Customer Reviews

Minnie Rose Lovgreen's Recipe for Raising Chickens: 86-yr-old farmwoman's lively advice

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The art of raising healthy and happy egg-laying chickens as told by Minnie Rose, age 87! If you ever had the thought you might like to have farm fresh eggs, with free-ranging, happy chickens, this book is a must. Minnie Rose walks you through everything from baby chick care, to how the mother hen teaches and communicates with her young, to the best physical setup including a dust bath area! An absolutely delightful and educational book.

Rough Humor/Wry Wisdom
In a time of I-pods, BlackBerrys, and Twitters,
Minnie Rose Lovgreen's rough wisdom,
down-home words and wry humor glow
like a coal oil lamp to remind us what much
of our country sounded like--back when.
Thank you, Minnie Rose and everyone who
hatched this little book.
Jay Payne, who listens for the bees
& frogs that once sang in our back yard.

After reading "Minnie Rose Lovegreen's Recipe for Raising Chickens", I almost wish that I had been born a Bantam hen on her farm. Just imagine being raised by a woman whose philosophy was "The main thing is to keep them happy." Sixty years of loving and observing chickens, Minnie knew every trick to keep her chickens happy and productive; from early morning feeding to ensure early laying of eggs that day, to burlap panel curtains in the hen house for their privacy. A must read for anyone who raises chickens and a delightful informative read for everyone else.

This hand-lettered book contains many tried & true plans for success in raising healthy, happy chickens. The voice of the author comes through, with her quaint way of speaking (e.g.,"They eat that like everything."), and the rooster & chicken illustrations are charming! Here is good, old-fashioned advice on TLC for chickens, appropriate for all ages.

On Bainbridge Island, an idyllic wooded island in the Puget Sound near Seattle that is home to this delightful book, people are increasingly wanting locally grown food. This little book is the genuine article, republished from the days when islanders like Minnie Rose knew how to keep her chickens happy, plump and healthy. This week, I had the pleasure of meeting Nancy Rekow, a 46-year resident of Bainbridge who, with retired local school teacher Everett Thompson, has just published the third edition of "Minnie Rose Lovgreen's Recipe for Raising Chickens." Originally published by Nancy on Bainbridge in 1975 -- three months before Minnie Lovgreen's death -- this hand-lettered and hand-illustrated little book is a gem that is relevant all over again for islanders who want to raise free-range chickens and eat healthy and truly-fresh eggs. It's a charming book -- for yourself, and to read to a child.

Chicken owners are a unique clan. We love our chickens and we want what's best for them. Minnie Rose understood chicken-love. Call it abnormal or maybe even transference if you like - but if you raise chickens, you know what I mean. This charming little book is full of helpful information and it's unique, with Nancy Rekow's calligraphy and Elizabeth Hutchinson Zwick's illustrations. One thing is for sure - as long as you have happy chickens -- you won't go hungry!
Marcia Breece, Morgan Hill Retreat [...]

A new friend gave me Minnie Rose Lovgreen's RECIPE FOR RAISING CHICKENS which has been highly praised by chicken-raisers and their media. The title was so far from my own books and normal interests in American Women's History, Psychology, and British "cozy" mysteries that I couldn't imagine liking it.
How wrong I was! RECIPE FOR RAISING CHICKENS is a delightful down-too-earth
description of the "broody" bantam hen selecting the proper environment, laying her eggs, the food that she and her chicks enjoy (and at what stage and season), housing and medical care according to mother-hen preferences, how the rooster breaks up spats, and the like. Mother-hens talk to their babies still in their shells just as mother-humans talk to their babies in the womb or play music for them. I just wish that I'd had this book while I was raising my five daughters. The secret of Minnie Rose's success is "to keep them happy," not a bad prescription for human children as well.
This is an anthropology, but not of humans, rather of animals, and the complexity of their lives is a wonderful thing to behold! I would be remiss if I didn't mention the lovely printing job by Nancy Rekow who hand-lettered the book, and Elizabeth Hutchinson Zwick who illustrated it, creating more of a charming work of art than the traditional press effort.
Do your friends a favor whether they are new or old. Give them RECIPE FOR RAISING CHICKENS.
--Patricia Weenolsen, author of THE CAVE OF STORMS

The book is a lovely read of years gone by advice for raising chickens. Lots of good advice for newbies, like myself, in raising chickens. A must have for all chicken raisers library's. I bought one for myself and sent one to a friend of mine which she totally enjoyed. My husband also enjoyed the book.

I LOVE this little book! I just opened it up to browse ...then stood there in the bookstore and read the whole thing, cover to cover, wishing I could raise some chickens. Since Palo Alto, CA is not zoned for early am rooster calls, I've just been enjoying giving the book to friends. So far, everyone has been enchanted by the pictures plus its down home wisdom and warmth!

Nancy Rekow has reached through the veils of time, snatched a gem of down-to-earth wisdom, and put it in the light for us all to see: Minnie Rose Lovgreen's Recipe for Raising Chickens. Nancy's hand-lettering of this book unites the medium and the message with an elegance that might be envied by the chickens themselves, were they in an envying mood. In this first decade of the 21st century, when the prevalent "bottom line" corporate philosophy is being tarred with the brush of myopia, it is refreshing and emboldening to hear Minnie Rose's wise words of embracing diversity and urging us to keep the real producers happy -- happy chickens make happy chicken farmers!