Starting with Chickens

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Heritage breeds not mentioned - Rated
This book is okay and gives a good amount of information. However, it would have been good to mention that there are so-called heritage chicken in most countries. These chicken breeds are endangered and many countries have special programs of conserving them. It is, of course, nice to have dozens of fancy chicken breeds to choose from but it would be a good thing to remind people that own, national, culturally and historically important heritage breeds should always be the priority. Also, those are the chicken breeds that are most accustomed to local climate. For example, in Scandinavian area, there are many breeds that survive in harsh conditions and like to go out even in the snow. It is of course understandable that a small book cannot review all the breeds in the world. However, just a small note of the existence of heritage breeds would encourage people to search for more information on the topic. Other than that the book is okay and I really like the general tone of promoting self-sufficient lifestyle.

Great starter book - Rated
Very helpful book if you're thinking of keeping chooks in your back garden, all basic information you'll need, I found though that a lot of space was given over to the different breeds which could have been used for more details on looking after chickens, but would recommend it to anyone.

A great book & British too! - Rated
There are a lot of great books out there for beginners, but most of them are American, so the resources pages are not helpful to those of us starting out in the UK.

This book is published by Broad Leys, who are a small independent British publishers specialising in books for smallholders, homesteaders, poultry keepers and organic gardeners.

Exactly what I was looking for!

Great book for the first timer - Rated
This has been an excellent book for me, as starting out with a few chickens i was looking for a book that could guide me, not overwhelm me, and i found it. It's got enough information to be helpful, but not overwhelming. Sections covering Housing, Feeding, Breeding, Rearing Chicks, Illness etc and many more interesting things too...

Recommend for the first timer...

Perfect for Beginners - Rated
As someone who has just started on the path of keeping a few chickens in a normal domestic garden setting, I found this a really useful book. The writing is easy for the beginner to follow, and there are many useful touches - such as the list of suppliers of equipment, feed, housing etc in the back - which as a beginner will be invaluable.

Well illustrated, and excellent value - this book will encourage and motivate you while making you aware and helping with most potential problems new keepers will come across.

Recommended!