Best Backyard Chicken Breeds

The immensely popular blogger behind Little House Living provides a timeless and “heartwarming guide to modern homesteading” (BookPage) that will inspire you to live your life simply and frugally—perfect for fans of The Pioneer Woman and The Hands-On Home. Shortly after getting married, Merissa Alink and her husband found themselves with nothing in their pantry but a package of spaghetti and some breadcrumbs. Their life had seemingly hit rock bottom, and it was only after a touching act of charity that they were able to get back on their feet again. Inspired by this gesture of kindness as well as the beloved Little House on the Prairie books, Merissa was determined to live an entirely made-from-scratch life, and as a result, she rescued her household budget—saving thousands of dollars a year. Now, she reveals the powerful and moving lessons she’s learned after years of homesteading, homemaking, and cooking from scratch. Filled with charm, practical advice, and gorgeous full-color photographs, Merissa shares everything from tips on budgeting to natural, easy-to-make recipes for taco seasoning mix, sunscreen, lemon poppy hand scrub, furniture polish, and much more. Inviting and charming, Little House Living is the epitome of heartland warmth and prairie inspiration.

Who is this book for?* Are you thinking about getting chickens, but don't know where to start? * Have you already got a couple of chickens, but want to try some new breeds? * Are you looking for chicken breeds that are suited to urban backyards? * Do you have young children and want a chicken breed that's family-friendly? * Do you want an abundance of your very own fresh, organic eggs? * Are you after a special or heritage breed of chicken? Then this is the book for you! I've consolidated all the essential information you need to choose the very best chicken breed for your backyard. This book will save you hours of precious time and help you avoid the potentially disastrous scenario of getting the wrong chickens. Imagine if you got chickens which were aggressive... What about if you chose a breed that doesn't lay many eggs... Or a chicken which can't cope in a small city yard... Make sure you avoid all these pitfalls and more by taking advantage of all my years of experience! After all, having a successful backyard flock depends on choosing the very best chicken breed for you. This book focuses on chicken breeds which are: * Family-friendly * Lay lots of eggs * Handle small spaces Bonus sections include: * Deciding whether bantams are for you * Pros and cons of keeping roosters * Explanation of chicken terms + diagrams * Extensive glossary

Jill Winger, creator of the award-winning blog The Prairie Homestead, introduces her debut The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, including 100+ delicious, wholesome recipes made with fresh ingredients to bring the flavors and spirit of homestead cooking to any kitchen table. With a foreword by bestselling author Joel Salatin The Pioneer Woman Cooks meets 100 Days of Real Food, on the Wyoming prairie. While Jill produces much of her own food on her Wyoming ranch, you don’t have to grow all—or even any—of your own food to cook and eat like a homesteader. Jill teaches people how to make delicious traditional American comfort food recipes with whole ingredients and shows that you don’t have to use obscure items to enjoy this lifestyle. And as a busy mother of three, Jill knows how to make recipes easy and delicious for all ages. "Jill takes you on an insightful and delicious journey of becoming a homesteader. This book is packed with so much easy to follow, practical, hands-on information about steps you can take towards integrating homesteading into your life. It is packed full of exciting and mouth-watering recipes and heartwarming stories of her unique adventure into homesteading. These recipes are ones I know I will be using regularly in my kitchen." - Eve Kilcher These 109 recipes include her family’s favorites, with maple-glazed pork chops, butternut Alfredo pasta, and browned butter skillet corn. Jill also shares 17 bonus recipes for homemade sauces, salt rubs, sour cream, and the like—staples that many people are surprised to learn you can make yourself. Beyond these recipes, The Prairie Homestead Cookbook shares the tools and tips Jill has learned from life on the homestead, like how to churn your own butter, feed a family on a budget, and experience all the fulfilling satisfaction of a DIY lifestyle.

More than ever, Americans care about the quality and safety of the food they eat. They're bringing back an American tradition: raising their own backyard chickens for eggs and companionship. And they care about the quality of life of their chickens. Fresh Eggs Daily is an authoritative, accessible guide to coops, nesting boxes, runs, breeding, feed, and natural health care with time-tested remedies. The author promotes the benefits of keeping chickens happy and well-occupied, and in optimal health, free of chemicals and antibiotics. She emphasizes the therapeutic value of herbs and natural supplements to maintaining a healthy environment for your chickens. Includes many "recipes" and 8 easy DIY projects for the coop and run. Full color photos throughout. The USDA's new study of urban chicken raising sees a 400% increase in backyard chickens over the next 5 years, driven by younger adults.

