Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

I love to look through decorating books and magazines, gardening books and magazines, chicken books (yeah, I've even read a few chicken magazines too--for reals) and I tend to feel them "worth it" when I take away a few ideas. I expected the same from this having felt it a novel idea to have a beautiful chicken-friendly yard (seeing as how I'm nothing short of a chicken activist I'm so chicken friendly) I was wowed. I came away with SO much more than a few ideas.This is not about simply making a yard friendly for hens. This is about having a gorgeous yard, with plants hens don't eat (and many they can!) that give your yard beauty and them shelter, having a yard that is stunning with beautiful coops, having a yard that is charming rather than barren...This is not one family's ideas of how to combine free-range chickens, natural fertilizer, organic pest control, soil aeration, fresh eggs if ya want those too, and thriving gardens...this is actually pages and pages of photos and ideas of many homes, yards, and gardens that are easy to recreate and are truly a uptopia for both owner and the winged who share it. (And by "free range" I do not mean no coop. That would be cruel and the hens would likely not live a week. Night predators such as raccoons etc are no match for a sleeping hen and hens know this so at dusk each night they put themselves to bed in your coop and wait for you to lock the door. And they hate rain. Whether part-time free-range and safely tucked away at night, or free-range inside a pretty run full-time, this still means daytime only of course)It's not easy to have a yard you want to wander through in beauty and hens who love to nibble sharing it. My side yard proves it. They love to hide under and not eat the Texas sage but I have barren areas of things they found far more palatable. And this isn't about someone who wants their chickens to wander and not care for them...it shows beautiful chicken runs, it has truly valid advice on health and predators, and the very real danger of cedar few still know about that has been proven, and how to keep your hens protected in your yard whether truly free range all day and in a coop at night, or in a large run-- just thoroughly researched facts right along with hundreds of photos.And I must say, I was convinced I'd built the most gorgeous and spacious run on the planet earth until I realized some in this book had me totally beat! I literally searched the internet for months trying to find ideas for coops and runs that looked pretty in the yard and found NO runs that I liked so I designed my own and I never thought anyone could integrate chicken living in an urban area better, but they did--in both urban and suburban and country. These yards are simple to do but breathtaking, coops, runs, plants and all!While I thought I'd have a few good "takeaways" and ideas, I literally spent evenings combing through this and marking pages. I want a gorgeous yard but I want well protected hens, gorgeous coops that don't scream "farm", and the combo of the two that make anyone want to wander through a yard doubly charming by having all of the above (charming hens meet yard and garden and human utopia)This book was on my "suggested" page from Amazon based upon other books I'd bought and, with only one other review at the time I bought it, I simply did not expect a book so thorough and full of great READING in addition to photos that make me want to visit the garden center, plan out a design, mark off paths, and enjoy the fact that it tells me how to easily do it all--even with diagrams and proper plant species for your area.And yes, you can even have a veggie garden and hens that roam it!And, should you know nothing about chickens, it even tells you great ones to pick-- And where to find everything else in the book too as far as seeds, nurseries, coops, (many of these coops are personally designed but easy to copy) other shelters etcI especially loved one idea that was like an A-style frame on the ground with feeders on both sides (trough style, painted white) that the chickens could climb up but was perfect shelter from the sun and predators underneath yet attractive. I have two adirondack chairs that have horizontal slats that are painted bright colors the chickens adore and look cute in the yard...they climb up the foot rest base and sit all together on the chairs and arms and hide underneath...this was right along those lines. (I bought a kit for the chairs at Hobby Lobby in a box dirt cheap)Fortunately the silkies were listed as a good suggested home garden hen because I consider them the best little beings God ever put a beak on.Have kids and pets? It even suggests how to integrate them all...um, not meaning sharing the coop or anything... It should be noted, however, that the #1 predator to chickens is family dogs. Not because they are mean or hungry, but like a dog getting into the trash, sometimes well trained dogs decide to give in to instinct and play or chase. But one clamp on a chicken and it's over for the hen.There are walkways, gates, ramps, covered areas, flowers, composting bins, how to integrate chicken fertilizer into the garden to make it a circle of giving..., and garden ideas galore.And the coops! My gosh, my dream coops they are so stunning! I thought MY coop was gorgeous and now I am going to totally redo it.I totally stumbled upon this while I have no doubt my review makes it sound as though I wrote it myself and I am a pen name...but when I find anything, product or book so well done, I am a raving fan. The information in here will take me a long time to read through but it's all written so lighthearted and there are full color photos throughout...More importantly, it is all things I saw NOWHERE on the internet and I cannot tell you the hours or weeks or, in all honesty, months I have spent looking.This is chicken living for today--where they can integrate beautifully with beauty and never be housed cruelly in a tiny box just for egg production again and even make your yard more charming. Who knew there were so many plants that could assist in a charming chicken yard---where plants and hens are safe and gorgeous and you simply want to meander through and drink your coffee there daily. This was my goal for my yard but the vision here was far deeper.My wheels are turning and my ideas are so greatly enhanced!it's one of those books you flip through but then can't put down.Note: Although the book discusses water features which hens like, if you have silkies, keep them away from ANY open water...because they do not have barbs in their feathers, water weighs them down if they enter it and they will drown. :-( If you want something they can cool off in, you can fill a kiddie pool just shallow enough so their feet get wet but they cannot drown. Their drinking bowls should be the ones with just rims sold specifically for this purpose, with no open water. I have personally seen chicken owners dispondant over a drowning.

I originally purchased this book at Tractor Supply Company and fell in love with it quickly! The photography alone is amazing and probably my favorite part of the book. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is a chicken lover. This book gives you so many wonderful ideas on how to give your chickens the best in life with all kinds of amazing plants you can grow right in your garden for them. The author also goes over how to grow food for yourself in gardens your chickens have access to as well, coops, feeds, and more! I loved this book so much, I decided to buy a second copy for my neighbor who loves gardening and is interested in keeping chickens for herself, and she loves the book too!!

