Poultry Book Club

[ssmith1373]

I have almost finished the book - reading in my off time. It is full of good information. So, how do I participate in discussions? Can someone give somebody like me directions for this book club thing?

 

[Amyable]

Quote:
This is the thread for Chickens for Dummies discussion.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=557694

 

[Sonic Pug]

Anyone still interested to join our book club please feel free to do so. We are reading Chickens for Dummies during the month of September. Please see link to the thread in the above post.

Also, I really enjoyed Chicken and Egg. Any more suggestions for books to read?

 

[anderson8505]

"How to Raise Chickens by Christine Heinrichs in October"

Has anyone started this thread? This book will be easier/faster to read than Dummies.

 

[Poultrywriter]

I'm ready to start -- and I wrote the book! One of my personal favorite parts is Robert Frost's poem about his favorite chicken, A Blue Ribbon at Amesbury. His chicken, like Mother Eve, was a White Wyandotte.

 

[anderson8505]

This. Is cool.

Quote:

 

[Poultrywriter]

I found the poem in the Complete Poems when my daughter was young. We liked to memorize poems. She loved horses, so we learned The Runaway, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. We learned Mending Wall, and we found Blue Ribbon and memorized it. When I contacted the agent for permission to reprint the poem in my book, the person I talked to was not familiar with the poem. She was delighted to read it and learn that someone writing a book about chickens wanted to include it. They were happy to have this little-known and overlooked poem exposed to a new audience of readers who would appreciate it.

 

[Poultrywriter]

The idea for the book was originally to be an informative book on traditional breeds. The publisher wanted a more comprehensive husbandry book, so that's what it became, but with a long section on breeds. I enjoy that part, but my desire to research and write more about the breeds wasn't entirely satisfied. I've kept up by writing brochures on various breeds. I'm editing a brochure from the article in the current issue of Backyard Poultry magazine about Fayoumis. I've got over 20 thus far, and some on single subjects, Most Frequently Asked questions. I don't know whether they will ever make it into a book, but if I ever want them, I've now got them.

 

[Poultrywriter]

Writing the first chapter, Why Keep Chickens?, was a challenge because I hadn't given much thought to Why. I enjoyed them and couldn't imagine not having them, once I got involved with them. But putting that into words was something else. I wanted to touch on all aspects. The practical are usually the first that people think of: meat and eggs. And there's no question that both add to our nutrition and our enjoyment of our food. But chickens have added to our literary and artistic heritage as well. Their importance in religion shouldn't be overlooked. Kermit Blackwood recently helped me understand that in India, roosters were fought as symbolic proxies for the gods. I don't condone cockfighting, but what an interesting role those birds played in the spiritual life of the community. Chickens are woven into our history.

 

[Poultrywriter]

My focus is on traditional breeds, as compared to commercial hybrids. I know they are convenient for backyarders, and often produce eggs well for a year or two, but the traditional breeds have value historically and genetically. Don't overlook them. Traditional breeds carry important, irreplaceable genes. They may have natural immunity to disease or be especially well suuited to hot or cold climates. Their genes may come to the rescue of the poultry industry of the future.

Breeds are the repository of genetic diversity in domestic animals. A breed has a unique appearance, productivity and behavior. They breed true, which means that when they are mated together, their offspring are predictably like them. They can reproduce themselves. Hybrids can reproduce, but their offspring will be a mishmash, mongrels.

Breeds are a package deal, not a collection of individual traits such as comb type and body conformation. We cannot know all the traits that comprise a breed. To lose a breed is to lose the entire unique genetic package. Breeders who raise traditional breeds always have extra birds they don't want or need. They have minor faults that aren't a problem to backyard chicken keepers, such as crooked comb or the wrong color legs, traits they don't want in their breeding pen. The birds are healthy and make good layers.

They give their keepers a chance to learn about the breed and be part of breed conservation. Most feed stores include traditional breeds among the chicks they sell, or you can get them from a poultry show. Tyler Danke, who started this thread, sells them at his Purely Poultry. You'll have more reasons to be proud of your fluffy Cochins or five-toed Dorkings than production layers.