The Suburban Chicken: The Guide to Keeping Healthy, Thriving Chickens in Your Backyard (CompanionHouse Books) Preventative Care, Coop Styles, Breeds, Egg Production, Hatching, Optimal Diet, and More

Your guide to keeping healthy, thriving chickens in your backyard!

• Discover the benefits and enjoyment of keeping chickens as pets or raising hens for eggs
• Crucial considerations for would-be chicken keepers, including local ordinances, space and housing requirements, initial and ongoing expenses, and preparing the home and family
• Favorite breeds, including standard-size, bantam, and egg-laying breeds for metropolitan and family living, and how to select the right one for you
• Coop styles and descriptions of all equipment that a budding chicken keeper needs, as well as how to hatch eggs and raise chicks
• Preventative care, optimal diets for healthy, hardy birds, and how to keep chickens safe from predators
• Egg production and the science behind it, how to properly handle and store fresh eggs, the differences between store-bought and homegrown eggs, and the egg's role in the kitchen

There's a revolution happening in America, and it's taking place in urban and suburban backyards all across our country!

More and more of us desire simplicity in our busy schedules, want to get back to basics, and yearn for a more natural, rustic way of life. This revolution is manifesting itself in the form of cute coops, transportable tractors, and awesome arks: and they all contain chickens. Chickens make wonderful pets and deliver farm-fresh eggs right to your back door, and you don't need to live on a farm to raise them!

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. In addition to informative chapters on all the practical aspects of backyard chicken keeping, Kristina shares personal stories from her own homestead in "Tales from the Coop" sidebars throughout the book. Her firsthand knowledge and advice encourage self-sufficiency and chicken-induced joy by providing everything you need to know to responsibly and respectfully care for your own flock of laying hens.

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 a more sustainable lifestyle that's easier on the planet. Learn the basics of creating a comfortable home and designing a nutritious diet for your flock, explore the science behind egg nutrition and the egg's irreplaceable role in the kitchen, and so much more!

This comprehensive source is an easy-to-follow illustrated guide and reference tool with an emphasis on preventive measures to keep your birds healthy and safe from illness, injury, and predators. Whether you want to raise a flock of three or thirty, The Suburban Chicken is here to get you started on your avian adventure!

There's a revolution happening in America, and it's taking place in urban and suburban backyards all across our country. People desire more simplicity in their busy schedules, want to get "back to basics," and yearn for a more natural way of life. This revolution is manifesting itself in the form of cute coops, transportable tractors, and awesome arks: and they all contain chickens. Chickens make wonderful pets and deliver farm-fresh eggs right to your back door, and you don't need to live on a farm to raise them.

In addition to informative chapters on all of the practical aspects of backyard chicken keeping, author Kristina Mercedes Urquhart shares personal stories from her own homestead in "Tales from the Coop" sidebars throughout the book. Her firsthand knowledge and advice encourage self-sufficiency and chicken-induced joy by providing everything you need to know to responsibly and respectfully care for your own flock of laying hens.

Whether you want to raise a flock of three or thirty, The Suburban Chicken is there to get you started on your avian adventure. This comprehensive source is an easy-to-follow illustrated guide and reference tool with an emphasis on preventive health and safety measures. In it, you'll learn...

• The benefits of keeping chickens in your backyard.
• Crucial considerations for a would-be chicken keeper: local ordinances, space and housing requirements, initial and ongoing expenses, and family matters.
• How to select the right backyard breed(s).
• The basics of creating a comfortable home and designing a nutritious diet for your flock.
• The science behind egg nutrition and the egg's irreplaceable role in the kitchen.
• Preventive measures to keep your birds healthy and safe from illness, injury, and predators.

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.