Keep Chickens! Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces
Posted on August 30, 2009
From Booklist
Chickens are hot right now, as attested by articles on backyard chickens in the Wall Street Journal and House and Garden (not to mention Martha Stewart and her palatial henhouses). Kilarski is a self-proclaimed “city chick,” and her approach to chicken keeping reflects this background. This is a book for people who want to keep chickens in the city or suburbs, not for those with large flocks in the country. Kilarski also makes an important point–keeping chickens in th…
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Tags: Chickens, Cities, Flocks, Keep, Other, Small, Spaces, Suburbs, Tending
August 30, 2009
Ok, I have to be honest. I don’t own any chickens…. yet. I plan on building a coop this spring and getting some though. I have been reading lots of books on chickens and I recommend this one for the small flock owner along with Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens.
For one thing Keeping Chickens is more warm fuzzy, pro-chicken as pets kind of book than any of the other books I have read. Some of the other books get a little dry especially in the “processing” chapter. I can only have three hens and they are going to be pampered pets so the “processing” parts don’t interest me.
It has some nice color pictures in the middle and lots of good chicken advice throughout. I was dissapointed by the lack of more detailed coop design although she gives lots of good tips and advice on building one.
I do have one bone to pick with the author though. The book lists some of the major cities and their chickens laws and it got Juneau’s wrong. She listed that there were no rules and cited the animal control ordinances as proof. Actually, there are rules and they are in title 49 of the zoning and planning ordinances. Be warned, check your local laws for yourself. Call Animal Control, the Humane Society or the City and double check!
August 30, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars
Useful and fun!
Very encouraging and fun. This book is great for pet chicken owners but not so great for big producers (no, I am not one of those “big producers”!). Pet chickens RULE!
August 30, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chickens are FUN!
I absolutely loved this book. The author has a whimsical fun approach to raising chickens in your yard. I’m so excited to get my chickens!!!
August 30, 2009
This is a nice introduction for those thinking about keeping a few pet chickens. An easy, quick, and fun read. The author’s enthusiasm is infectious. She helps you to feel that you, too, can keep chickens!
I was disappointed by one part of the book, though. The author strongly advocates using rat poison to deal with the rodents that inevitably want to dip into chicken feed and invade chicken coops. She states that using a box for the poison which has a small entry hole will prevent cats and dogs from being poisoned. Don’t count on it! Rat poison is an anticoagulant which slowly kills rats and mice by causing massive internal bleeding. When cats or dogs catch and eat these sick, miserable rodents (or scavenge dead rodents) they are inevitably killed, too– there is no effective treatment. I personally know of two dogs and two cats which died horrible deaths after ingesting poisoned rodents. So… unless you want to risk killing your own pets and your neighbor’s pets, avoid rat poison. There are plenty of other alternatives on the market.
All of the chicken books I have read have the same advice regarding poison, so this isn’t a downside for this particular book. (The Storey Guide by Gail Damerow has a little more guidance about which poisons are the most dangerous, but still advocates using poison.) Overall, it was a great book!
August 30, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars
My First Chicken Book
This is the first book I read when I started getting my little hens end of last year. It was so helpful with a friendly, enthusiastic and encouraging tone to it — not cut and…
August 30, 2009
2.0 out of 5 stars
Okay light read, but not for new chicken owners with real questions
This book was one of several I purchased before placing my first order for backyard chickens. Although it is an easy light read, it really doesn’t provide any substantial…
August 30, 2009
I love the simplicity of this little book. The author makes it sound so doable to keep chickens in the city. However, I was dismayed to read that she so flippantly suggests using poison as way to manage rats, who are inevitably drawn to the chicken feed. Well, the problem with poisoning rats–who die of a “bad stomache” as she describes it — is that these rats not only suffer a horribly cruel demise but also could be eaten by predators such as raptors who will suffer a similar end. I know this very thing happened in San Francisco, where the red tailed hawk population was affected by rat poison placed in Golden Gate Park.
I am just surprised that a book published by an “eco friendly” company would allow such a cavalier recommendation to use a method that is anything but eco-friendly in the larger sense. I love chickens but there is a larger world and context beyond them. Still, it is useful and enjoyable how-to on raising chickens, and if it were minus the presumptious attitude about ridding the coop of rats it would be something I’d recommend.
August 30, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just Right for the Beginner
Keep Chickens is one of the most user-friendly books I have read regarding starting your own backyard flock.
August 30, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars
Keep Chickens
I loved this book. It is written for us folks who have just a few chickens in our backyard and is full of humor and good information and resources.
August 30, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book to start with if you are thinking about chickens
First if all, this book is not comprehensive, and I don’t think it is meant to be. This is more like an overview of what it is like to keep chickens.
August 30, 2009
3.0 out of 5 stars
A book that made me chicken out
I admit that I bought this book mostly for its entertainment value. I mean, several customer reviewers claim that the author must be a lesbian.
August 30, 2009
2.0 out of 5 stars
Keep Chickens and a computer
This was too basic of a book for me. Just about all the information in it I had found online on websites and forums.
August 30, 2009
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Very Useful
I didn’t find this book very useful. First, it is a slim volume to start with, so it is not really very comprehensive.