Gail Damerow's book Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.
For humor I just started reading :
Hen & the Art of Chicken Maintanence
For humor I just started reading :
Hen & the Art of Chicken Maintanence
What Poultry books/magazines are a "must have"
- Thread starter DawnSuiter
- Start date
I just read 'Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance, too! Love that british humor!
Great thread and great suggestions! I'm taking notes...
Great thread and great suggestions! I'm taking notes...
Quote:
That's fantastic! I think I've just changed my coop plans!
That's fantastic! I think I've just changed my coop plans!
Quote:
That's fantastic! I think I've just changed my coop plans!
Its interesting to note that back when this book was written, the "fresh air house" as we call it was a standard feature of poultry texts. Plainly put, they knew what worked back then, and what got you in trouble. They may not have described it in explicit scientific terms, but they sure understood results.
America was realizing that poultry could help meet the food needs of a rapidly growing urban population. We tend to believe that what we see now is what has always been.
But urbanization was skyrocketing in 1900. Immigrants had settled in the cities and people left the land for the jobs of the urban world. Many people could see where that was leading, even back then.
Subsequently, there was much experimantation going on to increase both the profit and vigor of American poultry flocks. Up until then, chickens had gotten short shrift, being more of an after thought in this country. But that was starting to change at the time, and everyone had a theory of their own. Some were good, some not so hot.
But one thing that all the old books warn against is keeping chickens in too close quarters.
It was understood that they were susceptible to respiratory problems and that what was needed was to keep them dry on top and bottom and to provide them with "airy" quarters. Heat was generally a secondary matter, except in the case of small chicks.
What many don't realize, however, is that our "modern" methods of housing chickens are an offshoot of the confinement rearing we so despise.
You see this all the time here at BYC, as evidenced by the endless parade of posts over the mess, stink, mud, predation and other worries of keeping confined small flocks.
The bottom line is many still do not know how to do it, relying on information that benefits the intense commercial business - but which is not really good for the small flock manager.
There have been two expansions in poultry keeping knowledge in this country - one was the "Golden Age of SMALL FLOCK Poultry," the other the Rise of MASS CONFINEMENT Rearing.
The small flock "Golden Age" culminated in the 40's and sort of died out as mass methods took off after WWII. Things like fresh air housing and range rearing, which had previously been the norm, fell by the way side as farmers became poultrymen. They got the "fever" to obtain greater profit from poultry and so a better standard of living. And it worked for a great many of them.
It's no small surprise, then, that the "expert" of recent times got his or her indoctrination in the commercial methods of poultry management. When they wrote or told others what to do, there was bound to be an inevitable crossover of knowledge.
The persons who lost the most in this was the small farmer and flock keeper. They forgot the things that were common two generations before, and/or fell into adaptations of the commercial business. Neither instance met their needs and in truth, they didn't know any better. With a few exceptions, this has been the status quo until recently.
Fortunately, there is a growing voice among poultry people today to steward poultry, more in the fashion of a century ago. The appearance of fresh air houses, increased space allowances and cleanliness above all other virtues are seen now as "revolutionary" ideas. They are touted as leading to healthier birds and better results... which they do.
The truth is, though, that they are old ideas, once commonplace. I guess it's true what they say, "What goes around, comes back around."
This is why I prefer the older texts to anything "new," even if they require some adaptation. Things are a little different today, eafter all.
Mixing your own feed, for example, is hardly needed unless you choose to take on that challenge. Quality feed is widely available, at reasonable cost... one of the benefits passed on to the small flock keeper from the commercial business.
But the older texts told you how, nevertheless, since it was needed information in a still mostly rural world.
That they taught you these things in simple terms is their primary virtue today. You didn't need to know nutritional science to know how to feed chickens well. You still don't.
Guys Bob Plamondon, with his Norton Creek Press, are visionaries for reprinting the old books. We can only stand to gain from these efforts. To be blunt, these books were written when people didn't know so much...well, except what worked, simply and with the most efficient use of money and effort. Pretty good attributes, in my humble opinion.
That's fantastic! I think I've just changed my coop plans!
Its interesting to note that back when this book was written, the "fresh air house" as we call it was a standard feature of poultry texts. Plainly put, they knew what worked back then, and what got you in trouble. They may not have described it in explicit scientific terms, but they sure understood results.
