My Pet Chicken Handbook: Sensible Advice and Savvy Answers for Raising Backyard Chickens: A Guide to Raising Chickens - Softcover

"If you're thinking of raising chickens in your backyard...The My Pet Chicken Handbook is filled with invaluable information about this enjoyable past time. It's filled with sensible advice and savvy answers for raising backyard chickens. Thank you Traci! I can't read enough about this subject." --THE MARTHA BLOG "An informative insider's guide...My Pet Chicken Handbook teaches just about everything you need to know to manage your own flock." --LA TIMES

The backyard chicken is the new "it" pet-and with good reason: These birds are personable, beautiful, and (mostly) low maintenance. But they're not without their quirks and sometimes puzzling behaviours. That's where the experts at MyPetChicken.com have a beak up on the competition - they hear from chicken keepers daily and offer advice about common mistakes and pitfalls that occur when raising a flock of chickens in the backyard. And customers tell them that the advice they most appreciate is actually how not to raise chickens, what not to do, and why not to panic. The handbook helps potential chicken owners decide whether chicken keeping is right for them, how to make the best choices for their situations, how to start planning for the new pets, and - most importantly - how to head off potential trouble before the chicks arrive. Detailed care instructions for baby chicks and mature hens help to ensure a friendly and enjoyable flock. Covering both the good and the "oh no" experiences that beginners and avid backyard farmers experience, topics include choosing coops, planning a daily routine, learning about sanitation practices, and discovering signs of distress. Then the joy of chicken keeping comes full "ovoid" with 50 recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, featuring the incredible and versatile egg, from homemade egg noodles and sesame mayonnaise to a vegetable frittata and caramel custard.