Grow Your Own Magazine

Can anyone recommend a good, practical book on keeping hens. I currently have two; 'Hens in the Garden, Eggs in the Kitchen', which is a bit basic and 'Living with Chickens' which is a bit American. These seem to be the only two the local Waterstones stock, and WH Smith don't seem to stock any at all, so I'm going to have to order something and as I hate buying books without having a good look first I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Keeping Pet Chickens which is written by the Eglu people and
Starting with Chickens by Katie Thear.

Both very good in their own way. The Eglu one is aimed more at children I think in as much as it is full of glossy pictures but it does hold a lot of useful information. The Katie Thear is a wonderful book, a fairly balanced view stating pros and cons of chicken keeping crammed full of useful bits and pieces.

I also have a book on making Hen Houses, which I use as an idea resource.

I would recommend anything by Katie Thear, her wrtingin style is perfect for anyone starting out, without being at all patronising, and I learn something new from it every time I delve in. You'll probably find it very cheaply on Amazon.

Another one that was recommended to me (which I haven't got yet, but it's on the list) is Diseases of Backyard Poultry - then you'll know more than the vet!

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

I don't like Katie Thear's book at all - nor her methods of poultry-keeping, but everyone's entitled to his or her own preference. I have quite a few books on the subject, and I think the best of all is "The Organic Poultryman" by Matthew A. Thomson. Another is: "The Right Way to Keep Hens" by Robert H. Holmes. You could probably find both on dogbert...