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Raising Backyard Chickens for Beginners: Choose Breeds, Build a Coop, and Raise a Healthy First Flock of Laying Hens
Paperback
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: May 20 2026
Pages: 260
Weight: 0.78
Height: 0.55 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Your first flock should not have to learn everything the hard way.
Ruth Pemberton started with three Tractor Supply chicks, a flimsy prefab run, and the kind of chicken-wire advice that sounds right until a hawk proves otherwise. Six years later, she keeps a mixed backyard flock outside Knoxville and helps first-year keepers sort out what actually matters before the birds arrive.
This beginner guide walks you through the decisions that make or break your first year:
- Whether chickens really fit your yard, budget, zoning, and daily schedule
- How to choose beginner-friendly breeds without getting talked into the wrong birds
- What a coop and run actually need for ventilation, cleaning, and predator protection
- How to brood chicks, transition pullets outside, feed layers, and handle the first egg
- What changes in summer heat, winter cold, molting season, and basic health scares
You will not find glossy homesteading promises here. You will find the practical first-flock advice Ruth wishes someone had handed her before she brought home Goldie, Penny, and the little one.
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