The title, pretty much says it all. These are my go to books and websites for any kind of chicken keeping info. As I find more, I’ll update this blog.
1. Stories Guide to Raising Chickens – This was my first big deal buy when it came to deciding to own chickens. I got my copy from Tractor Supply Co. and immediately started reading. I blew threw the whole thing in a matter of days and really educated myself about the general care of chickens, as well as learning a whole bunch about them in the process… Like chickens have over 20 separate vocalizations that they use to communicate with each other. Great mini guides included about how to tell if you’re buying the right chickens for your family as well. THE ONLY THING – the author and I disagree on culling. She believes in culling chickens that aren’t producing anymore and in my mind the only time you take a life after its been in service to you since the day it arrived in your hands, is when it’s suffering… I would never cull a hen just because its past its prime.
2. The Chicken Health Handbook – This book is actually written by the same person, and is a comprehensive guide to health care for you chickens. If you’re like our little family, when a chicken gets sick, you try to make it healthy again. The first time we had a bumblefoot infection, we called EVERY veterinarian in a 60 mile radius and were told no. No Chickens. We finally, kinda “tricked” one into seeing Dawn, but that was horrific and didn’t work out. Dawn did much better after I took over her care. It does require a lot of research, a go get em attitude and a strong stomach tho… It also helps to have another set of hands and this book to guide you.
All four of those are websites/blogs run by crazy chicken people. They are all pretty rad and I recommend perusing the backlog of any of these sites. Also, they all have great social media presences- you can find all of them on facebook, instagram, pinterest, etc.
And, I have to say, Pinterest in itself has been a great resource in finding other people just doing what they can to keep happy healthy birds, and sharing that info on the great interweb for other chickens and crazy chicken keepers to benefit from. Just look up “chicken keeping” or “backyard chickens” because if you just look up “chickens” you get a whole lot of recipes.
That’s all I have to say about that really… until next time, have a wicked good day!
Gillis Gardens, LLC 