Raising Chickens for Dummies
The "For Dummies" franchise has long been known as a starting point for anyone getting into something new. Raising Chickens for Dummies provides a starting point for people interested in keeping a small flock, but it goes farther and offers plenty for the veteran poultry person as well.
This book is 408 pages filled with well-organized, useful information. One of the best features of the book is the clear writing. It never uses technical jargon, but lays everything out so that the information is understandable. There are writers who revel in showing readers how smart they are and how much they know about their topic. While the authors of Raising Chickens for Dummies obviously know their topic thoroughly, they make it accessible to readers without making them feel like dummies.
If you have been raising poultry for a while, you may not feel the need to read a "for dummies" book on the subject. If you don't read it because you think it is an introductory text, you'll be cheating yourself. There's plenty in this practical, hands-on guide that is useful for a flock keeper with any level of knowledge.
When it comes to caring for a flock, there are a host of concerns to consider: breed selection, housing, food, caring for chicks, egg production, pests, cleanliness and so much more. Once you have successfully established a flock, you have a whole new set of concerns: meat production, whether or not to raise new chicks, incubation, a good brooder and so on. Raising Chickens for Dummies addresses all of those topics and more.
Aside from the information available in the book, it offers online references where you can learn even more. In fact, one of the authors, Rob Ludlow, is the owner of the very popular site BackyardChickens.com. This is a book that just keeps on giving. It serves as an invaluable resource for basic information and also points readers to more in depth sources for those who want to research deeply into a specific area.
