What happens when an herbalist meets a flock of chickens?  You get world-class eggs that poultry consumers will pay top dollar to have.  Farmer, herbalist, and author Amy K. Fewell’s The Homesteader’s Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook is the perfect resource for raising, feeding, breeding, selling, and enjoying the noblest animal on the farm: the chicken.  Fewell’s book is a must-have for those considering raising their own poultry.    

Now more than ever, people care about the quality and safety of the food they eat.  That’s one of the reasons many decide to raise their own food.  Fewell’s book begins with a look at the American tradition of raising chickens for their eggs and meat and takes readers through the process of raising chickens naturally, free of chemicals and antibiotics. 

Some of the areas Fewell covers in her easy-to-read book include setting up your property, coop, and brooder, purchasing chickens properly, understanding why chickens do what they do, and creating your own egg business.  She offers recipes for non-medicated organic crumble feed and provides information about how to use natural cures to treat an illness in the brood. 

The Homesteader’s Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook contains numerous wonderful ways to use the fresh eggs your brood will supply.  A few of the recipes included are for a tomato, basil, and mozzarella frittata, a ham and cheese quiche, a pound cake, and an old-fashioned custard ice cream. 

Serious poultry farmers and backyard bird raisers will benefit from The Homesteader’s Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook. 

Reviewed by Chris Enss, COWGIRL Book Editor, and a New York Times best-selling author who writes about women of the Old West. 

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