The Illustrated Guide to Chickens: How to Choose Them, How to Keep Them

by Celia Lewis, Celia Lewis

Chickens are fun, useful, and easy to keep. If you have ever considered raising your own backyard flock, The Illustrated Guide to Chickens is the book for you! It offers practical advice and contains all the information you need to choose from one of the 100 most familiar breeds of chicken in North America and Europe to raise. Each breed’s profile is written in engaging text that covers its history and main characteristics. You’ll also find practical advice about poultry rearing and husbandry and the pros and cons of pure breeds, hybrids, bantams, game foul, and the like.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

494 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 5, 2010

Reviews

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great. Surprisingly more informative than I expected.

By the way, how do I get HRH, The Prince of Wales to write the forward for my book?

[Horus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful and pretty book with illustrations by the author. In such a reference book, however, I am sad not to see references listed at the back, other than contacts for the various breeds discussed. I did learn things from this book, however, and found the general format quite interesting. The author is also the illustrator, which is another minor bone of contention as she didn't follow her own written descriptions of the birds, from time to time and it seemed to me unfair that there were more illustrations of some varieties than others. If you're going to be a general 'encyclopedia' of something, do try to include all the information. Otherwise, this is quite a useful book for the casual chicken owner.

[Virginia Pulver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book graces a spot in my studio where I occasionally use it as a reference for my attempts at making watercolors of hens. The illustrations are delightful. I love the details about feathers, combs and other details about various breeds. It is eye-candy for a crazy chicken lady! The book provides a good overview of selecting and building a flock. Pair it with "City Chicks" by Patricia Foreman and Celia Lewis' other book about chickens - "Keeping Chickens". Another useful book is "Free-Range Chicken Garden" by Jessi Bloom. Enjoy your flock of zen-hens! - Ginn, Crazy Chicken Lady in SC

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is charming, with some basics on chicken keeping, some general info on many officially known breeds, and lovely illustrations of adult birds, egg coloration, and even chicks. It's a good quick reference, and a good starting point for further research.

As a warning to some chicken enthusiasts, it does include info for "Table" breeds, i.e. those particularly bred for food, when applicable. The brief section on "Culling" at the end, while humanely presented, may be upsetting, but is easily skipped. I know these practices aren't for everybody!

[Angela Powers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful guide to choosing chicken breeds and a bit of care info as well. Definitely not all encompassing or super detailed as far as raising them, and Id highly suggest getting a book for that purpose - but this was a lovely read.

[Natalie Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly helpful! Now I know what hens we have, which ones can be added to the flock, feeding, sicknesses, and how to kill them humanely.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chicken overload! Beautifully illustrated, I didn't know there were so many breeds. Very comprehensive information that's well organized and easy to read.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published by Skyhorse Publishing, the latest book from Celia Lewis advises on how to raise chickens for eggs. You learn how to to select the chickens best suited to your needs as she illustrates and describes over 100 breeds of chickens.
She includes detailed information on the parts of a chicken, combs, types of feathers, parts of a wing, and other characteristics of the chicken.
Whether you want to purchase new stock of chickens or hatch your own, Ms.Lewis provides ample information for the beginner on feeding, housing and caring for those young chicks.
Artistically brilliant in capturing each breed, both the rooster and hen as well as the chick. She also illustrates the typical egg. Gorgeous renderings!!
I can't get over how detailed and gorgeous the paintings are!! With this book you can get a fantastic idea of which breed you most would enjoy raising. It is a great book for 4-H kids or FFA to learn about the variety of breeds and have details to go with each including the origin, egg color and the breed standards. I have seen many chicken books on breeds and there were some in here that I hadn't even heard of! The drawings are so incredibly realistic that you can easily envision the true chicken in your coop.
Truly the best illustrated guide of chickens I have ever seen!
Ms. Lewis is gifted not only in her artistic ability, but in her presentation of the wonderful world of chickens!!
I received a copy of this book from Skyhorse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautifully illustrated book with so much information about chickens! The watercolor illustrations are fabulous, really capturing the beauty of the different chicken breeds. Not only is this a great coffee table book, it is useful as well, especially if you are a raising a flock or thinking about doing so.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm currently learning about chickens for my job and this book was pretty informational. I like how they had a breakdown of each specific variety of chicken and how their eggs come out, what they are good for (meat or egg layers) etc. Not to mention some great illustrations hence the name "The Illustrated Guide.."

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything you want to know about choosing a chicken breed. Great illustrations and good information on buying or hatching.

[Michael Romeo Talks Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reference book.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very informative and easy to read. It assumes you have Little or no experience raising poultry, and it explains all of the terms need to know.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This covers SO many different breed profiles. I have to remember this for the future.