Have You Decided to Keep Backyard Chickens? Are you overwhelmed by the number of chicken breeds to choose from?Whether you are an urban homesteader/smallholder, chicken lover, survivalist, zombie apocalypse prepper or simply someone looking for some pet chickens, this booklet can help! The American Poultry Association lists over 100 chicken breeds. Do not risk time and money keeping a breed that is unsuitable for you! Doing your own research can take hours.This book contains not only information from hours of research but information from personal experience with various breeds. We have kept chickens since 2008. At its height, our flock of almost 90 chickens included about 25 different breeds. Includes: Basic chicken termsThe pros and cons of Bantams and What breeds worked and didn't work for us - a total of 19 breeds covered! Topics include: Chickens that lay colorful eggs - Blues, Greens and Deep Browns! Chickens with calm, quiet temperaments Chickens that are family or kid-friendly Chickens that do well in urban/city backyards or can handle small-space confinement For homesteaders or smallholders - Chickens that can free-range and forage Chickens that lay a lot of eggs Chicken breeds for meat Show Chickens Save your time and money! Learn from our experience and mistakes. Pick chickens that are suitable for you! Don't wait any longer! Grab your copy today!

Searching for chickens that best fit your needs? The Backyard Field Guide to Chickens can help, with desriptions of each breed's qualities, temperament, average egg production, and more.

Thinking about getting chickens? Not sure what kind is best? If you're ready to learn which types of hens lay lots of eggs on a regular basis, make good pets, and fit happily in small sized yards, you've come to the right place. This e-booklet, which is a companion to my Backyard Chickens for Beginners: Getting the Best Chickens, Choosing Coops, Feeding and Care, and Beating City Chicken Laws (also available as an e-book or in print on Amazon), provides you with information on 12 types of chickens which are best suited for a small back yard flock. As a bonus, I've included 5 more breeds in the Exotic Poultry chapter at the end. There's a lot of free information online about different kinds of chickens. It's great to have this available, but sorting through it can take a lot of time. When I decided to get chickens, I spent many hours researching different chicken breeds in books and on the Internet. At the time, I had a small yard in the city. The only thing I knew about chickens was that the hens lay the eggs and the roosters make most of the noise!From my research, I learned that there are as many as 175 different kinds of chickens in the world. However, only 12 chicken breeds met my criteria, which were:* Regular and prolific egg layers* Comfortable in an enclosed coop and run area* Preferably, not too loud * Friendly around peopleFirst, I only had enough space for 2-4 chickens, so it made sense to choose a kind that would lay lots of eggs. If a hen from Breed A lays an average of two eggs per week, while a Breed B hen averages four or five eggs per week, then why would I want Breed A? That's 100 eggs per year versus 200-250. If I'm feeding these birds and keeping them for egg production, then I want my chickens to be serious about laying. In this booklet, we will cover the most productive types of egg laying hens. Second, I heard that not all chickens are comfortable in enclosed spaces like the cop and enclosed run area I was building. Some breeds are flighty and nervous, preferring to free range all the time, and often perching on fences and flying into trees if you let them out. But other chickens handle confinement well, remain happy in small spaces, and are likely to stay in a fenced yard when you let them out to free range. I put the happy ones on my list. While I like to allow my hens to free range in the backyard, I cannot do this all day, every day. Like most of you, I have a day job and am away from home most of the day. When I am gone, our chickens stay in their coop and enclosed run area. When I'm home, I'll let them out into the yard. Getting them down from trees and chasing them through neighbors' yards is not how I want to spend my evenings. Unless you have a huge amount of space, choosing birds that can handle confinement is probably a wise bet for you, too. You will find them in this booklet. Third, with a small city yard and neighbors close on every side, I wanted to find some quiet chickens. Roosters are the loud ones, and I had no intention of getting a rooster (which are not needed for egg production and are illegal in my city anyway). However, some hens crow a bit also, and this can be particularly loud in the morning or when they announce that they have laid eggs. There is always a chance of getting a loud chicken from any breed, but a consensus has emerged on which breeds are the quietest on a regular basis. This information took me the longest to find, but I will save you time by summarizing it in this e-booklet.

Have You Decided to Keep Backyard Chickens? Are you overwhelmed by the number of chicken breeds to choose from? Whether you are an urban homesteader/smallholder, chicken lover, survivalist, zombie apocalypse prepper or simply someone looking for some pet chickens, this booklet can help!