I love diving into a new poultry book and seeing what helpful nuggets I can dig out to apply to my homestead flock. Reading about other chicken keepers’ experiences and learning the general facts about poultry will help you raise your homestead flock better. I have acquired many different chicken books and enjoy reading through each one. There are many different types of chicken books available now, and each one is full of helpful information and advice. Some are geared more towards caring for your flock, others are more helpful for choosing different breeds, and still others help you understand your flock better. I have put together these raising chickens book reviews for homesteaders to give you a glimpse into some of my favorite poultry books and why I recommend them!

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Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens (Gail Damerow)

Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens is a complete guide to all things related to raising chickens! When I first got this book I made it a point to read through the entire book, from front to cover. This book covers everything from preparing to raise chickens, caring for chicks, maintaining laying hens, raising meat birds, breeding chickens, hatching eggs, and showing chickens! There is even a chapter all about eggs!

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens is written geared more towards poultry fanciers who are raising a large flock and who are possibly looking into full scale poultry farming. However, homesteaders can still learn some valuable information from this book.
• Why I Like It– I go to this book whenever I need just some basic advice for how to raise my chickens.
• Chapters– There are 14 chapters in this book: choosing a breed, fowl disposition, shelter, feed and water, routine management, health care, laying hen management, eggs for eating, managing a breeder flock, hatching eggs, chick care, exhibiting your chickens, managing meat birds, and meat on the table
• Thoroughness– The author is very thorough and provides all of the essential information for each area of raising chickens.
• Illustrations & Images– There are a few illustrations throughout the book but no full color images.
• Favorite Perk– I like that this books covers both the meat and the eggs aspect of raising chickens. That way you have information on both areas in one book.

I would recommend this book to any homestead chicken keeper, whether you just got started or are an experienced chicken raiser. This chicken book is a great one to have on your shelf for referencing about anything related to chicken care.

Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds (Carol Ekarius)

Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds is a fabulous collection of many diverse poultry breeds. I had a great time flipping through this book and looking at all of the quality images of unique poultry! The images are all professional quality and the information this book provides is very helpful for picking out a breed. Not only does the author provide information on poultry breeds, but she also includes information on poultry history, varieties, genetics, and breeding.

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– Anybody who is interested in poultry breeds or wants to learn more about various poultry breeds will love this book!
• Chapters– The categories are broken down into sections to make for easy searching. For example: chickens- laying breeds, meat breeds, and ornamental breeds
• Content– The breed descriptions give you some brief history about the breed and some basic facts about the breed such as: class, size, comb/wattles/earlobes, color, place of origin, conservative status, and special qualities
• Why I Like It- I would compare this book to a simplified version of a Standard of Perfection book. While it does not contain the breeds’ actual standard, it does contain a lot of information that would be helpful for determining if your chicken has the proper characteristics for it’s breed.
• Illustrations & Images– This illustrated guide has full color images of different breeds of chickens, waterfowl, turkeys, and other exotic poultry breeds.
• Favorite Perk– I love the in-depth information that this book provides about breeding and genetics. Especially in how they relate to the different varieties.

I would recommend this book to beginner homesteaders who need help picking out the right breed(s). Experienced homesteaders who want to learn more about the different poultry breeds will like this book too.

The Chicken Encyclopedia  (Gail Damerow)

The Chicken Encyclopedia is a fun book that is full of poultry terms and definitions! It seems every term related to raising and caring for chickens is contained in this book. It even includes some poultry breeds! The book is organized in alphabetical order and is easy to flip through to find specific terms.

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– The Chicken Encyclopedia is not a guide to raising and caring for chickens. However, the terms are defined in a manner that would be helpful to beginner homesteaders so that they know what each term means and some basic information about the term.
• Content– For example, the term ‘chicken coop’ is defined but the author also gives some basic qualities that a chicken coop should have. Quite a few diseases are defined in the book as well, which can be helpful for determining an ailment.
• Illustrations & Images– The book does contain full color illustrations, but not for every single term. There are also helpful charts and pages that expound on some of the terms.
• Favorite Perk– I love the ‘Breed Traits at a Glance’ chart in the back of the book that is called . The chart provides you with a list of quite a few chicken breeds. It also provides the traits that the breed is best known for.

I would recommend this book to any poultry raiser. The terms and definitions are specific and thoroughly written. This book would be a great, informative reference for any homesteader!

Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks (Gail Damerow)

Hatching and Brooding Your Own Chicks is a very comprehensive guide to hatching poultry. Chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, you can hatch them all with the help of this book! I first got this book when I started the adventure of raising, breeding, and hatching my Svart Honas.

