Raising Chickens for Dummies

I have been researching the raising of chickens endlessly lately now that we picked up some baby silkies who are happily chirping in their brooder. (We are urban chick farmers and the 3rd homeowners in our small city neighborhood to have a flock, interestingly enough)Being a city girl, I didn't have any experience in this chicken raising stuff...yet, being an animal lover and lover of research, I insist on doing it perfectly and will research it until I do.And this helped tremendously.While researching on the net and talking to chicken "experts" at feed stores, it amazed me how much misinformation was out there. Some said line the brooder with newspaper. (The book says no, but better yet, it listed the best ideas for liner and litter in order of preference and why). I quickly found out from REAL experts how bad newspaper is for the chicken's legs and what problems often develop from slick surfaces. Some said you can use a regular lightbulb for heat then I found out how much lig including some deformities in growth/leg problems.So, with all the confusion I found out there from old wives tales to people who throw lots of hens in a too-hot unventilated coop old-school style without thinking of the BIRD, I ordered this book to get some real facts in one place.I learned a lot. This will even tell you what's bad to feed them from your scraps...such as no moldy bread, bad potato parts, no avocado etc. and why.This tells you how to select and care for your chickens through all ages and, unfortunately, even for those raising them for meat how to kill them. I DID NOT read that chapter. But I guess if someone is going to do that, at least it tells you how to do it right I suppose.Good advice on predators...some I never thought of...and how to avoid them. Good advice on pests and how to avoid them as well.Great info on housing too, how big, and how to have happy birds...and happy birds lay well.Tips on getting optimum meat production.The book is written for those rasing chicks for love, eggs, or meat. Or all three.Here is my quandry which wasn't included and I can't find anywhere on the internet. I know some have crazy wild chickens they can't catch and others have birds that run to them and cuddle in their laps. I know much of that has to do with the breed which is why we got Silkies. I want the latter. I keep reading that the best way to get a very domesticated chicken is to get it as early as possible. We got one day old chicks...but now what? Handling them too often is stressful. But does that mean get them young so they SEE you more and are rarely handled or get them young so that you can get them used to beind domesticated and gently touched or handled? I try to pick them up briefly once a day as a guess. It didn't mention this and I can't figure it out (how best to tame a chicken) so if anyone who has raised sweet chickens knows the answer, please leave a comment for me. I don't want to stress out my birds but I want them to get used to people as much as possible, even if that sounds crazy to some. I don't want to "overhandle" or "underhandle" them. I am not sure what I'm supposed to be doing.The other things that wasn't addressed enough is how to best raise chickens in an area that often is over 100 degrees in the summer.While it mentioned chickens are prone to dying when it's over 90, it didn't say much about how to avoid it. It did suggest shade trees so we are going to plant some trees this weekend by the coop and I just read elsewhere that you can put 1.5" styrofoam for insulation in between the walls and ceiling and then but an aluminum roof on top to reflect the sun so, even though the coop has a roof, we are going to add this to it. That wasn't in here...they went far more into what to do in areas where it gets to cold, which is not an issue for us in Texas for the most part.That said, There are things you wouldn't think of in here...like that A frame housing can blow over in a windy area.The other invaluable thing to me was chicken fencing. Thank God I read it prior to buying chicken wire to line the inside of our current fencing in the area they will be be beside their coop. (many predators can easily get through it and it rusts quickly.)Overall, I feel it was invaluable. Though I still have a couple questions left unanswered, I think most will find all they need to know within.

Helpful, but it leaves out some important information and isn't as specific as you'd like it to be about some things. It was co-authored by the guy who's running the popular backyard chickens website. I've actually learned quite a bit reading the forums on there to find out more about things that were not mentioned in this book.For starters, the book was not specific enough about how to do your own treatments for fleas, mites, and worms. The book basically just said to get a local vet involved. Well I called the only local vet in my area that deals with birds, and his secretary told me that they don't dispense any treatments for worms, fleas, or mites to customers, and they only treat if there was a need, so I would have to bring my birds in to get a fecal test at $75 per bird. Well obviously that's not a practical option for the long run, and I'm sure it would not be best for my birds either. I like to think of taking care of my birds as something similar to what I do to take care of my cat. I take preventative measures before a major problem arises. If I can buy a flea and wormer treatment that I can administer to my cat, why can't I get simple advice from this book on how to do the same for my chickens? I had to do some research on backyard chickens, and I've found that I can, in fact, do DIY treatments for my chickens for fleas and worms with biannual or quarterly treatment of Wazine17 (wormer), ivermectin (flea, mite, and wormer), and Valbazen (wormer)-- no vet appointment necessary! Another complaint is that the book highly praises breeds like the ISA Browns, and as a result when I read that, I wanted to get some of them until I discovered that many of the ultra layer breeds that are typically used as production birds have some drawbacks. Google "the prolific hen animal welfare approved" and read the first PDF. I don't know about you, but I want a breed that lives a good, long, healthy life and lays on a more natural basis. ISA Browns, some Leghorns and many of the other production breeds and "super layers" tend to have short, unhealthy lives, but this book made no mention of that. As a result, I decided against getting a super layer breed and instead opted to get a breed called Ameraucana (Easter Egger) that were available at my local feed store that orders from Ideal Poultry in Texas. I'm happy with my birds, and I expect them to live long, healthy lives and produce bigger eggs for more years than production birds are capable of doing.Finally, this book mentioned nothing about the benefits of fermenting the feed. It's simple and easy to do, and all you need is water and time. The feed becomes more digestible, nutrients such a protein become more absorbable in the digestive tract, and an added bonus is that the chickens get probiotics from fermented feed. Google "fermenting chicken feed" for more info. The firsts two results explain it well. Once again, not a mention in this book.I understand that I must sound like I hate the book at this point, but I really don't. It's a great resource for beginners like myself, but I just would not want anyone to get the impression that it's the only resource you'll need if you're getting into backyard chickens.

This guide is an excellent choice for the beginning chicken keeper, and I have not seen a superior manual on the market.It has great advise on housing, feed, breed, etc.The only place I find it falls short is in its medical intervention section. I quickly ran into problems that were outside of the book's contents, including a case of fly-strike on day 5. This meant when I had problems, I was usually starting at a defect of trying to figure out what the problem was, and what my options were. I've also ran into fungal infections and weird cases of rubber eggs and internally broken shells, with just my 5 birds in these 18 months! All these ailments are actually treatable to varying degrees. The advice to just keep the birds warm and comfy when an egg breaks internally is nice, but it is the same as a death sentence. One must question if it is any more humane than lopping their heads off, especially when one can find comparatively simple effective interventions to save the egg-layer with a quick google search. Some olive oil and a strong constitution can save the $10 chicken from certain death, and your wallet from the pain of a $150 vet bill, where the vet will likely be as clueless about chickens as you are! I should offer the disclaimer that I was an EMT for 10 years, and might be more willing to take actions to save the chickens the wife has named, then most chicken owners.That said, still highly recommended.

So you've decided on a flock of your own.....now what? Well you could buy up a whole bunch of books that have extensive mumbo jumbo about what the author thinks about their particularly favoring breed, have your head swimming in crafty ideas on coops that look good but lack function - or you could pick up this book. Get the basics of the important info & then once you really have your flock going, become breed specific w/ that fancy smancy coop.

This book made it easy learning about raising chickens for first time. It answered all the questions I had and taught me things I didn't even think to ask!! A definite must have for first-timers

It's just okay. I find I refer more to "The Storey's Guide to Rasing Chickens". If I had to buy just one book, it would be The Storey's Guide and not this book.

Very helpful, even for poultry pros!

Good reference book for raising chickens