Reviews
A comprehensive guide from mating to medicine that will particularly help beginners...Bloom makes a persuasive case., If you have a backyard flock or you're thinking of getting one, I would highly recommend this book as part of your poultry library., A comprehensive guide from mating to medicine that will particularly help beginners…Bloom makes a persuasive case., The only Book I Have Seen That Tells You Exactly How You Can Have Your Chickens and Your Garden Too., Provides a good overview on coop building styles and considerations, very basic chicken care info, do-grow/don't-grow plant lists for the chicken garden and lots and lots of gorgeous inspirational pictures., If your garden fantasies involve chickens, Jessi Bloom, author ofFREE-RANGE CHICKEN GARDENS: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard (Timber Press, paper, $19.95), is here to make those dreams come true. Chickens bring out interesting characters. My new heroine is Elizabeth Zumwalt, a chicken whisperer, educator and entrepreneur who blogs about her family's Bantam hens, sells eggs and gives half the proceeds to charity. She pulls a red wagon, topped with a chicken house, when she heads out to educate people about her birds. Elizabeth is 9 years old. By the time you're done with Bloom's clever book, you'll know almost as much about chickens as Elizabeth does. And maybe more about what chickens like than what your children do. You'll be looking for bug logs and creating dust baths. You'll know that chickens like to have mirrors hanging in their gardens - but take care with the angle, since they have eyes on the sides of their heads. There is no end to the vanity of a chicken. "Experienced free-ranging chickens" - now that's a real sign of the times; do chickens no longer have a tribal memory of roaming? - will know not to eat toxic berries, but Bloom is an expert guide for the untutored. Somehow, I'm sure that chickens prefer heirloom vegetables to any other variety. And while your flock may break free to cross the road, you'll be relieved to learn that (unless they have an unfortunate encounter with a car) they'll probably be no worse for the wear. Chickens don't sweat. Bloom genially celebrates geodesic domes and shingled coops with stone chimneys and even clean-lined modernist coops. She also writes about "naughty" chickens: "Chickens are social and hormonal creatures, and when we have them living in ways that are different from how they would live naturally, they are prone to behaviors that can be damaging to themselves or that are simply normal but just catch us off guard." You might have thought she was talking about teenagers, but I now see that they're easier to raise than chickens. I'm thinking . . . roast chicken with that rosemary?, If your garden fantasies involve chickens, Jessi Bloom, author of FREE-RANGE CHICKEN GARDENS: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard (Timber Press, paper, $19.95), is here to make those dreams come true. Chickens bring out interesting characters. My new heroine is Elizabeth Zumwalt, a chicken whisperer, educator and entrepreneur who blogs about her family's Bantam hens, sells eggs and gives half the proceeds to charity. She pulls a red wagon, topped with a chicken house, when she heads out to educate people about her birds. Elizabeth is 9 years old. By the time you're done with Bloom's clever book, you'll know almost as much about chickens as Elizabeth does. And maybe more about what chickens like than what your children do. You'll be looking for bug logs and creating dust baths. You'll know that chickens like to have mirrors hanging in their gardens - but take care with the angle, since they have eyes on the sides of their heads. There is no end to the vanity of a chicken. "Experienced free-ranging chickens" - now that's a real sign of the × do chickens no longer have a tribal memory of roaming? - will know not to eat toxic berries, but Bloom is an expert guide for the untutored. Somehow, I'm sure that chickens prefer heirloom vegetables to any other variety. And while your flock may break free to cross the road, you'll be relieved to learn that (unless they have an unfortunate encounter with a car) they'll probably be no worse for the wear. Chickens don't sweat. Bloom genially celebrates geodesic domes and shingled coops with stone chimneys and even clean-lined modernist coops. She also writes about "naughty" chickens: "Chickens are social and hormonal creatures, and when we have them living in ways that are different from how they would live naturally, they are prone to behaviors that can be damaging to themselves or that are simply normal but just catch us off guard." You might have thought she was talking about teenagers, but I now see that they're easier to raise than chickens. I'm thinking . . . roast chicken with that rosemary?, Complete with gorgeous photos, diagrams, plans, and a very well written and easy to understand approach, you will want to get your hands upon this book if you have ever dreamed of incorporating chickens into your lifestyle., "If your garden fantasies involve chickens, Jessi Bloom. . . is here to make those dreams come true. . . . an expert guide for the untutored." -- The New York Times "A manifesto on the many ways to pamper your hens--with plants for foraging and shelter, rain-fed water bowls and eco-friendly lawns." -- Sunset "A comprehensive guide from mating to medicine that will particularly help beginners. . . . Bloom makes a persuasive case." -- Publishers Weekly "Numerous illustrations, full-color photos, charts and tables, garden layouts, and useful tips. . . . a wealth of practical advice." -- Booklist "Exquisitely produced and artfully photographed." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Bloom's obvious enthusiasm for good design and for her birds will inspire both novice and experienced chicken owners to create a garden space for hens and humans to enjoy." -- American Gardener "Complete with gorgeous photos, diagrams, plans, and a very well written and easy to understand approach, you will want to get your hands upon this book if you have ever dreamed of incorporating chickens into your lifestyle." -- Small Town Living "A great basic guide for first-time chicken owners and chicken owner wannabes." -- Horticulture "The only book I have seen that tells you exactly how you can have your chickens AND your garden too." -- Living Homegrown "Solves the dilemma of having free-range chickens and a vegetable garden." -- The Oregonian "Provides a good overview on coop building styles and considerations, very basic chicken care info, do-grow/don't-grow plant lists for the chicken garden and lots and lots of gorgeous inspirational pictures." -- NW Edible "I've had chickens for four years and I wish that I could have had Jessi Bloom's new book in the beginning." -- Diggin Food, Bloom's obvious enthusiasm for good design and for her birds will inspire both novice and experienced chicken owners to create a garden space for hens and humans to enjoy., Well-written and would be a true asset to every chicken owner. This book has now become one of my favorite chicken books., Exactly what we've been waiting for-the definitive guide to letting our chickens roam freely without incurring damage to our vegetable or flower gardens., Blooms obvious enthusiasm for good design and for her birds will inspire both novice and experienced chicken owners to create a garden space for hens and humans to enjoy., I love this book. It has the two things I look for in any garden book: tons of solidly researched, well-written, detailed information and lots of big inspirational color photos., ... a manifesto on the many ways to pamper your hens - with plants for foraging and shelter, rain-fed water bowls and eco-friendly lawns., I've had chickens for four years and I wish that I could have had Jessi Bloom's new book in the beginning., I can honestly refer to it as the Chicken Bible for Gardeners. With everything from coop design, dietary needs, to chicken personality explained, this book seems to leave nothing out., Numerous illustrations, full-color photos, charts and tables, garden layouts, and useful tips offer a wealth of practical advice., Bloom's obvious enthusiasm for creative design and for her birds will inspire both novice and experienced chicken owners to create a garden space that hens and humans can inhabit harmoniously., Numerous illustrations, full-color photos, charts and tables, garden layouts, and useful tips … offer a wealth of practical advice., This well-thought-out and thoroughly comprehensive new book covers the topic so efficiently and completely that it is bound to become the gardener's go -to reference when chickens are the focus., Numerous illustrations, full-color photos, charts and tables, garden layouts, and useful tips ... offer a wealth of practical advice.
