Saturday on the Couch… with chickens

I have had an affinity with chooks for a very long time.

They were part of my childhood landscape. Growing up, the chook house with its farmyard smells always seemed to be a peaceful and friendly place. Collecting eggs was a happy pastime, and sitting on the grass, under a tree, patting a chook was soothing.

I’ve had my own chooks as an adult and I’ve house sat chooks. In a word, I am very fond of chooks. They look beautiful, they make wonderful eggs, they eat pests in the garden and they remind me of being a child. Therefore, when Backyard Chickens by Dave Ingham, arrived in my mailbox for review, I was very excited.

Dave Ingham is a man who knows his chooks, and this simply laid out, hardback book is pretty much all you ever need to know about keeping your own chickens. Dave demystifies the chicken keeping process and entices the reader into the realm of keeping chooks by providing a simple breakdown of how you can make it possible. And by the way, he is no relation to the ‘Inghams’ of commercial chicken rearing fame. In fact, his holistic practices would be impossible to replicate in a factory setting.

If you have thought that keeping chickens requires a lot of outdoor space, think again. A simple coop with two chickens can be kept in a small courtyard as long as they have somewhere to scratch. Chickens are not smelly nor do they attract vermin if they have a clean environment. Chicken coops can be constructed from materials lying around your home or purchased if home carpentry is not your thing.

Chickens can be legally kept in the suburbs, it is the noisy rooster who may not be welcome.  A chapter devoted to questions and answers will set your mind at rest. Find out where to purchase them from, and what breeds are best for laying. Dave even provides a ‘rent-a-chook’ deal if you want to find out if chicken keeping is for you before you make an actual commitment.

And that is just the basics. 

Dave examines the personality of the chicken, their simple needs, and their needs for a social hierarchy. He creates simple options for nesting boxes and nesting materials which will encourage plenty of eggs. The nutritional needs of chickens are discussed in detail, with the pros and cons of mash, pellets and organic garden beds. Chooks can consume large amounts of household scraps, so are good to get rid of your green waste. 

Likewise, they can scour your garden and remove lots of pests, avoiding the use of insecticides. They like to have a dust bath, as this discourages mites. Dave provides simple options for food and water dispensers, some of these can be made cheaply and creatively at home

This book is laid out in easy to follow chapters, Dave provides a lot of information which is useful to help with your research. Do they have predators? Yes, but there are simple ways to keep your girls safe from harm. Roosters and breeding chickens. What do you need and is it right for you? Each chapter is fact filled and fun to read. Beautiful photos of ISA browns and gold laced Wyandottes grace every page. There are glamorous top of the range fancy coops and more creative homemade jobs.

The chickens themselves are the stars of this wonderful reference book. Just looking at the photos of happy hens, perfect brown eggs lying in a still warm straw nest, sunlight filtering through the trees as the chickens peck and forage for their supper, and pictures of Dave’s happy kids with the chickens who also make wonderful pets, are enough to make me go off and get started on a new chicken project.

Dave’s final chapters are devoted to the eggs themselves, how to use them and how to store them. Interesting photos compare a fresh free range poached egg versus the supermarket poached egg. I know which one looks more appealing to me. Chickens don’t get sick very often, but if they do seem off colour, Dave provides a simple checklist of things to look out for. A comprehensive index makes it possible to find information quickly.

I’ve never needed convincing that chickens are wonderful creatures. They are friendly, useful and beautiful to look out. They make me feel happy just looking at them going about their routine. Backyard Chickens is an excellent book to encourage the doubter to give it a go, and also is a great reference book for the seasoned chicken keeper. This wonderful book by Dave Ingham has so much information to keep you informed and to answer every question you have.

Backyard Chickens by Dave Ingham is available now from Dymocks. Click here to learn more.