Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance: Reflections on a Life of Raising Chickens

Primal urges, the quest for ultimate power, sex, death, gender bending, and huge vet bills—these are the things that chickens are made of!

Explore an uproarious account of a rookie poultry-owner's experience raising birds in his backyard! This hilarious memoir follows the author's family through the ups and downs of raising chickens. The relationship between bird and human is by turns heartwarming and bewildering, but always entertaining. In fact, you might even learn a thing or two about raising chickens in this lively book!

Owning chickens is fast becoming the latest in metropolitan chic. If you can't own them, you'll still want to read about them! 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. This is a book about keeping chickens, but it is also a feather-clad soap opera of primal urges.

Written from firsthand experience, inside this book 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 entertaining chapters chronicle the daily life of a chicken, including dust baths, brutal pecking-order rituals, gender-bending encounters, jealousy, and for its owner the possibility of huge vet bills.

James Herriot meets Bill Bryson in this wryly amusing memoir of one man's relationship with his chickens, with this updated second edition featuring new photographs and a new chapter. Beyond the intrigue, drama, and laughs there are even some practical lessons to be learned about what not to do when keeping chickens!

"In this warmly funny paean to pet chickens, Gurdon chronicles life with a garden flock... Gurdon's tales of hens will be popular among readers who love true animal stories in the James Herriot vein."
—Booklist

"A lovingly told romp through the adventures of an amateur chicken keeper and his flock."
—The Guardian

"A real hoot... a book on keeping chickens in the town and the country, but also a humorous look at the bird and its idiosyncrasies."
—The Bookseller

"A must for chicken lovers and a must for anyone with a wicked sense of humor—this is the funniest book I have read all year."
—Lucy Watson

"If there is one thing you will learn from this book, it is that keeping chickens is fun. They are real characters, and their very distinct, quirky personalities make for great entertainment. There is plenty of useful advice to digest here, too."
—Simon McEwan, Editor, Your Chickens Magazine

Martin Gurdon writes about anything for money, but specializes in cars and hens. As a freelance journalist, author and editor, Martin has written regularly for the Evening Standard, The Independent, Daily Telegraph, Octane, and Classic Cars magazine, where he spent six years as a columnist. Martin shares his garden with chickens, doves, and ducks and was a little surprised to discover that their lives made good copy, thanks to a massive increase in amateur chicken keeping. He wrote a regular column about the birds for the Sunday Telegraph's Life supplement, is a regular columnist and contributor to Your Chickens magazine, and blogs on the allotment.org.uk website.