America was realizing that poultry could help meet the food needs of a rapidly growing urban population. We tend to believe that what we see now is what has always been.
But urbanization was skyrocketing in 1900. Immigrants had settled in the cities and people left the land for the jobs of the urban world. Many people could see where that was leading, even back then.
Subsequently, there was much experimantation going on to increase both the profit and vigor of American poultry flocks. Up until then, chickens had gotten short shrift, being more of an after thought in this country. But that was starting to change at the time, and everyone had a theory of their own. Some were good, some not so hot.
But one thing that all the old books warn against is keeping chickens in too close quarters.
It was understood that they were susceptible to respiratory problems and that what was needed was to keep them dry on top and bottom and to provide them with "airy" quarters. Heat was generally a secondary matter, except in the case of small chicks.
What many don't realize, however, is that our "modern" methods of housing chickens are an offshoot of the confinement rearing we so despise.
You see this all the time here at BYC, as evidenced by the endless parade of posts over the mess, stink, mud, predation and other worries of keeping confined small flocks.
The bottom line is many still do not know how to do it, relying on information that benefits the intense commercial business - but which is not really good for the small flock manager.
There have been two expansions in poultry keeping knowledge in this country - one was the "Golden Age of SMALL FLOCK Poultry," the other the Rise of MASS CONFINEMENT Rearing.
The small flock "Golden Age" culminated in the 40's and sort of died out as mass methods took off after WWII. Things like fresh air housing and range rearing, which had previously been the norm, fell by the way side as farmers became poultrymen. They got the "fever" to obtain greater profit from poultry and so a better standard of living. And it worked for a great many of them.
It's no small surprise, then, that the "expert" of recent times got his or her indoctrination in the commercial methods of poultry management. When they wrote or told others what to do, there was bound to be an inevitable crossover of knowledge.
The persons who lost the most in this was the small farmer and flock keeper. They forgot the things that were common two generations before, and/or fell into adaptations of the commercial business. Neither instance met their needs and in truth, they didn't know any better. With a few exceptions, this has been the status quo until recently.
Fortunately, there is a growing voice among poultry people today to steward poultry, more in the fashion of a century ago. The appearance of fresh air houses, increased space allowances and cleanliness above all other virtues are seen now as "revolutionary" ideas. They are touted as leading to healthier birds and better results... which they do.
The truth is, though, that they are old ideas, once commonplace. I guess it's true what they say, "What goes around, comes back around."
This is why I prefer the older texts to anything "new," even if they require some adaptation. Things are a little different today, eafter all.
Mixing your own feed, for example, is hardly needed unless you choose to take on that challenge. Quality feed is widely available, at reasonable cost... one of the benefits passed on to the small flock keeper from the commercial business.
But the older texts told you how, nevertheless, since it was needed information in a still mostly rural world.
That they taught you these things in simple terms is their primary virtue today. You didn't need to know nutritional science to know how to feed chickens well. You still don't.
Guys Bob Plamondon, with his Norton Creek Press, are visionaries for reprinting the old books. We can only stand to gain from these efforts. To be blunt, these books were written when people didn't know so much...well, except what worked, simply and with the most efficient use of money and effort. Pretty good attributes, in my humble opinion.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #15
Thanks to the many advice points of Davaroo here, and throughout these forums, I've had a great run so far caring for my chickens.
I went with an open coop facing south...and added several more pens, all open air as well. I use sand as my flooring for all coops except brooders, but they get transferred onto sand fairly quickly to learn about it... and I think due to all the reading from the afore mentioned books, I have very few questions about health and care!
These coops and my keeping techniques are inspired by Charles Weeks after Davaroo pointed me in the right direction.
I went with an open coop facing south...and added several more pens, all open air as well. I use sand as my flooring for all coops except brooders, but they get transferred onto sand fairly quickly to learn about it... and I think due to all the reading from the afore mentioned books, I have very few questions about health and care!
These coops and my keeping techniques are inspired by Charles Weeks after Davaroo pointed me in the right direction.
Quote:
Mr. Weeks, too, was another man of vision in the polutry world. He managed to combine both the needs of small flock and commercial husbandry in one fell swoop. Not that he arrived at his methods easily, but he made his work known to us all. In fact, he encouraged us to copy him, so as to avoid the mistakes he made.
Your efforts are well done, I'd add. Great pics of a great place!
