Wisdom for Hen Keepers: 500 Tips for Keeping Chickens

by Chris Graham

Keeping chickens in your own backyard, whether out in the country or right in the heart of the city, is all the rage these days. In this delightful collection of 500 chicken-raising tips, expert poultry fancier Chris Graham provides all you need to know to get started in this rewarding hobby. For easy reference, the tips are divided into ten chapters, covering all aspects of chicken keeping, from coops and equipment through choosing chickens for eggs and meat to feeding chickens and breeding and showing. The tips are grouped logically so that beginners can build their knowledge gradually, while old hands might prefer to dip in and out at random or refer to the index to access specific topics. The tips are accompanied by simple annotated diagrams where required, and a series of specially commissioned linocut prints by printmaker Melvyn Evans rounds out this charming package.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2013

Reviews

[Mickie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are worth getting it for on their own. The advice is ok, but not groundbreaking. It is a general reference book reformatted as "tips" and several of the tips are recycled multiple times in different sections.
Wisdom in the title led me to expect a guide for intermediate keepers, but this is for beginners and the description does say that the book is for novices, but there are a ton of novice books out there with a more logical handbook layout that is more convenient for looking up info or referring back to so I wonder--why the tip format? It comes across as a gimmick.

[Briana · Rating 3 out of 5]

⏱ Sixty second, no spoiler summary
A book with 500 tips for those who want backyard chickens. This book helps you gather supplies, know the breeds, tips for how to care for them and how to raise and slaughter them.

👍🏻Turn Ons
There was some good info and I like the index so I could quickly search for a topic.

👎🏻 Turn Offs
Very repetitive! I don’t think there’s actually 500 individual tips. Lots of things could be combined and felt like they were repeated. I wish there was color pics and a better description of the different breeds. And a checklist for what to do daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

👵🏻 Safe to talk about with Grandma?
Sure! I bet my grandma even had chickens of her own when she was growing up.

⭐Rating ⭐
Three stars. Interesting but not as much info as I wanted.

Title & Author: Wisdom for Hen Keepers by Chris Graham
Format: Hardback
Read: 9/12/21-10/13/21
Rating: Three stars

[Shebbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this informative book. We're on our 3rd flock, but I always like to learn more about chickens. Nice nuggets of information to easily digest!!

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

One can only wish we were so wise- buck, buck

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick easy read format. Good info

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure how there can be so many words in this book and never say anything helpful or useful. What a waste of time.

[Kathely · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had some useful information...but they kinda made it scarier than it actually is.