Monday, July 14, 2014

Reviews: Chicken Books

   Well, I have a lot of chicken care books. I really can't help myself from getting them. When I walk into a bookstore, I always go right to the pet section and see if they have any chicken books. Some of the books are great, some not so much. This post is to tell you what I think of the books so you can avoid some of the mistakes I made by getting some of them.

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens 
By: Gail Damerow


   This is the absolute best book I have. It has basically all information you need. It has information on breeds, chicken behavior, everyday management, health, chicks, and slaughtering (not that I need that). 
   It also has tons of helpful diagrams. 



   One thing it is a little lacking in is disease information. However, even with this problem, this book is too good to pass up.

The Illustrated Guide to Chickens: How to Choose Them, How to Keep Them  
By: Celia Lewis


   This is a beautiful little illustrated book mostly about breeds. The first thirty-five pages are about care and chicken information. However, I do not think there is enough information for this to be purpose of the book.
   There are one hundred and forty pages of breed profiles. These are in depth and nicely illustrated. Each one has breed history, what the breed is for, the comb type, colors, status (common, rare, etc.), number of eggs and color of eggs. Each one also has a drawing of the hen of the breed, the rooster of the breed, a chick, and that chicken's egg.




Keeping Pet Chickens
By: Johannes Paul and William Windham


   This is just a little sixty page book I got at a yard sale for a dollar. This has just the basic information. However, on the right side of every page there is a "Handy Hints" column. These are actually very helpful and interesting. 



The Chicken Whisperer's Guide to Keeping Chickens
 By: Andy G. Schneider and Dr. Brigid McCrea, Ph.D.


   This book is OK. It has lots of good pictures. It is also mostly person opinions of the authors. I like this, but some people may not.




   I have often turned to these books for information. If I had to choose one, it would definitely be Storey's Guide. I do like having more than one book though, so that I can compare information. 

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