I had never used an incubator before and thought this book would help me out a lot. And it did! Gail Damerow does a very thorough job at covering every aspect of hatching poultry.

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– Any homesteader who wants to start hatching poultry on the homestead can benefit from this book!
• Chapters– There are 2 parts and 11 chapters in this book. The first part covers caring for chicks and the second part covers hatching eggs. Hatching other poultry, like turkeys, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl is mentioned throughout the book.
• Content (Part 1)– Caring for chicks includes choosing chicks, setting up a brooder, managing food, water, and bedding, what to do as the chicks grow, and troubleshooting health problems.
• Content (Part 2)– The hatching part includes information about broody hens, choosing an incubator, selecting eggs for hatching, using an incubator, troubleshooting, and identifying hatchlings.
• Illustrations & Images– This book contains full color images and illustrations to help the reader understand the concepts better.
• Favorite Perk– I like the step-by-step illustration Damerow provides for the growth of meat birds and egg laying birds. The illustrated sequence of embryo development is fascinating too.

I would recommend this book to any homesteader who is looking to hatch their own chicks. The book is a great guide for beginners and contains helpful information for experienced hatchers. Definitely a go-to reference book for anything related to hatching or caring for chicks.

Mini Encyclopedia of Chicken Breeds and Care (Frances Bassom)

The Mini Encyclopedia of Chicken Breeds and Care is like the all-in-one flock directory. This little book contains information about raising chickens along with breed profiles of some of the more popular chicken breeds. The author starts right from the beginning and gives a little history about the domestication of fowl then launches into choosing the right breed, housing, managing, feeding, and breeding your flock as well as information about eggs, chicken behavior, health, and showing chickens! Quite a comprehensive little book!

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– The Mini Encyclopedia provides basic information on raising and caring for your flock. Beginner homesteaders will feel well informed but not too overwhelmed after reading this book.
• Content– There are two parts to this book, the first section is all about caring for chickens and the second, larger section highlights some chicken breed profiles.
• Content (chicken care)– The chicken care section is well written and contains accurate information on all the topics covered.
• Content (breeds)– Breed profiles are put into 4 categories to make it easy to reference: light breeds, heavy breeds, true bantams, and game breeds. Each category also has the breeds listed in alphabetical order. The breed profiles provide the reader with a little history about the breed and the breed’s appearance, behavior, and temperament. The author also includes some special tips to keep in mind if you want to raise that particular breed.
• Illustrations & Images– There are both full color images and illustrations in this book.
• Favorite Perk– I was very impressed with the number of breed profiles this book contained.

I would definitely recommend this book to first time homesteaders who are getting chickens. The book contains all of the basics along with some breeds to help you pick out the right breed for your homestead. Of course, experienced poultry keepers could probably glean some helpful information from the book too!

Pocketful of Poultry (Carol Ekarius)

Pocketful of Poultry is like a mini version of Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. This little book is the perfect, pocket size book to bring to poultry shows. The book focuses on highlighting different breeds of chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. I love the small size of this book and the simplified information that it contains.

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– Pocketful of Poultry is strictly a book of breed profiles. There is no section on raising or caring for chickens.
• Content– This book features only the more common chicken, duck, geese, and turkey breeds.
• Breed Profiles– A brief summary of the breed along with information such as the size, notable features, place of origin, conservation status, and special qualities are provided for each breed.
• Usefulness– The book organizes the breed profiles alphabetically throughout the book. Each chicken breed is also categorized into one or several categories: ornamental, laying and/or meat.
• Illustrations & Images– I love the quality, full color images provided for each breed. The book also contains a photo of both the male and the female of each chicken breed.
• Favorite Perk– I also like that in the back of the book there is a little guide to the conservation status terms and a color/variety directory for each chicken breed.

I would recommend this book to any poultry keeper who wants a small reference on hand for identifying common poultry breeds. Young poultry enthusiasts would also benefit from this book and it would help them gain a basic understanding of identifying poultry breeds.

How to Speak Chicken (Melissa Caughey)

How to Speak Chicken may sound like a strange name for a book, but I found this book extremely interesting! The author does a great job at helping you understand your flock from a psychological viewpoint. She covers topics such as understanding what your hens are saying, what their behavior means, unique characteristics about chicken communications, the intelligence of chickens, and what feelings a chicken can have.

