Chicken DIY: 20 Fun-to-Make Projects for Happy and Healthy Chickens (CompanionHouse Books) Coops, Ramps, Roosts, Nest Boxes, Feeders, Waterers, and More, with Materials Lists; plus Bonus Egg Recipes

by Samantha Johnson, Daniel Johnson (Photographer)

Learn for yourself the rewards of keeping chickens in your own backyard! Sustainable and fun, raising chickens is not only interesting and entertaining, it produces a bounty of fresh, tasty eggs! In Chicken DIY , aspiring chicken farmers will find creative plans and easy-to-follow construction tips for making a safe and healthy environment for your fine-feathered friends. Join the brother-and-sister team of Daniel and Samantha Johnson—veteran farmers, poultry enthusiasts, and avid DIYers—as they present complete and detailed instructions for 20 essential projects, from coops and feeders to runs, ramps, roosts, and incubators. Clear step-by-step color photographs will guide you through each hands-on project, and each fully illustrated make-at-home project—from the chicken tractor to the chicken swing to the chicken sweater—is as enjoyable as it is fulfilling to create! Inside this book, you'll find advice on preparing a safe and healthy environment for your flock, as well as an illustrated introduction to the tools and skills needed for each project. The "Why DIY?" section explains the positive benefits and personal satisfaction of building things yourself, while an interesting bonus chapter takes a fascinating look at the history of chicken-keeping and innovations in poultry care throughout time. You'll also find delicious recipes for "egg-cess" eggs, from a savory frittata to a decadent triple chocolate torte. Raising chickens is one of the most interesting and rewarding backyard hobbies you can find. Farmers and backyard hobbyists alike already know the rewards of keeping fine-feathered friends, and the popularity of egg-laying chickens is only on the rise. Making your own chicken equipment and structures adds another level of creativity and fun to caring for a flock. Your chickens are sure to happily enjoy the dust-bathing area, chicken run, grazing box, and wading pool that you create with your own hands! Get started building fun handmade projects for your flock of chickens, with Chicken DIY ! "The brother-and-sister writing team of Samantha Johnson and Daniel Johnson has been advising Chickens magazine readers since the first issue. Samantha has a flair for fowl language, with articles ranging from inspiring egg recipes to rare-breed profiles, while Daniel has also contributed exquisite poultry photography. These two 4-H alumni are quite the pair."
— Roger Sipe, Group Editor, Chickens and Hobby Farms magazines

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published January 16, 2018

About the author

SAMANTHA JOHNSON writes about the happy things in life—pets, home, family, food, and gardening—and thinks Mondays are the most wonderful day of the week. She fills her rare spare moments by crafting to-do lists and fulfilling the commands and demands of her bossy Corgi. She's the author or co-author of ten books, including The Rabbit Book, The Field Guide to Rabbits, The Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping, and The Beginner's Guide to Vegetable Gardening. Contact Samantha at miraclewelsh@gmail.com .

Reviews

[Rachael Terry]

Reference to build a chicken tractor, dust bath box, chicken ramp.

