KEEPING CHICKENS: Practical Advice for Beginners

In print since 1985 and now in its 9th edition, translated is the bestselling German book now in English, probably the most detailed handbook on the domestic chicken. Covers breeds suitable for small-scale keeping, anatomy and physiology of the chicken including digestion and reproduction, behaviour including egg-laying, nesting and brooding habits, mother-chick relationship, hygiene, feeding preferences, feeding and fear plus the hen house, construction, equipping and running, hatching and incubation and breeding planning and rearing chicks in sickness and in health. Plus all about eggs and a few recipes such as Spicy Wine-Pickled Eggs, Coffee Egg Punch and even an Egg Beer. The authors are experienced smallholders who know how to keep their birds healthy and running free. Their handbook not only has dozens of colour photographs, but lots of tip boxes entitled 'Good to Know' and diagrams including measurements for a complete hen house layout including ventilation flaps and windows, building materials and hut sizes. 133pp, 17 x 25cm.