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– Melissa raises her own small flock of backyard chickens and she writes her book from a small flock point of view. Perfect for homesteaders to relate to!
• Content– The information in this book is based off of scientific research and observation. This book does not cover the basics of caring for chickens. Instead it focuses on how you can understand your flock better through their behavior.
• Chapters– chicken translator at your service, how to behave in the henhouse, what makes a chicken tick?, hey I’m no birdbrain!, how do you feel?
• Illustrations & Images– There are full color photos and illustrations that make this book very fun to look at and flip through!
• Favorite Perk– This is a very unique book! I have come across no other book that covers the in-depth information about poultry behaviors, communication, and intelligence that this book covers.

I would highly recommend this book to any homesteader. It can help you understand the dynamics of your flock as well as have a greater appreciation for how intelligent chickens are. 

Fresh Eggs Daily (Lisa Steele)

Fresh Eggs Daily is a great guide for raising chickens holistically. I like how Lisa Steele covers each area of raising backyard chickens and puts a natural perspective on them. Her book discusses areas such as natural coop maintenance, herbal health care, herbal feed and water tips, as well as holistic care during the different seasons. She also provides helpful indexes that list herbs, their benefits, and what ailments they address.

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– Homesteaders who want to raise their flock naturally and holistically will find this book helpful.
• Chapters– There are 13 chapters in this book each addressing a different area of raising poultry and how you can use more natural products, supplements, or remedies.
• Content– Lisa Steele does cover some of the basics of raising chickens which is helpful for beginner chicken raisers. She also touches on all the aspects that are important to know for raising a homestead flock.
• Illustrations & Images– There are full color images throughout the book.
• Favorite Perk– I like how Lisa includes two whole chapters on how to incorporate herbal and natural supplements into your flock’s feed and water. She also discusses proper treats and foods that are safe for chickens. Throughout the book there are also recipes that you can make for your flock or for caring for your flock (e.g. coop cleaners, fly spray, suet blocks, molt muffins).

I would recommend this book to homesteaders who have a grasp on the basics of raising chickens and want to learn more about raising chickens naturally. 

Gardening with Chickens (Lisa Steele)

Gardening with Chickens is a one-of-a-kind book that helps gardeners and their chickens get along! Instead of tearing up delicate seedlings or chowing down on grown lettuce plants, your flock can be put to more constructive activities. I love the natural and holistic approach Lisa takes with this book. She provides you with some basic, simple ways of gardening with chickens!

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– Homesteaders with a green thumb and a flock of chickens will benefit from the information provided by this book!
• Content– There is not a whole lot of information about the basics of raising chickens. Instead Lisa focuses on how you can use your flock for gardening purposes.
• Chapters– There are 7 chapters in this book and each covers a different aspect of gardening: getting started with a garden, how to make a garden, herbal feed supplement gardens, growing an edible garden (for you and your chickens), mini garden ideas for specific purposes, composting, and landscaping around your chicken’s run
• Usefulness– For each plant or herb Lisa suggests she also tells you how the plant is best grown. There are also helpful charts and sections in the book that help you know what plants are good for chickens, which ones are bad for chickens, and the when, where, and how to plant certain plants.
• Illustrations & Images– The full color images are a beautiful addition to the book.
• Favorite Perk– I love the basics that Lisa provides about gardening. Even if you are not a very good gardener, this book provides some helpful tips for growing a fun and functional garden! I also love the ‘micro garden’ ideas supplied in this book. For example, you could grow a First-Aid Kit Garden that contains plants that are beneficial for treating ailments in your flock.

I would recommend this book to any homesteader who has a garden and a flock of chickens!

The Chicken Chick’s Guide to Backyard Chickens (Kathy Mormino)

The Chicken Chick’s Guide to Backyard Chickens is a well executed, thorough chicken raising book! Kathy covers every aspect of raising backyard chickens, from raising chicks to maintaining a full grown flock. She covers topics such as why keep chickens?, housing, feeding, and managing a flock, health care, and seasonal considerations.

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– Kathy is a very to-the-point writer and her book is written in a no-nonsense manner. Her advice is clear and accurate. Perfect for experienced and novice chicken raisers alike.
• Chapters– There 12 chapters in this book covering every aspect of raising backyard chickens.
• Content– I like how Kathy addresses some poultry topics that other books don’t discuss as thoroughly. One example is the advice she gives to chicken enthusiasts who are trying to legalize raising chickens in their district. This book also provides in-depth information about how to properly feed your flock.
• Illustrations & Images– The book contains full color images that compliment the text nicely.
• Favorite Perk– I love the health care chapters of this book. Kathy does a great job at describing and analyzing some of the most common chicken ailments.