[Stephanie Dagg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must for anyone with chickens and who enjoys a bit of DIY. I think the two often go together, as if you’re someone who likes to produce your own eggs then you’re generally someone who enjoys being self-sufficient. All the projects in this book are achievable, especially with such clear instructions and helpful photos. Some can be completed in an hour while others may take three or four.
The authors invite you to either follow the instructions to the letter, or make adaptations and adjustments as you see fit for your own particular little flock. They encourage recycling and customisation in all their projects.
There are four sections:
Why DIY: the aims of this book are to help you save money by making things for yourself.
Basic tools and skills: from hammers and tape measures, to circular saws, you get the lowdown on what you need. You can manage with very simple straightforward tools, but electric ones make life quicker and easier. There’s advice on techniques such as cross cuts, and accurate measuring and marking, and handy and very sensible safety advice.
A look at the history of chicken keeping: this provides a nice little interlude before we roll our sleeves up and get busy, and very much gets the point across that improvisation to reflect the economic climate has always been part of keeping chickens.
And finally the projects. Each on is graded as to difficulty (many are beginner level) and gives an idea of how long it will take to make. They’re varied but they’re all extremely useful.
First up is a chicken tractor, not as in a farm machine for your chook to drive, but a movable chicken run. These are so handy.
Dust-bathing area: a great and hygienic treat for your chooks, and it will stop them digging holes in the flowerbeds.
Feeder/waterer: made from drainpipe parts, this is inspired. Chickens are messy eaters, and this has the benefit of keeping the food clean too.
Compost bin: to get the benefits of all that chicken compost, mixed with kitchen scraps
Egg incuabator: This is an advanced project, but looks a very interesting one to try.
Nest boxes: my chickens pointedly ignore any nesting box I give them and lay wherever they please, but I’m hoping that these might tempt my girls to be good.
Egg candler: this is a box design which provides a secure base for the egg you’re examining.
Chicken roost: a sturdy, movable roost that satisfies their psychological need to roost off the ground at night, and helps keep their feet healthy. Adapt this for the number of chickens you have.
Dropping board: this fits below the roost to catch all that night-time poop.
Chick brooder: to keep your hatchlings nice and cosy.
Quarantine habitat: chickens get sick from time to time and here’s a comfy cage to keep them isolated and unstressed in.
Collapsible chicken run: a foldable run, easy to move around, for when you need to keep your chickens contained.
Chicken ramp: to give your chickens easy, non-slip access to any elevated area, such as a raised coop door.
Chicken swing: delightful! A swinging roost, that’s really simple to make.
5-gallon bucket next boxes: a very quick and easy nesting box.
Egg hod: an egg-collecting basket with wire mesh sides and bottom. You don’t have to worry about all of your eggs in this as it will keep them undamaged.
Grazing box: allows your chickens to graze at plants without totally destroying them.
Wading pool: a paddling pool ramp for hot days.
Chicken sweater- knitting pattern: this is just for fun to make your chooks look pretty, but could come in handy in short spells for a chicken that’s suffering at the beak of an overzealous cockerel.
Egg recipes for when you’re getting overwhelmed with eggs!
I was delighted to see a helpful index at the back – so many books don’t bother with these yet they’re an essential feature of a non-fiction book.
This is a fabulous book, full of great ideas. It’s beautifully thought and out and presented and if you keep chickens then you could really do with this book on your shelf. It would make a fantastic present for any chicken lovers in your life.
I received a free copy of this book and have voluntarily reviewed it.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Chicken DIY - 20 Fun-to-Make Projects for Happy and Healthy Chickens
Author: Samantha Johnson
Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing & Companion House Books
Date of Publishing: January 16, 2018

This book was was given to me by NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing & Companion House Books in exchange for my honest review

More and more people are choosing to raise chickens, both as pets and livestock. Some even raise them in their apartments if pets are allowed. With the continued rising cost of ready made object some of those chicken owners choose to build their own coops and various other items for their chicken. Many DIY lovers might have most of the required material stored away, leftovers from other projects.

Starting with the basic question many will ask, "Why do it Yourself?" The answer will vary from I enjoy working with my hands and creating things to the cost effectiveness. Then on to what tools you will need? Again those who enjoy DIY Projects will already have many if not all of them, but most are commoon everyday mantainence tools. Next comes a brief history of raising poultr and it is very interesting.

Then we come to the projects themselves. From Chicken Tractors for Free Range Chickens to A Chcken Sweater to a way to convert that old leaky 5 gallon bucket into a Nesting box. No matter which of the 20 projects you chooe to try first there are plenty of step by step photos to accompany the easy to follow instructions. When you have completed your project you will have pride in knowing you made it yourself. If you have no chicken yourself you can use them as gifts as well to those who do.

An extra bonus is a few recipes to use your bounty of eggs. From a Frittata to a torte you are sure to find one to tempt you. Something for the beginner to the the busy DIY experienced craftsman. All are fun and take very little time to complete.

I gave "Chicken DIY - 20 Fun-to-Make Projects for Happy and Healthy Chickens" a 5 out of a total of 5 stars.


Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NC0RYC6/...

