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""Enchanting." --"Daily Mail
Book Description
An inspirational guide to the to the homely art of chicken keeping
Inside This Book
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a wannabe hen keeper I stumbled across this book as part of my research and hoped it would provide me some insight into life as a "hobby" hen keeper. It certainly did not disappoint.
Julia Hollander tells the whole story of her experience as a back garden hen keeper from bringing home her first hens, buying hen houses, feeding, laying, egg eating, illness, pests, predators, death, introducing new hens and rearing hens. I was expecting a story but I actually found the book went one step further intertwining factual practical information she had discovered/researched on her journey, which helped put in context her experiences and make the whole book much more interesting to read.
To touch on the comments left by previous reviewers where the author does kill and eat a non-egg producing chicken, I have to say this chapter DID NOT shock or appal me in any way. I felt that it was dealt with factually and concisely and I perfectly understood her reasons for doing it. The chapter certainly makes you question your motives for keeping hens. Pet vs. Producer? The author starts off keeping her hens as pets and ends up keeping them as "producers". Clearly if you are on the "keep hens as pets" side of the divide you may find the chapter distressing which I did not.
Overall I found the book a perfect introduction to the practicalities of hen keeping that a hen keeping manual struggles to convey. My first purchase was Laurence Beekens Chicken Manual and although I'm sure I will come back to it when I get my chickens I found it rather dry and didn't really give me an overview of what having chickens was really like and what it would entail, this book does that to a T.
Julia Hollander tells the whole story of her experience as a back garden hen keeper from bringing home her first hens, buying hen houses, feeding, laying, egg eating, illness, pests, predators, death, introducing new hens and rearing hens. I was expecting a story but I actually found the book went one step further intertwining factual practical information she had discovered/researched on her journey, which helped put in context her experiences and make the whole book much more interesting to read.
To touch on the comments left by previous reviewers where the author does kill and eat a non-egg producing chicken, I have to say this chapter DID NOT shock or appal me in any way. I felt that it was dealt with factually and concisely and I perfectly understood her reasons for doing it. The chapter certainly makes you question your motives for keeping hens. Pet vs. Producer? The author starts off keeping her hens as pets and ends up keeping them as "producers". Clearly if you are on the "keep hens as pets" side of the divide you may find the chapter distressing which I did not.
Overall I found the book a perfect introduction to the practicalities of hen keeping that a hen keeping manual struggles to convey. My first purchase was Laurence Beekens Chicken Manual and although I'm sure I will come back to it when I get my chickens I found it rather dry and didn't really give me an overview of what having chickens was really like and what it would entail, this book does that to a T.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a relative new-comer to hen keeping I really enjoyed this book and found it presented information in an easily digestible story format. I could identify with way the chickens added so much to family life and each had their own character. Only when you see free range chickens over the course of a day do you appreciate how active they are and how alien cage living would be to them. Until we got hens (on my daughter's request) I have never really liked getting too close to birds, and was not sure if I would be able to handle them - I am now hooked! I think this comes across well in the book, along with the potential problems you might come across.
I would have given this more stars if it weren't for a section that I found very hard to read. I love animals, but don't consider myself to be overly sentimental - if an animal is suffering and cannot be reasonably helped I would have it put to sleep/cull it myself (if I felt able)- the chapter on culling in this book upset me a lot - I felt there was no good reason to cull the hen and that the author was confusing a pet with a commercial bird. It is not ideal to keep a hen on her own, but plenty of people do under similar circumstances without feeling the need to end her life.
I would have given this more stars if it weren't for a section that I found very hard to read. I love animals, but don't consider myself to be overly sentimental - if an animal is suffering and cannot be reasonably helped I would have it put to sleep/cull it myself (if I felt able)- the chapter on culling in this book upset me a lot - I felt there was no good reason to cull the hen and that the author was confusing a pet with a commercial bird. It is not ideal to keep a hen on her own, but plenty of people do under similar circumstances without feeling the need to end her life.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Started reading this little book and found it delightful, until I got to the part where the author and family were agreed to do away with their lone chicken, because they could not be bothered to obtain a companion, and were not prepared to finance a few bags of chicken food for the remaining hen. They discussed methods of dispatching the creature, and it appeared that the children of the family were complicit.
NOT IMPRESSED. It went straight in the charity shop bag.
NOT IMPRESSED. It went straight in the charity shop bag.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
This woman should not be allowed to keep chickens, or any other animal...
I have not read this book and nor do I intend to. I am writing this review in the hope that I can prevent this woman profiting from the barbarity of what she refers to as 'chicken... Read more
Published 9 hours ago by Rosie42
A Lovely Gentle Read
Such a lovely story which is very realxing reading, slightly humorous in a pleasant way. A thoroughly nice book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Rea
Very Good
Arrived shortly after ordering, arrived in very good condition. Ideal as it was a birthday present. Looks an interesting read
Published 8 months ago by Ms. S. J. Bowskill
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