Customer Reviews

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens: Care / Feeding / Facilities

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Finally, a complete reference that covers all the major areas of raising chickens. As a poultry farm and hatchery owner, I always suggest this book first to anyone interested in raising chickens. This is an indepth yet easy to read guide that is sure to educate even the most experienced chicken fancier. This book will help you choose the right breed of chicken, how to care for them, maintain their health, and meet your individual goals for your flock. This is currently the premier guide to raising chickens available.

Best investment I made to help me raise my chickens! Information is right on, helped diagnosing "broody's" to viruses. Phenomenal information on hatching, breed types, feeding & behaviour. Other books I had purchased before were difficult to understand or just to generalized. I now have a flock of 16 free range chickens, (7 of them hatched by my hens), and my 8 mature hens are producing from 25 - 60 eggs a week. In comparison to my friend who has a flock of 35, my chickens are healthier (free range hers are caged), have little or no cannibalistic habits (her chickens are 1/2 bald for the fighting), and produce substantially more eggs than hers. Now I am buying her a copy for Christmas!

Most of the book is well organized and thought out. There are a few places where better cross referencing would help, but overall, you can find what you are looking for. Definite cover to cover read and keeper for future reference.

This book is a complete guide to everything you need to know about raising chickens. I started as an ignorant amatuer and, after having read this book, know just about everything I need to know. It covers all the bases- health, showing, adult care, grower care, chick care, breeding, incubation and hatching, blueprints for housing, a helpful glossary, ect. I have raised a sucessful, healthy flock on this book alone! Good for an expert or beginner, expert exhibitor or amatuer, easy to understand, informative, and fun to read!

Let me start off by saying that the information in this book is very solid. Gail Damerow has probably forgotten more about chickens than I will ever learn. This book is an excellent resource, and is more informative than any other chicken book I own (I own 8 or 9).

So your probably asking me why I gave it three stars. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST BORING BOOKS I'VE EVER READ. I expected a text book feel from Ms. Damerow because I'm familiar with her style (I own 3 books by her). Plus I'm used to books that have a text book approach. However, this one gets the boring (aka text book) prize of the year. I have honestly used this book for insomnia!!! Not a joke.

My final conclusion is that this book is worth having. I use it as a reference because the information packed in it's pages has no rival. But, If your looking for a beginner chicken book look at, "Choosing and keeping Chickens" By Chris Graham. It is informative, has a breed section (which this book really doesn't have), and is easily comprehended and applied. If your looking to learn about chickens and save money on prescription sleeping medication look no further. Who needs Ambien with this Gail Damerow boring you into a much needed state of somnolence.

WARNING!!!! If you read nothing else read this. This book comes up with a pamphlet on chicken coups on AMAZON searches. The pamphlet is written by Gail Damerow, and is a section from this book (word for word). You do not need to buy both. Again, the pamphlet about building chicken coups written by the same author is a word for word copy out of a chapter in this book. Please don't buy both.

We got this book becuase one of my 4 chickens stopped laying and was just sitting in her box, looking ill. We were panicked until the book arrived and I read about "brooding".

We followed the book's instructions and she started laying again in 4 days!

Great help!

The only thing missing is an anatomy section on chickens...for us truly clueless.

This book and Damerow's other book, "The Chicken Health Handbook" are the two I recommend to new chicken owners. This book focuses on getting you started, and includes the following chapters:

1. Choosing the Perfect Chicken
2. Housing
3. Feeding
4. Meat Bird Management
5. Butchering Day (and Good Eating to Follow)
6. Layer Management
7. Table Eggs
8. Managing Breeders
9. Incubation and Hatching
10. Chicken Care
11. General Management
12. Health Management
13. Showing
Glossary
State Resources
Organizations
Recommended Reading
Videos
Suppliers
Index

The only quibble I have with this book is that Damerow includes very little on how to effectively treat a sick chicken, other than culling it. This can be unsettling to the novice poultry owner, who is not always ready to cull those birds that are pets. That's why I like to recommend also purchasing her other book on health (see above.) It is a much more exhaustive reference with symptoms and treatments for various illnesses (chickens, unfortunately, are susceptible to a large number of ailments.)

But all in all this is a very good book for the beginning fancier, and well worth the purchase.

I raise backyard chickens for eggs, some resale, but mostly enjoyment! I have 4 Dominiques, 6 Rhode Island Reds, 3 Buff Orpingtons, 3 Black Austrolorps, 3 Leghorns (White and Brown), 5 Araucanas, 1 Brahma, and 1 sassy Black Cochin! This book answered every question I could come up with. I needed some information on breeds, how to distinquish one breed from another. This book answered all of my questions and more! I had purchased another book previously, but this book is the one I refer to each and every time. I recommend this book to everyone who wishes to raise chickens of their own! I absolutely LOVE this book! I have purchased two hatches, raised one and have purchased many chickens. I am the backyard Chicken Lady and this is the book for me!

I bought a second book not sure just which I would find to be the most helpful. It was completely plain to see that Storey's was the most comprehensive and informative even for the not so experienced backyard chicken family. If you are going to buy just one book to use as a reference for raising chickens I would recommend Storey's. From the get go, Storey's explains the best breeds of chickens for the use you plan to raise them for, how to build the coop determinded on the size of your brood to doctoring your sick chickens and then showing your best chickens. For the backyard chicken raising family this should be your number one book of choice.

If you have done your research and found this book then you have done well, there is in my opinion NO better book for the beginner,intermediate or experienced backyard chicken grower.
Ms. Damerow covers all the subjects that you can think off, she even has an extensive section on disease and pests and their prevention.If you buy just one book on Chickens this should be it.

I am a book nut and when I get interested in a subject I go all out to learn about it. Of all the books I bought or read - this is the best one by far. When I need to know something - 100% of the time I can find it. I raise and keep several types of chickens - primarily for the freerange eggs, insect control and organic fertilizer. My whole family has fallen in love with chickens and all of us have read some part of this book... All the best, Randy