Raising Chickens for Dummies Book Club Discussion

Date sort Score sort
purelypoultry

purelypoultry

Songster
Aug 2, 2008
873
16
216
Fremont, Wisconsin
Here is where we will start discussing Raising Chickens for Dummies as part of our monthly book club. Read more about the club here.

We will read and discuss this book starting from September 1 until September 30th then we will move on to How to Raise Chickens by Christine Heinrichs.

I am only posting this thread to make you all aware of the book club and also so that we can all know where we will discuss it in advance.
 
There are 18 chapters in Raising Chickens for Dummies. Lets read chapters 1-5 by Saturday September 10th and then we will discuss those first 5 chapters starting on September 10th. Sound like a plan?
 
This is very cool!

thumbsup.gif
 
I do not know how this discussion group is supposed to go, but I thought I would add something about the first 5 chapters. Hope this is okay.

I believe that "Raising Chickens for Dummies" is very thorough in what it covers. It is appropriate that in the first chapter, it covers the very basics of: Is it legal to have chickens in your city/town? I checked with the powers that be in our very small town before I first decided to have chickens. I called town hall and they said it was okay. This silenced different friends and family members who thought chickens were not allowed. I also checked with neighbors to see if any of them objected - they did not. I was good to go then.

Chapter 2 - Basic Chicken Biology and Behavior was interesting. Though I knew most of the basic information, I still learned some things. The part on communication was funny yet practical.

Chapter 3: A Chicken Isn't Just a Chicken - is important, especially for those that have not done the necessary research. It could have been a little more thorough, but I know that this book covers a lot of information and cannot cover it all. When it comes to the different breeds, a more thorough research can be carried out online. Having said that, the section on Brown-egg layers covered a couple of breeds that I knew little about.

Chapter 4: Buying Chickens - When I read this, I was remembering the two Farm/Market places in our area that I could have gone to and bought some grown chickens and/or chicks. Some of the chickens looked clean and healthy. However, others looked really worn out and beat down. I am glad I decided to order chicks from a hatchery instead. Some of the people selling chicks did not even know what they were.

Chapter 5: Choosing Your Housing Type - I searched long and hard trying to decide what and how to build my first chicken house. When I finally built it I made mistakes and will do something else next time. The one I built is better designed for roosters that we will separate for feeding and processing. Next spring I will build a bigger, better chicken house with nest boxes on that extend to the outside.

I am glad this book was reccommended because that caused me to order it - a worthwhile buy.
ssmith1373
 
I've learned a lot more about chickens since starting this book, thank you for starting a Chicken Book Club! (It's like a chicken club sandwich, but pagier?) Sorry.... I'm a wisencracker.
Let's see, the first page I marked was pg 42, because after reading this I figured out what is "wrong" with my new Seramas--they weren't meant to be layers so that's why she doesn't lay an egg a day. I'm used to my Barred Rocks and Production Reds--layers and dual breeds. This whole chapter really educated me about the Seramas/Bantams!
Ch 5 on Housing, specifically page 80, is a topic I've had on my mind for a few months because we'll be building an additional coop soon. Page 80 stresses FRESH AIR. I worry when I see coops on CL that are more of what I would call "Northern" coops. They're made of all wood with very little air flow. It is HOT here in Florida, quite warm for much of the year. My coop only has 1 wood wall and it is panels spaced 1/2 " apart. Although I think this is TOO much openness and the next coop will be a little different. Fresh air is important to dry out dampness from our FLorida rains too.
I also learned that while my BR & PRs enjoy foraging and hanging out in the yard all day, my new little Appenzellar Spitzhauben might be happier in a coop. He's just a nervous guy and maybe it's too much space for him to deal with??
idunno.gif
 
Last edited:
I agree about the book being a worthwhile buy and read. I have amassed quite a few books on chickens and have been reading like a mad woman on the topic all year long in preparation for my very first batch of chicks (hatch date was July 25th and luckily everyone is still going strong). I didn't buy this book initially but was pleasantly surprised with it after priorly reading several other books on the topic.

It is a good back to basics book that I think I'll even be referencing in the future. In Chapter 1, I did like how it was stressed to look at your local ordinances and laws prior to taking the chicken plunge. Perhaps in future editions of the book, links to web information on known zoning laws and ordinances would be helpful for newcomers to the hobby.

In Chapter 3, I agree with ssmith1373 that perhaps more information on different breeds would have been nice. I used another newbie book, A Chicken in Every Yard, to help get me started with choosing different breeds. I liked how that book told of personal experiences with breeds.

Overall, Chickens for Dummies is a good read so far and I look forward to reading the next few chapters for discussion.
 

Similar threads

The Coop Crew
    • Like
Book Club!
2 3
Replies
21
Views
2K
Chicken poppy
Chicken poppy
Blue Raptor
    • Love
    • Like
☀️ Artist’s Secret Summer 2025 ☀️
5 6 7
Replies
65
Views
2K
Dagger_NightWing_IceWing
Dagger_NightWing_IceWing
R
Any advise for FFA or 4H-ers raising chicks?
Replies
4
Views
1K
Poultry Showman
Poultry Showman
ksbkeys
    • Like
Mabel's World: Thinking Outside the Egg
Replies
5
Views
2K
ksbkeys
ksbkeys
ChaosMom
    • Like
    • Love
For those who ferment: how do you handle (human) vacations?
2
Replies
13
Views
864
ChaosMom
ChaosMom

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom