Chicken Books - My Picks 2023

You are no doubt familiar with chicken math—the logic that your flock is not complete until you get one (or two…or three…or a handful) more chicken(s). Well, at least for me, chicken book math is also a real phenomenon. There’s an apparent infinite number of books about chickens out there. New books continue to get published and I’m continuously discovering older books. And I have to get ‘em—each and every one! As the guy in charge at Randy's Chicken Blog, (um…well…the only guy), I believe it is incumbent upon me to provide you, my readers, with a few insightful recommendations.

Worth noting: Three of this year’s picks are over twenty years old; veritable chestnuts. I’m reviewing them now because they’re excellent books. And I feel that perhaps it is time for the book-reading-chicken-keeping public to become reacquainted with them.

Also worth noting: While all of these books are available from Amazon, check your local bookseller first. We all need to remember that local and sustainable isn’t just a concept for eggs. It also applies to books and lots of other things!

Finally, I invite you to peruse my picks of poultry pages. Whether you’re a seasoned backyard chicken keeper or simply fascinated by these feathery creatures, I think you’ll find something here to captivate, educate, and inspire you.

The Complete Chicken
An Entertaining History of Chickens
Pam Percy
Voyageur Press
2002

 If you’re a chicken lover like me, you’ve probably enthusiastically taken note of the important place chickens hold in human culture. In our art, our mythology, our folklore, and even our religion. And if you’re a chicken lover like me, you probably think that’s pretty cool.

Pam Percy is a chicken lover. She’s been keeping chickens since 1986; decades before the backyard chicken movement became a thing. And Pam is acutely aware of the importance chickens hold in human culture.

With The Complete Chicken, she’s created an entertaining compendium of chicken info that shows how completely they’ve worked their way into our lives, and how they’ve been “worshipped, abhorred, adored, sacrificed, maligned, sentimentalized and idealized” through the ages.

This copiously illustrated book contains so much chicken trivia and information that having read and absorbed it, you’ll become the hands-down chicken expert among your friends and will be the star attraction at any social gathering. Some examples:

• Wayne, Nebraska hosts an annual Chicken Show that includes egg drop contests, a chicken song contest, a “cluck off” and a parade.

• Before Robert Frost became known as a great American poet, he raised Wyandottes and wrote stories for poultry magazines.

• Hollywood couple Carole Lombard and Clark Gable kept 600 Rhode Island Reds and sold their eggs under the “The King’s Eggs” label.

• Chickens have inspired classical composers to write any number of chicken-themed pieces, including Haydn’s The Hen Sympony #83, Musorgsky’s Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, and Saint-Saens’ Hens and Cocks.

• In 1902 residents of a newly incorporated Alaskan gold-mining town decided to call their town “Ptarmigan.” But when it came time to write the name down, nobody knew how to spell it. So, they settled on naming the town after a different bird. Chicken, Alaska still exists today.

The Complete Chicken will soon be a movie! I recently interviewed Pam Percy to get the scoop on Chicken City, a remarkable film about chickens that is based on this remarkable book. If you like chicken esoterica, get this book now and give it a read. And then stay tuned for the movie!

The Woefield Poultry Collective (Canadian Title)
Available in the US under the title “Home to Woefield”
Susan Juby
HarperCollins
2011

 Last year, two of the books in my annual book review were premised on unlikely chicken keepers moving to a chicken farm they’d inherited from their recently deceased uncle. I commented on the coincidence of their shared beginning. The Woefield Poultry Collective begins with an unlikely farmer moving to a farm that she’s inherited from her recently deceased uncle. Is the inherited farm/dead uncle thing becoming a new subgenre? Maybe. But Susan Juby’s story also takes its own path and is a wonderful, compelling tale.

The four main Woefield characters, each dealing with their own hefty bag of problems, take turns telling this story.

Prudence, lately of Brooklyn, lacks any sort of practical life experience. That lack is counterbalanced by the enthusiasm she brings to every questionable enterprise she dives into. She’s recently failed as a writer of young-adult fiction. She had attempted her novel only because it had seemed like half the other English Lit grads of her liberal arts college were writing YA novels. She’d been encouraged when she’d been able to produce a manuscript in two months; “a parable about the ramifications of global warming and the need for personal responsibility.” And she’d found a small-press publisher—"headquartered on the third floor of a near-derelict building in Queens and…specializing in poetry about drug and alcohol addiction.” She was their only YA author. She did some readings at local middle schools. The kids were actively hostile. The book didn’t sell. The writing life, she’d decided, was not for her.

About the same time her relationship had reached its conclusion after her partner had an unfortunate mishap with Prudence’s failing worm composting project. So, when she receives word that she’s inherited her uncle’s farm on Canada’s Vancouver Island, she’s ready to make the move. She’s ready to be a farmer.

The farm, she discovers, is thirty unproductive acres with a few run-down buildings, a burned-down barn and one chronically depressed sheep. The bank is about to foreclose. Prudence rolls up her sleeves.

In addition to the sheep, the farm also comes with Earl. Earl has been living on the farm “in the cabin down at the edge of the far field for going on thirty-five years.” Earl has his own set of problems and some significant secrets. He appears to have given up on life. Prudence is enthused that she’ll have Earl’s help in bringing the farm back from bankruptcy and making it a sustainable, productive agricultural enterprise. Earl’s thoughts: “The old man left this little girl the farm. Jesus. Jesus.”

Seth lives nearby. He hasn’t left his house since the scandal with his high-school drama teacher. He spends his time drinking and blogging (reviewer’s comment: there’s nothing wrong with blogging, right?) Then his mom kicks him out—because the guy she met at bingo is moving in and the new boyfriend needs Seth’s room for his model helicopters. In desperation, Seth knocks on the door of the old farmhouse down the road and asks if he can work on the farm in exchange for room and board. Prudence beams like this was meant to happen. She asks Seth if he’s afraid of hard work and he says yes. Seth moves in.

Sara is eleven and lives nearby in a new subdivision. She’s an optimist. She believes that everything in life can be perfect if you just try hard enough. Sara’s dad has lost his job. Her parents fight all the time and her mom spends hours sitting alone in the car parked in the driveway. Things are not perfect in Sara’s life. And that makes Sara’s stomach hurt. It hurts so much that she constantly drinks “that stuff the doctor gave me.”

But then Sara gets chickens, keeps them in the garden shed, and joins the Junior Poultry Fanciers Club. She works hard with her show chickens and learns about the concept of leadership at the club. She can be a leader, she thinks, if she just works hard enough.

Then the neighbors complain about the chickens. Sara’s dad calls them filthy animals and says they will have to go. Sara’s stomach hurts. Her mom says that maybe Sara can rent space for her chickens on the nearby farm. She drives Sara there but will not get out of the car. Sara summons up her best leadership skills and knocks on the farmhouse door. Prudence smiles and says, “We’d be happy to host your chickens!”

And the Woefield Poultry Collective is formed. Will this island of misfit toys succeed? Will the farm avoid foreclosure and become productive? Will these four compelling characters, beset with so many problems, find their way to happiness? Read the book! Susan Juby tells the story with droll, tongue-in-cheek humor, but obviously cares about her characters and their problems.

I picked up this book for the chickens. It turns out that while there are chickens, they are not the focus of the book. But that’s okay. I love the book for the memorable characters and the original story. What a great read!

Under the Henfluence
Inside the World of Backyard Chickens
and the People who Love Them
Tove Danovich
Agate Surrey
2023

In the opening chapter of Under the Henfluence, Tove Danovich brings home three baby chicks. “They’re shaped like little eggs with legs!” she gushes. And just like that, she becomes a chicken mom. She names the chicks after three female characters in Mad Men. The Olive Egger, the bravest of the three, is named Peggy. The Legbar, who prefers her creature comforts, becomes Betty. And the Dominique, by default, is Joan. From that first morning, each day is filled with the sound of peeps emanating from the brooder box in the bathroom, and Danovich finds that she is taking hours-long breaks from her office across the hall to watch the babies. Proof that she’s officially joined the backyard chicken community.

As the weeks go by Danovich becomes attuned to the behaviors and personalities of her little flock. She notices how they chirp softly to each other as they run around the brooder, and also the lonely, distressed call a chick makes when separated from its flock-mates; an “endless, volume-at-eleven, two note sequence” that she dubs “the lost chick call.” As the weather warms, the growing chicks move to the outdoor coop, and forage on the lawn. And one day, as the chicks are foraging, Betty, tragically, meets death in the same way that millions of her prey-animal species have. The perpetrator is one Danovich’s two dogs; slave to her predator instincts and not yet instilled with the notion that these little birds are part of her pack.

Danovich grieves, wonders over her own grief at the death of a chicken, and worries that her friends would not understand. When she stops crying, she becomes aware of Peggy and Joan calling from their coop. It is the lost chick call. “Unlike the tiny peeping they once made, this sound felt like it was being wrenched right out of their throats…No one ever told me that chickens mourned.”

The day Betty died is the day she starts looking for more chickens. She acquires four more hens. Later, more chicks follow those…More proof that she’s a member of the backyard chicken community.

But, as it happens, Tove Danovich is not just a typical backyard chicken keeper. She has her own social media presence. And, as a journalist, she’s written articles for publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vox, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal. And now she’s written Under the Henfluence – in my estimation, the best new chicken-themed book this year.

Here’s why I love this book. Tove Danovich has written a heartfelt, personal account of her journey through the five steps of chicken acquisition. But woven into that account is some excellent reporting: Behind the scenes at a chick hatchery, an Ohio poultry show, 4-H, chicken therapy, a Minnesota chicken rescue. Chicken-themed topics that I’ve never seen in print before. This is a beautifully written memoir combined with some first-class journalism.

If you’re a typical backyard chicken keeper, or if you’re simply among the chicken-curious, wondering if this chicken thing is right for you, you need to read this book. “This is a book about chickens,” Tove Danovich explains, “but it’s also about how they can change your life if you let them.”

You can read my full review of Under the Henfluence here.

Daisy Comes Home
Jan Brett
(for ages 5-8)
G P Puntam’s Sons
2002

 I’ve owned and have been reading author-illustrator Jan Brett’s books since my kids were babies. My kids have their own kids now, but Jan Brett’s books are still on my shelves—they’re for the grandkids now. And for me!

 It was only when I read Under the Henfluence (thanks again, Tove Danovich!) that I learned that Jan Brett is also a dedicated chicken person. She raises and shows championship-quality Polish bantams. Learning that bit of information made me appreciate Jan Brett even more. It also inspired me to pick up and reexamine a couple of her chicken-themed books.

Daisy Comes Home tells the story of little Daisy who lives with five other hens in a garden in China. Mei Mei cares for the hens and sells their eggs at the market. Mei Mei’s egg baskets are painted with the characters that read “Happy Hens” and Mei Mei does everything she can to make sure her hens really are happy.

 But poor Daisy is not always happy. She’s the smallest hen and at the bottom of the pecking order. Every night when the hens roost the other hens peck and bully her until she is forced off the roost to spend the night on the cold, damp mud floor.

 One night Daisy decides that she’s tired of sleeping on the floor. She finds one of the egg baskets down by the river bank, snuggles in, and falls asleep. While she is sleeping, the river rises up the bank and finally reaches the basket. Still sound asleep, Daisy floats down the river.

Then Daisy has an adventure. While floating in the basket, Daisy encounters a variety of alarming animals—a dog, a water buffalo, some monkeys—each time Daisy escapes in her basket after intimidating the worrisome animals by fluffing her feathers, squawking, pecking, and flapping her wings. But finally, she meets a fisherman who gleefully captures the poor little hen.

 The next day, the fisherman takes Daisy to the market in her egg basket. He is soon surrounded by a hungry crowd anxious to buy this plump little hen. Miraculously, Mei Mei is selling eggs at that very market. When Mei Mei spots Daisy, she calls Daisy at the top of her voice. Daisy escapes the basket, runs to Mei Mei, flies onto her shoulder, and Mei Mei runs home. Daisy is home from her adventure and is safe!