I would recommend this book to any homesteader! New and experienced chicken keepers alike will benefit from reading this book.

The Homesteader’s Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook (Amy K. Fewell)

The Homesteader’s Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook is a book written by a homesteader for homesteaders. It covers everything from the basics of raising chicks to caring for your flock naturally. There are even sections on chicken history, a few breed profiles, and tips for starting a homestead chicken business. I love the homestead-based perspective this book has!

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– Homesteaders who raise chickens why of course! And modern pioneers!
• Chapters– There are 14 chapters in the book that are divided into 6 parts: the new chicken keeper, hatching & purchasing & raising chicks, raising a healthy flock, glorious egg layers, the chicken business, a family that gathers together
• Content– This book covers all the important topics that homesteaders need to know for raising a flock naturally. It has helpful herbal recipes for chickens that can be helpful when a chicken is ill or for maintaining flock health. There is also a section of recipes for you to use fresh eggs in your kitchen!
• Illustrations & Images– This book is wonderfully illustrated with full color images!
• Favorite Perk– I love how this book is written by a fellow homesteader and includes tips for how she raises her homestead flock. She includes information for how to raise your homestead flock using homestead resources while still keeping them healthy and productive.

I would recommend this book to any homesteader! New and experienced homesteaders alike will benefit from reading this book.

The Chicken Health Handbook 2nd Edition (Gail Damerow)

The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow is the ultimate chicken health resource! Every homesteader should have this resource on their shelf or in their poultry first aid kit. It is described as ‘a complete guide to maximizing flock health and dealing with disease’, which is definitely an appropriate description! I find myself constantly reaching for this helpful resource when looking for tips or solutions for keeping a healthy homestead flock.

Book Notes:

• Who’s it for?– This is the ultimate resource for addressing flock health issues on the homestead. It is not naturally-based, however, it does include natural alternative treatments for some ailments. This book is not too ‘science-y’ and can easily be read and understood by homestead chicken raisers no matter your experience.
• Chapters– There are 15 chapters in the book that cover topics such as the basics of keeping a healthy flock, chicken nutrition, the inner workings of a chicken, chicken metabolism, disease diagnosis, dealing with internal & external parasites, protozoa and bacteria ailments, fungus and virus ailments, management issues, treatments and therapies, and how to keep yourself safe when treating sick chickens
• Content– This book covers everything relating to chicken health, disease, parasites, ailments, diagnosis, and treatments. There are helpful charts and illustrations that make understanding and diagnosing ailments a little simpler. I love how thorough the information in this book is, and I also find the glossary and index helpful for flipping to pages that contain the information I need to reference at any given time.
• Illustrations & Images– This book has both illustrations and full color photos.
• Favorite Perk– I love the ‘Quick Guide to Diseases and Disorders’ at the back of this book. The quick guide lists all the diseases and ailments mentioned throughout the book and gives information for diagnosing and treating each ailment. It is a quick and simple resource for comparing and researching specific chicken ailments.

This is another book that I would recommend to any homesteader! It is truly a must have resource for learning about poultry health, disease, and treatments.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Books

Any of these poultry resources listed in this raising chickens book reviews list would make a great holiday or birthday gift for homesteaders or poultry enthusiasts that you know! I know I love getting a new chicken book and it keeps me entertained for days as I work my way through it.

As I read through a book, I try to absorb as much information as I can. Here are a few reading tips to help you get the most out of your poultry books:

• Notes– Take notes as you read. You can dedicate a notebook for your poultry notes or take electronic notes.
• Underline– Underline important information. This will be helpful as you flip back through the book later.
• Sticky Notes– Place sticky notes in the book so you can jot down some important information you want to remember.
• Tabs– Use bookmarks or tabs to help mark informative pages.
• Picture Notes– If the book is borrowed or from the library, take pictures of the information you want to save.
• Reminder!– Remember, books are copyrighted!

Find more great gift ideas for the poultry lover in your life in this post on 20+ Gift Ideas for Chicken Lovers!

Pick a Book, Or Two!

There are many more books centered around raising chickens that I did not review in this post. I will be adding to this list as I receive and read more poultry books. Hopefully these raising chickens book reviews will help you choose at least one, if not multiple, books to help you raise your homestead flock! Even if you are a visual or hands-on learner, books can still provide you with valuable illustrations and images. Learning from personal experience, other’s experiences, and books can help you raise a happy and healthy homestead flock! I’d love to hear if you have a favorite go-to poultry book resource!

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by Alexa