Synopsis:
Owning chickens is fast becoming the latest in metropolitan chic. If you can't own them, you'll still want to read about them. Primal urges, the quest for ultimate power, sex, death, gender bending, and huge vet bills―these are the things that chickens are made of. Martin Gurdon's hilarious Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance relives the highs and lows of chicken ownership. This unique chicken memoir follows the Gurdon family through the ups and downs of a wonderful hobby. In addition to providing eggs, the hens offer distractions from everyday life. You'll meet a cast of unusual characters, from the frightening disciplinary measures of Bossy Chicken, and the maternal instincts of Psycho Chicken, to the bizarre tales of Mike the headless chicken from Colorado, and the physical rehabilitation and sexual transformation of Yvette. The relationship between bird and human is by turns heartwarming and bewildering, but always entertaining. In fact, readers might even learn a thing or two about raising chickens in this lively book.
Inside Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance, Updated Second Edition
Hilarious account of a rookie poultry-owner's experience raising birds in his backyard.
James Herriot meets Bill Bryson in this wryly amusing memoir of one man's relationship with his chickens.
Chronicles the daily life of a chicken, including dust baths, brutal pecking-order rituals, gender-bending encounters, and for its owner the possibility of huge vet bills.
Updated second edition features new photographs and a new chapter.
A must for chicken lovers and a must for anyone with a quirky sense of humor.
Beyond the laughs there are even some practical lessons to be learnt about what not to do when keeping chickens!
From the Back Cover:
Watch out poultry best-seller list: This hilarious account of a rookie poultry-owner’s experience raising birds in his backyard is the first “chicken memoir” of its kind. Owning chickens is fast becoming the latest in metropolitan chic - and if you can’t own them, you’ll still want to read about them. Move over Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt (both rumored to raise chickens), Martin Gurdon is the new celebrity chicken owner.
Bound to be a classic, Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance follows the Gurdon family through the ups and downs of this wonderful hobby. In addition to providing eggs, the hens offer distractions from everyday life - BB has terrific telephone etiquette; the spirited but weak Yvette requires Gurdon to act as a personal trainer; and Wimpy is soon renamed Psycho as she’s allowed to brood three of her eggs. The book chronicles the daily life of a chicken, including dust baths, brutal pecking order rituals, gender bending encounters, and, for its owner, the possibility of huge vet bills.
The relationship between bird and human is by turns heartwarming and bewildering, but always entertaining. Add “informative” to the list, and you could be describing this very book. In fact, you might even learn a thing or two about raising chickens in Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance.
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