Books.... what would you recommend for a newbie?

[harleyjo]

I love to read and I would love to pick up a book or two about raising and keeping chickens. If you had to pick a couple of your favorite books what would they be? I read commuting to and from work and being totally new to chickens I would love some recommendations.

 

[4 luv of eggs]

Raising Chickens for Dummies. I love the dummy books. Very good basics although there isn't much information on problems. That's what this place is for.

 

[rooster47]

I agree...I bought Raising Chickens for Dummies AND Keeping Chickens by Jeremy Hobson and Celia Lewis. Both books are good...but there's no doubt . . . this site is the best! I have ASKED many many questions and have gotten great answsers. I am also a newby at raising chickens. Mine are 6 weeks old now and are absolutely adorable. My granddaughters are fasicinated with hem. Good luck!

 

[Dora'smom]

Howabout the Gail Damerow books? Storey's Guide to Keeping Chickens and The Chicken Health Handbook. Both are great sources of all kinds of chicken information. Everything from building a coop to feeding, incubating, illnesses, etc. Probably the best all-around sources of information you can get. The Hobby Farms book on keeping chickens is a fun read as well.

 

[RAWR]

Quote:
yuo, best thing to get
you can also go find some chicken books at the library or something

 

[elmo]

Come and read the forums here everyday. You'll learn more here than in any book because it's interactive. You can't ask the author of a book why he or she recommends a particular approach. You can, here.

 

[harleyjo]

I absolutely love this forum and am here everyday but I also like to read during the commute.

 

[Laurajean]

Good question. I looked at a lot of books. I wanted 1. good photos, 2. good technical info but still worded simply 3. good personal info about what chickens are like as pets. I ended up buying three books and I love and refer to them all.

1. Storey's Guide To Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow: I chose this because I read and trust the Storey's Guide books on various topics, and this book as a lot of "how to" stuff, giving me specs, and requirements, etc.

2. Living with Chickens by Jay Rossier. I chose this because it's a quality book with full color glossy photos and the text is double spaced and chopped into categories, so it is very easy to read and refer to rather than reading cover to cover.

3. Keep Chickens! by Barbara Kilarski. I chose this down to earth book because it focuses more on the pet aspect of keeping chickens, and it also focuses on small spaces and small flocks, which is what I wanted to do. This book is cute, offers good tips, and has interesting stories of their experiences with chickens, although still informative.

I find that when I refer to them, I grab all three from my book shelf. What one doesn't have, one of the other two will.

Hope that helps!

 

[canada-goose]

Raising Chickens for Dummies and Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. Both are excellent books.

 

[Toi-toi]

I got Storey's Guide To Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow from library and love it