easy read great resource. AND it even looks good out on the coffee table.
JRG Jeffersonville VT

I liked the directness of this care book. It is good for beginners with chickens. I preferred City Chicks though for a more down to earth and great knowledgable author.

I am new to Chickens. I purchase this book based on others reviews and I am so glad I did. This book is fantastic. It was enjoyable to read and the DEPTH of information is fantastic. She did not leave any "chickens" unturned.

Beautiful book. Thick glossy paper with sharp pics. More important [though I lik it's a nice book to handle and has that great new book smell (try that Kindlers) and the quality means would make a good gift] the advice is good. Pretty much everything is covered: housing your chickens, feeding your chickens, dealing with diseases and other flock issues, how to turn a profit.

This is the third book I've owned on raising chickens and this is my favorite. Part of it is pure aesthetics, this is simply the nicest book to hold and has fun or interesting little tidbits (hey this is a book about "joy of") sprinkled through out with fun tid bits--such as the big (with teeth missing) smile of the 70-year old winning a best-chicken contest or info on how to wash a chicken for a show or fair [something I'm unlikely to do, but was interested to know, in case we want chickens to look sharp when the mother-in-law (who already thinks we live a bit funky) comes to visit]. The advice in here is solid and show you how to be a real wing man or gal.

We are newbie chicken owners and this book has been an absolute delight! I have read it over and over and my husband, who already knows everything, has actually read it! He may have even learned something (smiling here).

The author explains how to raise chickens in a manner that you would expect from a friend who knows you well. She does not get too indepth or too simple...just right! She tells you how to get started in chickens at a variety of levels and how to do it in a manner than is best for you and the chickens.

Plus, her story of how she got into chickens is exactly like mine. We must stop factory farming of our animals and she supports that the right way...with her dollars, as do we.

GREAT BOOK!!!! I suggest it for anyone interested in chickens!