For $5, it was well worth it. In about an hour and a half, he covered a lot [...]]]> After I decided I wanted to have a backyard chicken coop, I started my research in October by first attending a Chicken Keeping 101 class offered by local chicken keeper Bob Davis (he’s doing more classes in May).

For $5, it was well worth it. In about an hour and a half, he covered a lot of ground — reasons to keep chickens, chicken terminology, raising chicks, housing, feeding, health topics and more. He provided a 4-page guide that I think will be very useful. It also listed some chicken sites on the web, which I’ve included on my resources page.

He recommended 3 books:

• How To Raise Chickens by Christine Henirichs
• Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow
• Chicken Tractor by Andy Lee

I finished recently finished reading How To Raise Chickens, and found it to be informative, though it probably covered more on breeding and showing chickens than will be of use to me.

So I think I might try to read one of the other two books before I get my chickens this spring. Or can anyone recommend another book?