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A Chicken in Every Yard: The Urban Farm Store's Guide to Chicken Keeping
Got a little space and a hankering for fresh eggs?
Robert and Hannah Litt have dispensed advice to hundreds of urban and suburban chicken-keepers from behind their perch at Portland’s Urban Farm Store, and now they’re ready to help you go local and sustainable with your own backyard birds. In this handy guide to breeds, feed, coops, and care, the Litts take you under their experienced wings and share the secrets to:
Picking the breeds that are right for you • Building a sturdy coop in one weekend for $100 • Raising happy and hearty chicks • Feeding your flock for optimal health and egg nutrition • Preventing and treating common chicken diseases • Planning ahead for family, neighborhood, and legal considerations • Whipping up tasty egg recipes from flan to frittata
With everything that first-timers will need to get started—along with expert tips for more seasoned keepers—this colorful, nuts-and-bolts manual proves that keeping chickens is all it’s cracked up to be.
Robert and Hannah Litt have dispensed advice to hundreds of urban and suburban chicken-keepers from behind their perch at Portland’s Urban Farm Store, and now they’re ready to help you go local and sustainable with your own backyard birds. In this handy guide to breeds, feed, coops, and care, the Litts take you under their experienced wings and share the secrets to:
Picking the breeds that are right for you • Building a sturdy coop in one weekend for $100 • Raising happy and hearty chicks • Feeding your flock for optimal health and egg nutrition • Preventing and treating common chicken diseases • Planning ahead for family, neighborhood, and legal considerations • Whipping up tasty egg recipes from flan to frittata
With everything that first-timers will need to get started—along with expert tips for more seasoned keepers—this colorful, nuts-and-bolts manual proves that keeping chickens is all it’s cracked up to be.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
78 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
May 2, 2011
Have I mentioned, gentle reader, that my family is adding a backyard flock in a few short weeks? We are. In my grand tradition of always over-researching, I've been making my way through a stack of chicken books.
While this is not the most in-depth chicken book I've ever seen, it is a great new addition to the genre of chick(en) lit - and you know I am not someone who normally appreciates repackaged material. The focus here is on the backyard chicken keeper, especially in cities but the information really applies to any small, personable flock. There is an understanding that, for some people, it may be worth it to spend hundreds of dollars on a $5 chicken at the vet, or that locally-produced, organic food is their priority, or that raccoons are more fierce predators than the human parent who would never butcher and eat her little darling rare breed snuggly McCuddleFeather Pretty Pants Princess. You may argue that it is a ridiculous angle to write a livestock book, but it's real life for some chicken keepers. I found it interesting to read a book that is accommodating to this perspective. It can be difficult to relate to books about flocks of 30+ if your backyard has room for five hens.
This book provides a sort of quiet confidence, or maybe just competency, which made me feel better about our future in backyard livestock. I've read a lot of chicken books in the last three years, and mostly I finish them feeling a little overwhelmed like, "Well, I guess you mostly learn by doing." After this book, I felt like, "We so excited."
I appreciate the good design, superfluous as it may be. Even while I am cracking silent "Portlandia" jokes in my head. Is there a better "put a bird on it" than a backyard, hand-raised, organic, heirloom, urban chicken?
This may be the cheesiest goodreads review I have ever written. I apologize. The subject matter lends itself to infinite puns and wisecracking.
While this is not the most in-depth chicken book I've ever seen, it is a great new addition to the genre of chick(en) lit - and you know I am not someone who normally appreciates repackaged material. The focus here is on the backyard chicken keeper, especially in cities but the information really applies to any small, personable flock. There is an understanding that, for some people, it may be worth it to spend hundreds of dollars on a $5 chicken at the vet, or that locally-produced, organic food is their priority, or that raccoons are more fierce predators than the human parent who would never butcher and eat her little darling rare breed snuggly McCuddleFeather Pretty Pants Princess. You may argue that it is a ridiculous angle to write a livestock book, but it's real life for some chicken keepers. I found it interesting to read a book that is accommodating to this perspective. It can be difficult to relate to books about flocks of 30+ if your backyard has room for five hens.
This book provides a sort of quiet confidence, or maybe just competency, which made me feel better about our future in backyard livestock. I've read a lot of chicken books in the last three years, and mostly I finish them feeling a little overwhelmed like, "Well, I guess you mostly learn by doing." After this book, I felt like, "We so excited."
I appreciate the good design, superfluous as it may be. Even while I am cracking silent "Portlandia" jokes in my head. Is there a better "put a bird on it" than a backyard, hand-raised, organic, heirloom, urban chicken?
This may be the cheesiest goodreads review I have ever written. I apologize. The subject matter lends itself to infinite puns and wisecracking.
June 16, 2018
Excellent guide to chicken keeping. concise and to the point, yet not sterile. Author uses a lot of humor and personal experiences in teaching. Highly recommended for beginners and experienced Chicken Keepers.
April 18, 2017
I've had chickens for two years and I still found this book very helpful. Doesn't drag on and on, has great references and information...and humor!
June 2, 2019
I should have read this before I got chickens, but it was good to read. They were pretty thorough in their information, from getting chicks through the end of their egg-laying days.
September 20, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. I think if it had been much more detailed, it would have been too much. I would have enjoyed a brief profile of each breed they mentioned.
July 2, 2023
Really clear and concise book on chicken-keeping, very useful and pragmatic while openly acknowledging areas of controversy or dissenting opinions in the backyard chicken-keeper community. We've previously kept chickens and were looking to get back into it, so this book was extra resonant since we could compare and contrast with our experiences.