It bothers me that the author suggests mail ordering chicks and casually states that some will probably be dead on arrival... like it's no big deal. "Ordering live baby animals and having them shipped through the mailing system like christmas gifts is totally fine! Sure some will be dead or be dying of dehydration, heat stroke or being frozen, but don't worry! It's totally normal!" Of course she doesn't say that, but she might as well. But you know... I think next time I want a puppy I'll skip going to my local shelter and just have one shipped directly to my door via USPS! It will be great :) the chance of it dying isn't a big enough deal to deter me. It's just a baby animal after all. There are lots of them that I could just replace it with if it croaks while in the mailing system. Yup it's totally not a problem :D ..... Said no caring human being ever. Or... Maybe I could even adopt a child that way! Have a baby human mailed to me from across the country. It's not like there are local resources I could utilize... Who wants to take the time to leave their cozy couch when they could just order a baby from a magazine or from a computer.? After all, it's just a living being. There are millions of them that could replace it if it dies :) yay.It's as though the baby chicks aren't individuals with wants and needs and interests. As though they are merely renewable resources that can just be abused and easily replaced. Anyone who thinks this way is lacking in empathy and is essentially on their way to becoming a sociopath.But other than that this book is ok. Gardening tips, composting tips, chicken coop ideas. It will be helpful.

My girls tore up the backyard landscaping, so I quarrantined them in their run. Well, that just produced stressed chickens and the egg laying stopped immediately. This book has such great advice! I'm going to follow it and I know, with the help of ideas and commonsense advice from this book, my girls can live a happy life, running free through my gardens and helping me with the most dreaded chores! Bottom line, they're out of the coop, happily gobbling up garden pests and turning over the dirt for me, in preparation for spring planting. Started laying again as soon as they were sprung. I highly recommend buying this book, especially for beginning chicken keepers as I am. It answered so many questions that I had about their care, plus give such great advice on laying out a garden, and great ideas for how to keep them out of the landscaping you want them to stay away from. Plus, the photos are beautiful, the book is an easy read, and the advice simple to follow.

und günstiger auf englisch. Die Maßangaben sind natürlich nervig, aber hinten gibt es zum Glück ein paar Umrechnungsangaben, die sehr hilfreich sind. Einzige Makel: der Einband ist zu billig und fällt bei intensivem Lesen recht bald auseinander - das scheint aber bei sehr vielen Büchern in letzter Zeit so zu sein. Sehr schade. Inhaltlich stört mich ein bisschen, dass nur einmal ganz am Rande auf die Gefahr invasiver Pflanzen eingegangen wird - aber ok, das ist wohl bei den meisten Gartenbüchern leider so. Toll ist alles andere: sehr viele praxisnahe Tips, wie der Spagat zwischen Hühnerhaltung, Ziergarten und Gemüsegarten funktionieren kann. Die Pflanzenlisten sind sehr umfangreich und meist mit Herkunfts- und Frosthärteangaben, sodass jeder für seine Region das Richtige raussuchen kann. Die Bilder sind sehr schön zeigen einem, dass man mit guter Planung auch ästhetische Ansprüche an den Hühnergarten befriedigen kann. Natürlich braucht man, wenn man Neuling ist, noch 1-2 weitere Bücher, z.B. zu Hühnerrassen und etwas Genauer zur Haltung, aber trotzdem gibt dieses Buch hier einen guten Überblick sowie sehr viele gute Tips. Hoffentlich kann ich bald loslegen mit der Detailplanung eines hühnerfreundlichen Gartens!

This is a lovely looking book the pictures are beautiful. Having had chickens for the last 11 years and letting mine free range I decided to give this book a try to see what advice it would give. My hens are great but they do tend to go to areas of my garden I wish they would not (normally the newly laid mulch or prize flower beds) I have read mixed reviews on this book but I still went ahead and purchased. Yes if you have had years of experience with chickens some of the literature given you will of read before, but you will get this with most books. I could relate to the author who has used her expertise and improvements to write this book and I found some information in here that is not in other books. I enjoyed this book and if you are looking at free ranging your hens and other poultry/ducks this is a good book to start with it incorporates gardening and poultry two great things to do (in my world anyway!)

I don't often take the time to review my purchases (there are a LOT - especially in the book department) but I am so happy with this one!As another reviewer stated, it is indeed American in outlook and there is mention of local regulations etc which would not apply this side of the Pond. However, as far as I am concerned, a garden is pretty much a garden and a chicken pretty much a chicken!It's a great book to leaf through in bed in the middle of the winter when the wind and rain are howling outside and you can plan/dream of what you are going to do in the Spring.I have a very small garden which is divided into thirds - the Chicken Garden, the Vegetable Garden and the grassy bit! Having read this book I have decided that instead of segregating my two chooks I will adapt the garden to suit them. The book gives lots of ideas about what to plant which will survive their not-so-tender attentions and ideas for those who want to build their own chicken coop etc.I am currently working on protecting the veggies from the chickens when I plant them - and the chickens are working hard to rake, weed, debug and fertilise the raised veggie beds.Sounds like a plan? Works for me and this book is a great help and inspiration - American or not.

Macht Lust auf Garten!Viele Infos für Hühnerfreundinnen!

I recommend this book to anybody who is new to having back yard chickens. I've had a tiny flock of three that I call my girls and I was always worried about doing it right and about what's good for them and what's not. Turns out I was doing pretty good and this book confirmed what I was doing is correct and game me ideas to let me girls be even happier by giving them some landscaping jobs.