Dalia Monterroso, founder of the popular website Welcome to Chickenlandia, brings a fresh, inclusive voice to the community of backyard chicken keeping with this entry-level guide designed to empower anyone who's always wanted to keep chickens but may have thought it required special knowledge and a large investment in equipment. Monterroso's enthusiasm is contagious as she conveys the basics of chicken keeping, with an emphasis on low-cost, natural practices, and shares her belief that humans have an innate ability to care for chickens.

Asserting that the backyard chicken community welcomes everyone, she addresses a broad audience, including those in urban and suburban locations. Readers will learn how to plan their flock, how to raise baby chicks, what to look for in a chicken coop, how to keep chickens healthy naturally, and more. Drawing from her own experience as the child of Guatemalan immigrants, Monterroso celebrates how chicken-keeping has been practiced around the world and offers an opportunity to connect with previous generations and transcend cultural, racial, economic, and political divides.

Whether you live on 1,000 acres or 1,000 square feet, there’s plenty of room in your backyard for a flock of chickens. Join the chicken revolution today and be prepared to reap a lifetime of benefits far beyond the enjoyment and the eggs.

In the following pages, we help get you started with everything from incubating fertile eggs to receiving and raising day-old chicks, building a chicken coop, and keeping your birds safe and healthy. We’ve even outlined a 9-step process to help you promote the legalization of backyard bird-keeping in your city or town. You’ll find top-notch advice on protecting your flock from predators, producing the healthiest eggs, and much more. And if your interest is in cooking with eggs and/or chicken, we have you covered.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to join the revolution!

"In 2010, Grit magazine launched its Country Skills Series with the Guide to Backyard Chickens. Thanks to your enthusiastic response, and Grit magazine’s readers requesting even more poultry pages, we recently completed the ninth edition of that special issue. Since that first edition launch, I am happy to report that the backyard chicken movement has only grown stronger. And as more folks take back the right to produce clean food for their families and roll back municipal laws that would limit their ability to do so, they also reconnect with the land, their agrarian ancestors, and a more sustainable American dream. I am proud that Grit has effectively fanned the flames associated with all aspects of the chicken revolution. Still, mostly I am tickled beyond belief that so many of you are embracing domesticated animals of the feathered kind." - Oscar H. Will

Best-selling author Melissa Caughey knows backyard chickens are like any favorite pet — fun to spend time with and fascinating to observe. Her hours among the flock have resulted in this quirky, irresistible guide packed with firsthand insights into how chickens communicate and interact, use their senses to understand the world around them, and establish pecking order and roles within the flock.

Combining her up-close observations with scientific findings and interviews with other chicken enthusiasts, Caughey answers unexpected questions such as Do chickens have names for each other? How do their eyes work? And How do chickens learn?

A must-have for every backyard chicken keeper, Backyard Chickens Beyond the Basics goes beyond introductory lessons and explores the realities of raising a flock for eggs -- and entertainment, of course! From odd eggs and molting to feeding and preparing for the seasons, this book covers the subjects beginner books don't adequately address and re-examines common knowledge that may not actually hold true. It's a resource to turn to time and again for expert advice to make sure your birds are happy, healthy, and productive.

Author Pam Freeman draws on her years of experience fielding reader questions to identify and clearly explain many common - and some not-so-common - issues in chicken keeping.

How do you add new chickens to your flock? What is the pecking order, and how can you change or control it? Is it better to raise chicks by hand or with a broody hen? What do you do when you collect eggs and discover: lash eggs, calcium deposits, soft eggs, eggs within eggs, or wrinkled eggs?

In Backyard Chickens Beyond the Basics, readers will find not just answers but a book full of "coop truth" that helps them continue on their journey. Because as every chicken owner knows: Chickens are individuals and real-life chicken keeping often takes you far from the beaten path.