Living with Chickens

August 12, 2002
These two new books are targeted at anyone with a couple of acres (and even city dwellers where ordinances permit) who would like to raise a few farm animals for meat, milk, eggs, or simply enjoyment. Both volumes are intended for beginners and are written by nonexperts who nonetheless can offer a great deal of practical information and advice based on their own experiences. Peck-Whiting and her family have dabbled in raising chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats, pigs, and cows on their country homestead in the mountains of northern Washington. In Farm Animals, she devotes at least a chapter or two to each of these species while saving the most space for pigs. (She previously wrote Pigs and Other Stories.) The author crams her book with personal anecdotes, enthusiastically sharing the successes and failures of her ventures in a casual, down-to-earth style. While Farm Animals gives readers a relatively quick survey of a variety of livestock and poultry and is best employed as supplemental reading material, Living with Chickens focuses entirely on one species and stands on its own as an excellent introduction to chicken basics for newcomers. Rossier draws heavily on his own experiences raising fowl in Vermont and fits in additional chicken facts as he gives detailed "how-to" advice on housing, hatching, buying, feeding, and butchering. He even includes a chapter on children and chickens. Photographer Hansen (My Life as a Dog) ably captures the essence of chickens at home in various barnyards and other Vermont locations. Both titles are recommended for public libraries. (Index of Living with Chickens not seen.) William H. Wiese, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2002
In this charming book, the authors provide a nice overview of the basics of poultry keeping for those new to the hobby. Breaking down the life of the chicken and chicken husbandry into 10 chapters, the text covers the essentials of each aspect of keeping poultry. The discussion of which type to raise goes over the differences between breeds raised primarily for eggs or meat but also points out the aesthetics of the different colors and markings of chicken plumage. The designs of chicken coops, roosts, runs, nest boxes, and feeders are explained, along with how and what to feed the birds. Sections on how to hatch eggs, raise chicks, and buy adult chickens will get the poultry keeper started, and segments on handling eggs and butchering adult chickens assist in dealing with the produce from the flock. A glossary, bibliography, list of resources, and catalog of chicken breeds round out the text. Beautiful color photographs throughout demonstrate the appeal of chickens, adding to the value of this nice primer on backyard chicken keeping.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)