Customer Reviews

Living with Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I read this book cover-to-cover the first day and next morning that I got it from the library. Very clear and easy to understand even for a kid. The book is written with a touch of humor that makes it especially fun to read! There is BEAUTIFUL photography in this book. If you are thinking about getting chickens like I am, or already own them, you won't want to pass this book up! Happy Reading!

Friendly style, full of information, & tons of special, vivid photos-- I read this cover to cover in a day and really enjoyed it. A GREAT book for the person who is thinking about starting a small backyard flock. One of my favorites. (The layout is unique, too- engaging and easy to read.)

I would strongly recommend this book.

So, you've decided to put in a couple of layers and grow your own eggs. You need to buy this book. From coop to care from breed to feed, author Jay Rossier gives you all the detailed information you need to know to become a successful Old MacDonald. His breezy insights into raising chickens for fun and profit is a delight to read. But, you say you live in a railroad apartment on the lower East Side of Manhattan. Then get this book for the terrific photographs by Geoff Hansen. You'll never look at a chicken the same way again. In fact, this book might inspire you to leave the big city for a small piece of land in New Jersey. Now, that's a book!

I picked this one up at our local library and read it cover to cover in one evening. It is a comprehensive look at what is involved in starting your own backyard flock. Great photos and nice layout make this a very appealing book.

This is by far the best overall chicken book.I tried Story's guide, wow was that boring and dry. This was very easy to read cover to cover.This will tell you everything about raising them from A-Z. The best part is there are pictures and examples. I would recommend getting Choosing and keeping Chickens by Chris Graham to get a more in depth view of each breed, size, personality and it has great pictures. As a beginner I found I needed both books.

This is a great introduction to keeping chickens, and I found it very useful.

The author goes through all the basic info you need to know in order to raise chickens. It is a very easy and entertaining read - the author has a great writing style that is enjoyable. It is full of lovely photos that really add to the book. It is a fast read as well.

It is not terribly complete - you will need another source for information once you get into the chicken care part. I would recommend "A Guide to Raising Chickens" by Gail Damerow as a companion to this book. The Damerow book is *very* complete, but it also has the dryness of a textbook and isn't nearly as fun to read [think "dense" and kinda boring].

So, I would recommend buying this book if you are considering raising some chickens because this book will give you all the information you need to make an educated decision. Then, if you do decide to raise some chickens, get the Damerow book in addition to this one so that you have every single detail you need to know.

I have just finished reading this book. I loved it. It includes some general information and directions for finding out other needed information. In the back it includes hatchery and cooperative extension information for most states. It is full of wonderful pictures of the chickens doing their own thing. I feel that anyone that is not already raising chickens should at least read and enjoy this book. If you don't enjoy anything else about the book you will love the pictures and the stories that go along with them.

I have bought several books recently on this topic. This is one of the better ones. Enjoyed the pictures and the inserts in the book. It is just a thorough as all the other books on raising chickens. A good buy for anyone interested in staring a chicken flock. Very nice quality of the book. Probably one of the better of any books you will purchase no just in this topic.

The information in this book isn't unique; websites and other books cover all the same topics, often in more detail. The pictures are priceless, though. My wife was ambivalent at best toward my dreams of backyard chickens, until I showed her the pictures of cute little baby chicks in this book. Now she is on board. I probably will not use this book as my main reference, because the Storey guide is so much more informative. But the pictures will serve to introduce kids and skeptics to the idea of chickens in the backyard, so I will keep it for that purpose.

I have been reading our collection of chicken books, which I should admit right away we did not buy. Most of our friends and relatives think it's a great idea to give us a chicken book. Majority of those books are pretty bad, especially "101 Chicken Recipes", which was a joke, but still, a bad book. However, once in a while we get a good book - Living with Chickens! It is simply written. It gives you a break down of cost, sizes, numbers, square feet, and many other concrete numbers and details. I like numbers, I understand numbers. When somebody says that I will need $X for feed to raise X number of chickens to X pounds, I get it. The book talks about different options of growing your chickens - buying baby chicks, hatching chicks from eggs, and getting chicken from other people/sources. I like how simple, detailed, and organized the book is. It talks about birth and death of birds. The author doesn't shy away from unglamorous moments of chicken lives - butchering. The book also mentions how things are done on a small farm vs. big outfits. It also doesn't claim to have answers to all your questions. The best feature - chicken pictures. If you ever tried to take a picture of a chicken, you will understand. Chickens are worse than children, they also move faster than you ever imagine. I am an adult, but I like books with pictures! I would highly recommend people, especially beginners, to read this book. If you are into farming romanticism and funny anecdotes, then this book is not for you. If you are serious about chickens, check it out.