Daily Care and Feeding of Your Pet Chickens 

Nearly everything I’ve learned over the years that helped me take good care of my pet chickens I learned from books I started collecting early in life.  Personally, I can't seem to resist buying every book or magazine that's about chickens, I admit to having an addiction . . . but you don't need all that many to be well informed. I've read, probably several times each, all the books listed below.

But, rather than just paraphrase what I’ve learned and possibly leave out important details, I’m going to make them available so you can have your own dog-eared copies. They're pretty handy to refer to, especially if you notice one of your birds isn't feeling well and it's late at night.

One of the books on chicken health should definitely be kept in an easy to reach location, even after you've read the health page here.

Books For Beginners

American Standard of Perfection  Published by the American Poultry Association  Mentioned earlier, this is almost a must if you plan to show your chickens.  Show a bird that has the wrong color of legs or a comb that isn't consistent to the breed you've named, and the judge will disqualify your entry.  This happened to me once . . . very disappointing and humiliating.

You can get the most current printing from www.amerpoultryassn.com.

Sometimes it's available through www.amazon.com, too . . . you may want to check there first for a used one at a discounted price - it's fairly expensive.

The Backyard Flock by Mike Strecker  This is a very helpful book for beginners, as well as experienced chicken raisers.  It explains diseases you need to watch for and ways to treat them.

Chickens in Your Backyard by Gail and Rick Luttman  You'll find easy to understand information between the pages of this book about every aspect of raising chickens.

Keeping Pet Chickens  by Johannes Paul  Basic easy-to-follow text.  A great book for kids and adults who want to raise a few pet chickens in their backyard.  Lots of great pictures, too!

Your Chickens  by Gail Damerow  An excellent book for 4-H kids . . . helps with choosing the breed, covers all the basics of caring for pet chickens, and gets them up to speed if they're joining a group for the first time.

How to Raise Chickens, Everything You Need to Know by Christine Heinrichs  If you only buy one book, make it this one.  Covers all the basics, including breed selection, care and feeding, housing, and fitting and showing your pet chickens.

Chicken Health Handbook  by Gail Damerow Covers diseases of chickens in alphabetic order. Very helpful, and tells you how to treat each of these illnesses.

Guide To Better Hatching  by Janet Stromberg  Ready for the awesome and breathtaking experience of hatching your own baby chicks? This book will take away all those jitters . . . explains everything.

Great Coffee Table Books

The Complete Chicken  by Pam Percy  Your guests will have a great time leafing through this informative and lively book.  Includes full color illustrations of breeds, collectibles, and the history of chickens.

Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds  by Carol Ekarius  Colorful photography celebrating the unique characteristics of breeds of chickens, their quirky personalities and charming looks.  Includes fascinating facts of history . . . the definitive guide to more than 128 breeds of barnyard and wild fowl of North America.

Extraordinary Chickens  by Steven Green-Armytage An entertaining book of rare and fancy chickens.  It's pocket size, so you can carry it with you to share with friends and family, too!

Poultry of the World by Loyl Stromberg  In 1971, Mr. Stromberg re-organized the the SPPA (The Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities).  Considered one of the foremost experts on Poultry. His parents started the Stromberg Hatchery. Simply a must read!  Photos, anecdotes, and cartoons to educate and amuse you.

Handy Reference Books on Everyhing Chicken

Exhibiting Poultry for Pleasure. . .and Profit by Loyl Stromberg  Considered the "Bible" for information about raising chickens.  Contains excellent information about showing your chickens, and emphasizes the merits of raising chickens as a hobby.

The Field Guide to Chickens by Pam Percy  Interesting and fascinating facts including the history of chickens, the breeds, facts on breeds that are close to extinction, plus terrific photos and a complete glossary of chicken related terms.  You can't get along without this one and its called a field guide because its easy to take with you.

The Chicken Book by Page Smith & Charles Daniel  A softback book thoroughly researched, sometimes amusing, full of history of the chicken's role in art, history, literature, and modern living.  Fascinating, fun, and massively informative.

The Complete Encyclopedia of Chickens by Esther Verhoff and Aad Rijs This covers it all . . . from chicken diseases, breeds, history.  Every fact you could possibly need or find interesting, plus many, many photos.