September 9, 2011
I'm going to pick up my fluffy balls of yellow fluff tomorrow, and will finish reading this tonight--I was going to pick up my chicks on craigslist, but after reading this book, I'll be going to Urban Farm Store, the author's storefront. They care a lot about chickens, and this book is full of clear, concise, interesting instruction for the casual, backyard, budding chicken-keeper: like myself!
October 28, 2011
Great book for beginner chicken keepers! I live just down the street from the store and bought my first chicks and supplies from them. This is pretty much the only chicken book I will need to buy since it covered all the questions I had. If you live nearby and buy the book you also get free admission to a class the owner gives for beginners.
Reads very easily and interestingly. I know I will be referencing this book often.
Reads very easily and interestingly. I know I will be referencing this book often.
August 28, 2018
I really like and appreciate this book. Sometimes I just want a resource I can hold in my hand, and I think this is it. The info is almost 10 years old, and I don’t know if there is an updated version, and some of the info contradicts other sources, but in general, I like the way it’s organized, and I like how the authors write from a place we’ve all been—learning from trial and error. Also, it cites a ton of other resources that I never would have found on my own.
September 5, 2019
This is a lucidly written guide to keeping chickens, and although it's maybe the sixth or seventh book I've read on the topic recently, it answered the few remaining questions I had left on the subject. Realistic advice, nice tone, and definitely geared for the small-scale backyard chicken keeper.
August 18, 2020
I referred to several books on chicken keeping. This one had all the info compiled that would be needed by a beginner chicken keeper like me. My only wish is that it had more photos rather than reproduced cartoons/ads.
May 6, 2021
Very informational but not overwhelming. It gave me everything I would want to know when considering raising backyard chickens and nothing unnecessary. The information was clear, concise, and organized. The authors also have a spectacular sense of humor l, which made reading this enjoyable as well.
February 19, 2023
A clear how-to guide on backyard chicken keeping. Covers everything from chick rearing, coop building, chicken health, and even tasty recipes to try with your egg yield. Written by a Oregon couple dedicated to chicken raising, this is a must read if you are looking to start your own backyard flock!
June 24, 2017
Perfect introduction to raising our girls. We love our chickens.
January 9, 2018
give me all of the chickens.
May 9, 2018
The best book I've read to date for our new hobby, chickens. So much information and it reads in a fun and informational way. I recommend this book to all my chicken friends.
January 28, 2019
Was a good helpful read, chalked full of helpful information
March 9, 2019
A useful guide. I would like to visit their store in Portland some day.
April 24, 2019
Very good book for advice on chicken keeping.
January 12, 2020
Gave me a view of what happens to backyard chickens as opposed to chickens in the commercialized egg industry
May 23, 2020
A great book for chicken noobies. Lots of good information, well written and easy to follow.
July 4, 2020
Hooray for chickens!
June 30, 2021
What an excellent primer! We plan to get chickens this summer and the information provided makes us feel better prepared.
January 30, 2023
If you're thinking about getting chooks, this is a good book to look at before you do this.
March 19, 2023
Some good information here. Some information which I know to be incorrect, or at least not the method that I want to follow. But probably a good place to start your research and I love the title!
April 23, 2023
Super great guide to chickens. Read from cover to cover, easily.
April 25, 2023
They sold me on it and now I have chickens.
Read
April 26, 2023Its about the same as all the other chicken books I've read, maybe not quite as informative.
November 22, 2011
This book is absolutely wonderful. I plan on keeping chickens next year, and everything I found so far on the internet and in my other chicken book got me extremely nervous and raised more questions than they answered. This book, however, provides more answers than I had questions. This is of course as it is written by people who not only keep a small back yard flock themselves, but they also have a feed store where they sell chicks to all sorts of people. As they speak with so many back yard chicken keepers, they really know an awful lot about all sorts of things that could possibly happen and that you need to take into account (I can not imagine any other book mentioning you should close the toilet lid if you are raising small chicks in a spare bathroom) so it is perfect for the anxious first time chicken keeper like me (even if I'm not actually getting chicks, but ex-batts, a category that is left out of this book unfortyunately, but never you mind) I strongly recommend buying this book to anyone interested in keeping chickens, even non-US like me, as it is very informative and a thoroughly enjoyable read (lots of humor, unlike plenty of other books out there I'm sure) and I'll be leafing through it plenty of times in the coming years. Thank you Robert and Hannah!!!
September 15, 2012
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in the Pacific Northwest that is considering raising chickens. I just picked it up two days ago and finished it this morning. It covers all of the basics and is incredibly informative. The only thing I wish is that they had more photographs and diagrams concerning things like clipping flight feathers, and for some of the medical problems that can arise in chickens. They may not be the nicest photos, but it is a huge help to keepers in identifying potential problems when they know exactly what they look like.
This book does come off as more of a "this is how we did it" rather than encompassing the many different ways to raise chickens. However, it's not a drawback, and somehow makes it easier to read than a textbook guide would be.
Also, I've reconsidered ordering day-old chicks online and have decided to purchase my chicks from the Urban Farm Store. After visiting them and seeing how well they care for their chicks, it just seems like the right thing to do.
This book does come off as more of a "this is how we did it" rather than encompassing the many different ways to raise chickens. However, it's not a drawback, and somehow makes it easier to read than a textbook guide would be.
Also, I've reconsidered ordering day-old chicks online and have decided to purchase my chicks from the Urban Farm Store. After visiting them and seeing how well they care for their chicks, it just seems like the right thing to do.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews