Review - Keep Chickens

Keep Chickens! by Barbara Kilarski was the book that got me started with chickens. It's by Storey Press, who publish books about gardening, soap-making, brewing, livestock etc. I've never had a bad book from them.

The book is specifically aimed at backyard chicken-keeping, not smallholding or farm scale poultry. It answered all my questions about keeping hens in a domestic garden - noise, smell, housing, hygiene etc. I've found the information in the book to be practically sound and based on experience and expertise, although it is an American book and so not all the advice was strictly relevant to a British reader. But even if American living habits sometimes differ from British (what is a condominium anyway?), American chickens seem to be identical to their Limey counterparts so the differences weren't very important.

As well as the factual information, I was charmed by the illustrations. There are several colour plates including images of different breeds of chicken and some quirky hen houses. The black-and-white pages of the book are also peppered with 1940's American ads for poultry feed, which give it a fun, retro feel. Also charming is the writing style; Kilarski writes from experience and includes lots of anecdotes about her three "girls". By the end of the book you feel as if you're personal friends with Zsa-Zsa, Whoopee and Lucy.

I've already written about why (almost) everybody should keep chickens. If you're thinking about it, I'd recommend you start by reading "Keep Chickens!" (and of course my series of articles about getting started with chickens, part 1, part 2 and part 3).