The Plot
It all started innocently enough with the sign at the Alaska Feed Company, which boasts that it supplies “Everything for Mouse to Moose.” One spring a few years ago, the sign said, “We have ducklings, goslings and chicklings.” As always in the spring, I begged my husband to stop so we could see the baby birds. As always, he was reluctant and had to be talked into it. (He knew how hard it would be to drag me away.)

That’s when I came up with my brilliant idea. There was a fancy fly-fishing shop across the road from Alaska Feed. If he’d let me look at the baby birdies, I’d let him drool over the Sage fly rods.

That did it.

That and this book, Chickens in Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide. You see, I’d been particularly homesick that year. Homesick means that I was having those sweet memories of things that don’t exist anymore, things like my grandma’s house with the swept dirt yard and her flock of chickens that I always loved to feed way back when I was a tiny girl.

So I’d been plotting and planning since the previous spring’s visit to the feed store: I wanted a small flock of my own. I wanted six hens and a rooster, that’s all. And so I bought Chickens in Your Backyard and read it on the sly.

Everything a Beginner Should Know
Originally published in 1976 by Rick and Gail Luttman, this is still the best book available for anyone considering raising a small home flock. By the time I’d finished reading it, I knew exactly what I needed to house my babies, I knew exactly what to feed them, I knew exactly how their coop should be built, and I knew exactly when to expect my first clutch of eggs.

The only thing I didn’t know was whether my husband would fall for my scheme. Well, with a new Sage fly rod in the balance, I won more easily than I expected. I got my seven “chicklings”; he got his Sage rod.

I was confident that I could raise chickens successfully even in Alaska because the Luttmans completely demystified the whole process. After reading their book, I knew that I could walk into that feed store and talk chicken with the best of them. I knew the difference between pullets and hens, cockerels and roosters. I knew the names of some of the most recommended cold-hardy breeds. And I knew that I wanted my birds primarily as pets, secondarily to lay eggs, and not at all to provide meat.

The Luttmans wrote their book after learning the hard way – by trial and error. Although not possessing any degree in “chickenology,” they became self-styled “experts in beginner’s mistakes.” Unable to find anything but technical texts meant for the large poultry concern, they decided to write a clear, plain-language book for the beginner. They plainly love their birds, and the result is a lighthearted, entertaining look at the personality and habits of chickens.

Which Came First?
In typical style, the book begins with Chapter 0: "Before the Beginning." The Luttmans tackle the old chicken-and-egg question by saying that it is an endless cycle, and you just have to break in at some arbitrary point and begin. This flexibility will be their one guiding principle, and while they do lay out the information, they also encourage a little creativity and do-it-yourselfishness to save money. All is fine as long as the needs of the chickens are met.

Chapter 1 defines the "Words You Should Know"; this is what gave me the courage to step right up and say I wanted six pullets and a cockerel. Here you’ll learn what a chicken’s crop is, what the gizzard does, and why a chicken needs grit. You’ll also learn the polite terms for chicken manure and for the orifice from which it, and the eggs, come. Noting that some people find appalling the fact that eggs and manure are extruded from the same opening, the authors say that they refer these people “to the Manufacturer.”

In the chapters that follow, you’ll learn all about protecting your chickens, protecting your garden (from chickens and pests), constructing the coop and the run, and feeding your flock. There are also chapters on incubation, the care and feeding of chicks, and raising chickens for meat, for eggs or for show.

One of the most useful sections is simply called “Advice and Solutions.” It offers practical information on how to catch a chicken; preventing cannibalism; eliminating pests such as worms, mites and lice; and symptoms and treatment of disease. There are, of course, much more comprehensive books devoted to these items, but this is the right amount of information to get you started.

The Good Stuff
The real heart of the book – the fun part – is the chapters on roosters and setting hens. The authors’ years of experience in watching their flocks and their fondness for their animals are most evident here.

In the chapter on roosters, you’ll learn that a rooster is not necessary for egg production – only for the production of fertile eggs – and that hens may actually be more relaxed without a rooster around.

However, “Listening to a cock talking to his hens is an enchanting experience,” the Luttmans note. “If he finds a tasty morsel crawling along the ground, he may pick it up and throw it down several times to make sure the hens see it, and cluck excitedly for them to come and share it with him. The sound he makes is the same as mother hens make to their chicks....Sometimes, however, a cock will turn this to his own advantage, fraudulently enticing a hen to him with the same sound for less-than-honorable purposes.”

Of the setting hen:

“Hens, we must suppose, have no suspicion that an egg is a potential chick. Even though chickens presumably don’t have a wide repertoire of emotions (they hardly ever get off on Beethoven’s Ninth, for instance, or the view from the front porch) laying seems to be a relatively emotional experience for hens – the ultimate high of bird-dom....She sits night and day in a trance, snuggling the eggs to her. But by hatching time, she’s just about tired of it all; and so, although the transformation under her from eggs to chicks surely comes as somewhat of a surprise, it does seem to be a refreshing experience and she’s simply tickled to death.”

Passages like these are so entertaining, and so common, and so very true, that I’m having a hard time not quoting the entire book to you. This is a very funny book. Even if you’re perfectly sure you’d never want your own flock of chickens, the Luttmans will beguile you with their trenchant observations of chicken psychology. Warning: You might find yourself slowing down the next time you see the feed store this spring…

And this could be the first step down the slippery slope that has led to Biddy Hollow, where we not only have 23 hens, seven roosters, two guinea fowl and more than 25 pheasants, but three dogs and a cat. Remember: I wanted six hens and a rooster. This could happen to you.

[A serious plea: As Easter is fast approaching, I’d like to make a plea to all parents who might be tempted to buy a cute little Easter chick or duck or bunny for their child. Please don’t do this unless you have researched the animal’s needs and are confident that your children are old enough and responsible enough to learn to take care of it. Animals bought on impulse for a holiday seldom receive the care they need and usually don’t survive. If they do survive, remember that they grow up. Most people aren’t like me and don’t find the adult animals as attractive as the babies. Be responsible and teach your children to respect life.]


Recommended: Yes