I’m always keeping my eyes
open for books that will change the way we run our farm, and three
chicken-related texts seem like good candidates for 2011.
Success With Baby Chicks by Robert Plamondon is top
of my reading list since I’m hoping to start expanding our flock in
February (if our broody hen is cooperative). I kept running
across the author’s extremely informative website when googling for
information on chicken care, so I figured his book would have to be at
least as informative. I’ve already started dipping into the text,
and despite its self-published feel, Success
With Baby Chicks
is chock full of tips to make this year’s chick experiments more
successful than last
year’s.
Raising Poultry on Pasture edited by Jody Pagham and
published by American Pastured Poultry Producers Association looks like
it will be helpful in my search for hard data on how much food chickens
can get from pasture, which pasture plants are the best, and how much
land area you need for a flock of chickens. I haven’t tracked
down a copy yet, but the book looks like a compilation of the
experiences of dozens of pastured poultry enthusiasts, and I love
first-hand data.
Backyard Poultry Naturally by Alanna Moore looks like a
more mainstream book, so even those of you who aren’t into hard-core
science might be interested. Unfortunately, that puts it near the
bottom of my reading list.
What chicken-related
books are at the top of your reading list this year?
I think Alanna Moore lives not far from me. I was going to go to a chicken workshop she ran, but the date got changed at the last moment (not her fault!) and I couldn’t go.
Another book that’s not bad is Jackie French’s “Chook Book”. Very well suited to Australian backyard chicken keepers, but possibly useful for you too. Jackie doesn’t subscribe to all the standard recommendations – she tries stuff herself and reports on what works. She has other books on self-sufficiency related topics, is a well-known magazine contributor here in Australia, and also writes fantastic childrens’ books.
Here’s her site: http://www.jackiefrench.com/
(And no, I don’t know her – I just really enjoy her stuff!)
Thanks for the recommendation — I’ll add it to my reading list! I’m always glad to hear firsthand data about the authors of books too. It makes me more inclined to read Alanna Moore’s book sooner rather than later.