Mr. Weeks, too, was another man of vision in the polutry world. He managed to combine both the needs of small flock and commercial husbandry in one fell swoop. Not that he arrived at his methods easily, but he made his work known to us all. In fact, he encouraged us to copy him, so as to avoid the mistakes he made.
Your efforts are well done, I'd add. Great pics of a great place!
From P.T. Woods' 1924 edition I tend to pick up on a notion that he caught a good bit of criticism for the fresh-air housing theology. Some of his remarks are definitely defensive, and in the tone of someone who has been criticized strongly. The last part of the '24 version has several statements on a "flyer" bashing an individual or two that apparently talked bad of the open air houses. The book is excellent and Woods' personality oozing out of the pages is an extra feature.
Yelp, Davaroo...the old books are good ones with terms that simpletons like myself can understand. But, they go into a lot of detail also...probably still more detail on some topics than the average chicken keeper is looking for. I've got Jull's Successful Poultry Management along with his Poultry Husbandry. Another Norton Creek book I have is Plamondon's "Success With Baby Chicks"...it's a pretty good read, too. Several other books too...I think "Chickens in My Backyard" was my first chicken book and is a good intro book to keeping chickens. When I get interested in something I tend to go way overboard in my research...but, there's worse things I guess I could invest in.
I saw one book at TSC a while back that I wished I had bought...it was titled "Avoid the Vet" and was poultry specific...looked like a good book. I went back later and it was gone. I think it's published or distributed by Poultry Press.
Ed
Yelp, Davaroo...the old books are good ones with terms that simpletons like myself can understand. But, they go into a lot of detail also...probably still more detail on some topics than the average chicken keeper is looking for. I've got Jull's Successful Poultry Management along with his Poultry Husbandry. Another Norton Creek book I have is Plamondon's "Success With Baby Chicks"...it's a pretty good read, too. Several other books too...I think "Chickens in My Backyard" was my first chicken book and is a good intro book to keeping chickens. When I get interested in something I tend to go way overboard in my research...but, there's worse things I guess I could invest in.
Ed
Quote:
That's fantastic! I think I've just changed my coop plans!
Great! I think Woods design is a winner!
Ed
That's fantastic! I think I've just changed my coop plans!
Great! I think Woods design is a winner!
Ed
Quote:
Got 'em all Ed, and more to boot. I'd venture to say that I have a pretty good collection of old poultry books.
Some of the notions that sprung up in the early 20th Century weren't always well received. I haven't read the 'Fresh Air' book discussed here, but many of the then innovators were thought of as cranks or experimenters.
Some of the work done at the time was with the agricultural extensions of the various universities. But others, well, they were as a result of individual effort and findings. The aforementioned Mr. Weeks was one such individual.
I believe I will have to read this book by Mr. Woods!
Got 'em all Ed, and more to boot. I'd venture to say that I have a pretty good collection of old poultry books.
Some of the notions that sprung up in the early 20th Century weren't always well received. I haven't read the 'Fresh Air' book discussed here, but many of the then innovators were thought of as cranks or experimenters.
Some of the work done at the time was with the agricultural extensions of the various universities. But others, well, they were as a result of individual effort and findings. The aforementioned Mr. Weeks was one such individual.
I believe I will have to read this book by Mr. Woods!
Over here in the UK, anything written by Victoria Roberts is considered essential. I've just finished 'Diseases of Free Range Poultry' and it was absolutely brilliant.
I also refer time and time again to 'Poultry and Waterfowl Problems' by Michael Roberts.
And the book I read before I chose my hens and bought all the kit was 'The Complete Encyclopedia of Chickens' by Ester Verhoef and Aad Rijs. Absolutely brilliant for top line info on all purebreeds, housing, common health issues - the basics, plus a little more.
Couldn't manage without any of these three.
(I also have Gail Damerow's 'Chicken Health Handbook' on order right now from Amazon!)
I also refer time and time again to 'Poultry and Waterfowl Problems' by Michael Roberts.
And the book I read before I chose my hens and bought all the kit was 'The Complete Encyclopedia of Chickens' by Ester Verhoef and Aad Rijs. Absolutely brilliant for top line info on all purebreeds, housing, common health issues - the basics, plus a little more.
Couldn't manage without any of these three.
(I also have Gail Damerow's 'Chicken Health Handbook' on order right now from Amazon!)
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