 That night, when it is time to roost, the other hens, as usual, begin to bully Daisy. But Daisy has learned some things during her big adventure. She fluffs her feathers, squawks, pecks, and flaps her wings. The surprised hens quickly back down and allow Daisy a place of her own on the roost. From that day on, there really are six happy hens.

 Kids will love Jan Brett’s beautiful, detailed illustrations. And they’ll love this story that contains the two key elements of every good kid’s book: An exciting adventure, and a happily ever after.

Hedgie’s Surprise
Jan Brett
(for ages 2-5)
G P Puntam’s Sons
2000

Henny desperately wants a brood of peeping baby chicks. But sadly, each morning after she lays an egg, naughty Tomten steals the egg and cooks it for his breakfast. Henny is so sad. How can she stop Tomten from stealing her eggs?

 Henny’s friend, Hedgie the Hedgehog, helps Henny with a clever plan. When Tomten reaches into the nest for an egg, he grabs an acorn. The next morning, he grabs a strawberry. Then he grabs a mushroom. Then a potato. Tomten eats all of the things he finds but they don’t fill him up. They are not eggs! Tomten is hangry! He heatedly shouts, “Tomorrow I want an egg! If I don’t find one, I’ll eat you!” Henny is scared, but Hedgie knows that the time has come for the surprise.

 The next morning Tomten reaches into the nest and grabs a handful of…Hedgie! Hedgie is closed into a tight ball of needle-sharp prickles. Tomten yowls, runs home, and never comes back. Henny finally gets to keep her eggs!

 This charming and entertaining story is illustrated with the beautiful, detailed watercolors that we expect from Jan Brett. And each page is framed with an intricate Scandinavian needlepoint design.

The Tales of Mr. Ken Rooster
and the Six Sassy Hens
Diane Sorensen
(for ages 4-7)
Mascot Kids
2022

In 1905 German zoologist Jakob von Uexküll developed a concept he called “umwelt.” Dr. Uexküll proposed that each species has its own spectrum of sensory capabilities, and because of that, each species perceives and experiences the world in its own unique way. Because of our different umwelts, the chickens in my flock are experiencing a different world than I am. Even though we’re both living in the same place at the same time, I live in people-world while they inhabit chicken-world.

Umwelt probably requires some heavy thinking, so let’s set that aside for later. This, after all, is a book review. A kids’ book review. But, just let me just say this: Diane Sorensen’s new book has nailed umwelt. Sorensen has authored a children’s book that is definitely voiced from a chicken’s perspective. The stories in this book are firmly set in chicken-world.

In The Tales of Mr. Ken Rooster and the Six Sassy Hens, an intrepid flock of six hens and an anxious rooster have amazing adventures in a series of tales. And they experience all of their amazing adventures without ever leaving the confines of their backyard. Oh! Except for Fancy the hen who likes to hop the fence.

In each story something out of the ordinary happens. In one story the flock feels threatened by an unfamiliar object, which they eventually investigate. And they find out that it is delicious and that it is a watermelon. In another story, Henny and Penny, BFF’s, have a pecking order dispute. Then, there are predator encounters and some minor injuries. With each situation, Mr. Ken Rooster declares that he’s sure things will not end well. And then they always do. These adventures are not earth-shaking. They are tempests in a teapot. Kerfuffles in a coop. And isn’t that exactly what life is like in chicken-world?

In between adventures, life unfolds predictably. Mr. Ken crows in the morning, the hens hop from the roost and get down to the business of pecking up bugs, scratching for worms, dust bathing, laying eggs…living their lives. And the next day they get up and do it all again. And isn’t that exactly what life is like in chicken-world?

With these tales of Mr. Ken and the hens, Diane Sorensen has shown a knack for telling stories that are both simple and entertaining. And Maggie Sullivan has perfectly captured these stories’ inherent whimsy with her illustrations. Regardless of if you’re reading this charming book to your kids or to yourself, you’ll be amused, entertained, and pleasantly immersed in chicken-world.

A version of this review of The Tales of Mr. Ken and the Six Sassy Hens first appeared in my May 21, 2023 newsletter.