Chicken Coops for the Soul: A Year in the Life of a Chicken Keeper

 

As Grandpa had so memorably demonstrated, when it comes to herding chickens, it is no use imitating their rhythm—getting all uppity. You need to stay calm and authoritative and always move slowly. Across the lawn I launched myself, arms outspread, knees bent and feet rolling carefully from hell to toe, hoping I looked a bit like a t'ai chi master.

 

When Julia Hollander agreed to buy her small daughter a rabbit, she had no idea that she would end up with two hens as well. Finding herself at the wrong end of a very steep learning curve, she then had to master the many skills of hen husbandry quickly, from what to feed them to how best to fox-proof a small urban garden. This is a record of the five years of trial and error that ensued, in which Julia charts the joys, challenges, and inevitable moments of disappointment that face any aspiring poultry keeper. It's also a compendium of wisdom about the humble chicken that explains, among many other things, which breeds are most productive, why some hens lay double-yolkers, and how World War II is to thank for our ability to tell newly hatched male and female chicks apart. Not to mention a considered discussion of where the first chicken (or egg) came from. Fascinating and entertaining by turns, this is a book that will prove invaluable to the aspiring keeper and remind chicken aficionados why they became hooked in the first place.