The Suburban Chicken: The Guide to Keeping Healthy, Thriving Chickens in Your Backyard

Description

With more and more city dwellers and suburbanites embracing the notion of getting back to basics and living simpler, more rustic lives, it's no surprise that the popularity of backyard chicken keeping has skyrocketed in recent years. Whether for enjoyment as pets or for the convenience of farm-fresh eggs right outside your door, chicken keeping can be an easy and fun step on the road to more sustainable, ecologically friendly living. Written by Kristina Mercedes Urquhart, The Suburban Chicken shares the author's knowledge on general chicken husbandry, profiles of 20 suitable breeds for suburban living, how to provide your birds with optimal accommodations, and the healthcare needs of chickens, among other important topics about which prospective chicken owners should be familiar. INSIDE SUBURBAN CHICKEN: The benefits and enjoyment of keeping chickens as pets. Considerations for would-be chicken keepers, including local ordinances, space requirements, initial and ongoing expenses, and preparing the home and family. Favorite standard-size, bantam, and egg-laying breeds for metropolitan and family living. Hatching eggs and raising chicks. Coop styles and descriptions of all equipment that a budding chicken keeper needs, as well as a chapter dedicated to keeping chickens safe from predators. Preventive care and optimal diets for healthy, hardy birds. Raising chickens for eggs: the science behind egg production, how to properly handle and store fresh eggs, and the differences between store-bought and homegrown eggs, as well as some exciting recipes for your bounty.

Kristina Urquhart writes the regular column "Fowl Language" for each issue of Chickens magazine as well as the "City Buzz" column in Urban Farm magazine. In addition to supplying articles to both the Hobby Farms and the Urban Farms websites, Kristina writes for Taproot magazine and has blogged for Whole Home News. She also supplies hand-drawn illustrations for each of her columns, and her chalkboard drawings can be found in Crackers & Dips: More than 50 Handmade Snacks (Chronicle Books, 2013). Kristina is the buzz behind the growing beekeeping Facebook group, The Humble Honeybee. After receiving her master's degree in art therapy from New York University, Kristina moved to the mountains of western North Carolina with her husband, intent on living closer to the land. With their young daughter, Kristina grows food and raises animals on their modest homestead.