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Ready to raise your chickens? Let’s open up these 8 books on keeping your backyard chickens to find out which one(s) will be the best resource for you.
We recently got a little flock of baby chicks, just in time for us to discover we knew very little about how to care for them. Worry not, we are doing our due diligence and learning all we can about raising backyard chickens.
WATCH THIS POST
This video dives into the pages and you can see me flip through each book and talk all about them. Enjoy!
I’d like to give you a glimpse into a handful of books we’ve all been soaking up to learn all we can for a healthy, thriving family of cheepers. I’ll take you right inside these books (best on the video above) about raising backyard chickens and give you a preview of what’s included and what I like best about each one. Hopefully, by doing so, you’ll be ready for your chicks by knowing exactly what resource will work best to guide you along the way.
Now I know the internet has just about all the information we would ever need for raising chickens. However, there is something magical about disconnecting from screens and holding a wealth of knowledge and experience in your hands. We love books around here and I knew if I ordered some good ones, my kids would be inclined to flip through and learn how to care for their new furry babies right along with me – and without an ounce of nagging. Of course, I was right and we’ve all enjoyed reading about how to raise chickens.
We do already have a few grown chickens who have just started laying their eggs! But this is the first time we’ve raised new chicks and we needed all the help we could get.
Let’s flip through these 8 books and resources I’ve collected, and I’ll show you what is included. I’ll leave links to the books in the description below, but if you only want to invest in one or two, I’ll be sure to recommend which book has been our absolute favorite and guide you to any you can probably get by without – based on your needs.
OPEN BOOK REVIEWS ON KEEPING CHICKENS
1 – HOW TO SPEAK CHICKEN
Melissa Caughey, author of “How to Speak Chicken” and blogger at Tilly’s Nest, spent a great deal of her chicken mama life watching and studying chicken behavior and how they communicate. This is a super fun book focused on what your chicken is saying by the sounds and gestures they make. From cute baby cheeps to the proud call of a mother laying eggs, you’ll learn how to identify behaviors and meet the needs of your chickens. It’s an excellent fun read for the whole family.
2 – A KIDS’ GUIDE TO KEEPING CHICKENS
Another egg-cellent book by Melissa Caughey, A Kid’s Guide to Keeping Chickens, dives deep into raising chickens at a level both kids and adults will love. If you have kids and could only buy one book – this is the one I suggest! It is fantastic, fun, and packed full of chicken basics to walk anyone through raising backyard chickens without overwhelming them. There are several ideas for having fun with your chickens, making fun treats for them, but also cover the essentials like growth patterns, diseases, feed, and more. A delightful book to read and look at.
3 – 101 CHICKEN KEEPING HACKS
If you are looking for education and direction on how to raise chickens, this book “Chicken Keeping Hacks“ is NOT it! This book IS is a delightful book full of ideas on how to enjoy your flock. You’ve got DIYs for keeping their coop comfortable, clean, and cozy, fun ways to feed and provide for them, and many ways to enjoy the bountiful eggs. It’s just a really fun book that will make you want to work your way through every project.
4 – THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO RAISING CHICKENS
It was fun to discover how city girl Anne Kuo, came to love raising chickens and soaking up all she learned along the way. This book is thick and full of great information. But if you enjoy photography and lots of images this may not be the book for you. It’s not one my kids have been inclined to pick up, but if you would just rather all the facts and less chicken fluff – you’ll find all you need to know in this book, A Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens.
5 – CHICKEN FACT OR CHICKEN POOP
The author, Andy Schneider, works hard to bring science and fact to a lot of the chicken myths and misconceptions that may be circulating online, as many call themselves “chicken experts”. He’ll address a topic and call it out for what it is – fact or poop. The title, Chicken Fact or Chicken Poop, makes my little ones giggle and engages them as they discover what this “business” is really about.
6 – THE HOMESTEADERS’ NATURAL CHICKEN KEEPING HANDBOOK
I appreciated the unique and unconventional approach to The Homesteaders Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook. Amy Fewell reminds us that we are what we eat (which is easy to understand if you consume your chicken eggs) and that feeding and treating your chickens naturally is the best route to go. This book is wordy, and a great one to sit down and soak up. But the stories and facts are engaging and very informative if you are looking to raise your chickens as naturally as possible. Information on herbs, homemade scratch and feed, and natural remedies fill the pages of this book and it is very delightful. Probably not one my kids will get into, but I’ll enjoy having it as a resource and guide.
7 – STOREY’S GUIDE TO RAISING CHICKENS
On the cover of Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens, you’ll see the claim that 2.2 million copies have been printed and sold, and this is the 4th edition of this thick, informative book. If you want all the facts and knowledge you can get – this is the book for you. If you are easily overwhelmed by too much information too fast, this may NOT be the book for you – such is the case for me. I do suggest if you are ready to devote all you can to chickens, you’ll find this book invaluable in every aspect you will ever need to know about.
8 – THE CHICKEN CHICKS GUIDE TO BACKYARD CHICKENS
I love that Kathy Shea Mormino has dubbed herself “The Chicken Chick”. In her Guide to Backyard Chickens, this homesteading blogger has done an incredible job at finding a happy balance between words and images and enough information without being too much. This is the one I’m choosing to teach me the ins and outs without overwhelm. She does a great job at making you feel like you can be successful without investing your whole life in your chickens. You can’t help but pick up on her enthusiasm for raising chickens.
SUMMARY
I hope this has been a helpful post for you, whether you already have your chicks or are gearing up to get your flock! Or perhaps you’ve never thought about getting baby chicks until I tempted you with these cuties. (Yes, she ended up pooping on my books. Worth it for this cute shot!)
I have to say, their sweet chirping sounds have helped boost my spirits during this drawn-out Utah winter, and I love how happy and engaged they make my kids.
Remember, knowledge is power! If anything, I hope I’ve inspired you to dig into a book of interest and learn as much as you can. You can visit my book shop page full of my favorite books from my shelves that I love to read over and over.
Thank you for reading! I hope to make more of these types of posts for you! Be sure to subscribe and sign up to my newsletter to catch everything I post, and come back for more inspiration for do-it-yourself living.
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As if you didn’t have enough to do? 😁 It does look like fun and the eggs will be such a great reward.