Pros: Good general information for beginner chicken keeping and deeper explanations for those who are interested in, fantastic guide to parasites and predators, good breed chart, well written, applicable for backyard and commercial flocks
Cons: No in-depth guide to chicken processing
This is up with Storey's guide to raising chickens in terms of book I'd recommend to chicken newcomers. I own a copy, and reference it frequently- there's a fantastic combination of general information to get you started and in depth analysis for more interesting reading. It goes over breeds, feeding and watering, coop building, flock maintenance, predator proofing (and dealing with predators in general), illness, diagnostic criteria, and suggestions for action, breeding, showing, and more. It talks about raising chickens for pets, eggs, and meat, although it does not really go into the actual butchering process.
It's well written, a fun read, and one of my favorite chicken manuals. If you can only buy one chicken book, I'd highly recommend this one.
Pros: Lots of pictures and doesn't read like stereo instructions
Cons: Can't think of any
There are lots of helpful tips and really good advice. I highly recommend for everyone to get this book. It has advise about general care, specialty care for egg layers and meat birds, and very few recipes for how to use the eggs and meat