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[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had chickens for over six years now. I have had hawks eat them. I have had chickens run off and hatch their own brood of chickens, twice. I have had a skunk get into the coop. What I am trying to say is that while I may not be the most experienced person with backyard chickens, I do know what is what with them.

I thought, when reading this book it would be all, been there, done that, have the t-shirt sort of thing, but it was not. I thought I was going to argue with the author when I saw that one of the projects was a chicken sweater, but I quickly got off my high-horse when I saw that she wasn't going to put it on the chicken longer than to take a picture, because, chickens don't need sweaters. I thought all the projects would be things that I had done before, but they were not.

Very cool book, with very clean instructions on how to make things for yoru chickens that you didn't even know you needed to make. Not only that, but reciepies in the last chapter, for when you have buckets of eggs and you can't eat them fast enough. (There are times when, in the height of the summer I have as many as 9 dozen boxes of eggs.).

There are some cool, unusual projects in here, amongst them, the wading pool (because in the summer chickens need to get their feet cool), the grazing box (because chickens will eat every bit of green to the ground, and this is a way to solve the situation) and a chicken swing.

Some things aren't really necessary if you have good hens, such a chicken brooder (as the hens are really good at keeping their babies warm), but hey, it is good to know how to make them.

So, this book would be recommended for both people just starting out and people who have had chickens for years, because, you never know what you might learn.

I love a book that teaches me something I didn't know before.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[J.L. Slipak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Due out January 16, 2018

Description

The popularity of egg-laying chickens is on the rise. Sustainable and fun, raising chickens is one of the most interesting and rewarding backyard hobbies you can find. In Chicken DIY, aspiring chicken farmers will find creative plans and easy-to-follow construction tips for making a safe and healthy environment for their fine-feathered friends. Veteran farmers and poultry enthusiasts Samantha and Daniel Johnson provide complete and easy-to-follow instructions for 20 essential projects, from coops and feeders to runs, ramps, roosts and incubators. Clear step-by-step colour photographs guide the reader through each hands-on project.

Available Editions
EDITION
Paperback
ISBN 9781620082300
PRICE $19.99 (USD)

My thanks to NetGalley and Chapel Publishing for the ARC to read and provide my honest review!

MY BOOK REVIEW:

Okay, if you ever plan on raising chickens, this book is exactly what you need to get started. It is full of great ‘how to’s,’ pictures showing step by step building of everything you need. At the back of the book are recipes too.

The hardest part may be cutting some of the wood to begin your projects. The book shows what tools you’ll need and how to put your project together. Everything a chicken needs is included.
There’s even a section on candling, raising chicks, designing a dust box so your plants and gardens won’t take a beating… this is such a great book. When we start raising chickens next year, we’re buying this book!

I love it and think it’s exactly what is needed!

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just okay—good for ideas—but the level of craftsmanship for each project leaves much to be desired. There are plenty of useful things in here but I think they can be made much more elegantly. Plus, there's a project for knitting a chicken sweater, with a warning that some chicken keepers warn against actually putting one on a chicken... (And then there's a photo of someone crocheting within the knitting directions. Argh.)

[LM Charlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and informational. Gives some good ideas to help out potential chicken owners.

Going to read it again before returning to library.

This would be good for a couple of my friends who want to do helpful things for their new chicken flocks.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and intermediate projects for making habitat for people who are raising backyard chickens.

[Kerrific Kerr · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will preface this with the fact that we live on a homestead and have raised chickens for 6+ years. I was hoping this book would give me some great, new ideas on things I can do for my birds. Instead it was very basic and, unless I needed to learn to use a hammer or saw, were all things that I could easily either figure out or find free tutorials online. Disappointed.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the pictures in Chicken DIY are nice, the projects have been around in book and internet form for years. Now, I will say this book adds an uncommon twist to the how-to do for your chicken genre, it includes a knitted sweater pattern, a compost bin plan to put the coop debris, plus egg recipes such as custards, deviled eggs and tortes. But again, nothing new, just redressed and bundled together in one book. Full Disclosure: I was allowed to read a copy of this book for free as a member of NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not influenced to give a positive review.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

good ideas in theory but some aren't practical