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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 636.5
EAN: 9780793806010
ISBN: 0793806011
Label: TFH Publications, Inc.
Manufacturer: TFH Publications, Inc.
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 208
Publication Date: November 28, 2006
Publisher: TFH Publications, Inc.
Studio: TFH Publications, Inc.
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Do you raise chickens as part of the family or as a livelihood? Are you looking for helpful information to provide the best care for your chickens? Or are you just curious to learn more about this popular animal?
Choosing and Keeping Chickens provides detailed information about the most prevalent types of chickens. Learn all about their appearance, key traits, general temperament, health concerns, and estimated life span. This book also describes characteristics of the eggs laid by each type of chicken as well as birds that best mix with each breed, so you can make better choices in setting up your coops. Seasonal guides detail the changing needs of chickens over the course of a year and reveal what every chicken keeper should look for as well as how to best arrange chicken housing during various climates.
Whether you seek help with your chicken keeping, or just want to know more about chickens, Choosing and Keeping Chickens can help you become more knowledgeable about this fascinating bird.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I make it a rule only to review books on subjects I know something about. Although we have something approaching 100 birds, I am relatively new to keeping chickens and this review is based on those early experiences coupled with the frequent use of this book.
Author Chris Graham is the Editor of a leading UK poultry magazine with considerable knowledge of the subject. Whilst the book itself is somewhat disjointed in parts, I have found it to be both an enormous help and, so far at least, able to cover each topic I have needed to consult. In addition, the photography - covering various breeds, equipment and other items, is of the highest standard.
Arranged into; Which breeds, getting started, care, hatching & rearing, showing, different breeds, hybrids, pests and diseases, the book appears to cover all the main topics of interest to the beginner with a fair degree of thoroughness. Personally, I have consulted this book on an almost daily basis for the past several weeks and have yet to find it lacking.
My only real complaint is the order in which the different breeds are arranged. I would have preferred a straight forward alphabetical order of all types. This would allow quick access to whichever variety I was seeking at the time. Instead, they are arranged into 5 sections, albeit alphabetically within each, by; Hard feather, soft feather heavy, soft feather light and so forth.
I do also feel that the RRP of GBP £12:99 is a tad too expensive - although I was quite happy with the GBP £7:50 I paid for my own copy. All things considered, this is possibly the best buy for the complete beginner.
NM
Rating: -
I have many chicken books and each usually excels in at least one area. This book rates high for it's pictures of chicken breeds and good descriptions of their personality for a low cost. It also tells you the average egg production and what type of living quarters each breed needs to be happy and healthy. It also offers information as to which breeds are best for family pets and urban living, or if they are better for experienced keepers. Basic care is discussed fairly well. It is best to read more than one book if you want to learn about keeping chickens or any pet as there is more than one way to keep them happy and healthy. I did enjoy reading and referring back to Choosing and Keeping Chickens and recommend it highly for beginners.
Rating:  -
I'm so glad I choose to order Chris Graham's book, "Choosing and Keeping Chickens." It was recommended by someone online who said it wasn't as boring as some of the other books on the market. They were right. It is informative and the pictures are great! I now feel much more confident about caring for my hens.
Rating: -
The advice about breeds was spot-on. When they say flighty, they mean it. And when they recommend newbies steer clear of a specific breed, the advice is worth listening to. I had a couple of Sicilian Buttercups that kept making it over an eight-foot fence and dug up plants the other chickens always ignored. If I'd listened to the advice in this book, I never would have got those chicks. The availability information seems more accurate for the UK than the USA. The book doesn't contain usable plans for a coop, but there are a to of good ones online, i.e.: http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html And the pictures are beautiful. My kids read it like a picture book.
Rating:  -
This book is full of photos and general info.
The info on the few specific breeds that they do discuss was inconsistent. Inconsistent with other information I had read and inconsistent with itself. For example, one breed would lay 160 year and they would be stated at a moderate producer of eggs, while another breed would produce 120 per year and be labled at excellent egg producer.
I was disappointed it didn't go more in depth about personalities (so I could conclude which breeds are best suited to be housed together).
Again, the pictures were lovely, but one thing that would have been great is if they listed what breed of chicken the was...instead of general descriptions what they were doing.
All in all, a decent book, but these points were lacking.
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