Product Description

This is a book which tells you what it's like living with chickens (mostly hilarious) and how to look after them. It also charts the lives of a man, a woman, hens operating at varying degrees of dementedness, and a very patient vet.
Regard this book as a feather-clad soap opera of primal urges, including sex, power, death and gender bending, and you won't be disappointed.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25741 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Synopsis
Owning chickens is becoming the latest in metropolitan chic, proving that you don't need to be a farmer to raise poultry. This book chronicles both the pleasures and the myriad pitfalls of chicken-keeping. Written from first-hand experience, this is a quirky introduction to the feather-clad soap opera primal urges, pecking order rituals, gender-bending and huge vet bills.

From the Author
I wrote most of 'Hen, etc,' on the train between Headcorn in Kent and Charing Cross Station in London. A lot of my fellow passengers were reading chick lit novels, and I wanted to write one too, but being a decrepit, male motoring journalist, could see there might be a credibility gap if I tried to do something on the lives and loves of bright young things in Clapham.
My wife and I kept a few hens. Their birdy activities made our friends laugh, so writing about them seemed the natural thing to do. The end product is as much about the characters of the birds themselves, and how they interacted with us, as it is about actually keeping chickens.
The book was a lot of fun to write, and hopefully that comes across. Given where it was written, I'd always envisaged Hen as being a diverting read that could be dipped in to on a long train journey, a holiday or an idle weekend. If it works on that level, and tells the reader how to avoid red mite, then I'll be a very happy hack.

Customer Reviews

Disappointing and lightweight
A little bit funny in places and an occasional insight but by and large poorly written and forgetable.

Feathery fun... and a little bit more.
Like other reviewers here, I thought this book was very entertaining, hugely humerous, and very warmly written. It is not a soppy recollection of chicken tales, but an open and honest (yes, and funny - but how could a book about these fabulous birds fail to be funny?) look at how one man has had his life affected by his feathery pals.

Chapter 2 starts with the words: "The sort of chicken-keeping we were embarking on can be summed up in three words: 'twee' and 'middle class." And I read those words with recognition, not embarrassment. My two ex-Tesco hybrid waifs are currently strutting their stuff around our ill-prepared garden, and laying an average of 9 eggs a week between the two of them.

This book is for people like me. I have recently ordered 2 more copies of this for my newly chickenified friends. Why? Because of its honesty. Because of the little snippets of chicken care secrets. Because of the kindness in this book. Because it's worth its weight in eggy gold!

Laugh out loud funny -- and a few lessons to boot
I don't recommend reading this in bed next to a spouse who has to get up for an early commute. You could be laughing so hard, you may not be forgiven. I haven't had such a good time reading a book in I don't know how long... terrifically witty & many laugh-out-loud moments.

I agree with another reviewer who said this book can help you make up your mind about having chickens, as it gives the ups and downs and the no nonsense and the you've got to really want to do this kind of thing information woven into the humour. But I think there are quite a few good lessons to be learnd and chix health tips I'd not heard of before, so I'd recommend it also as a way to get some good chicken rearing information.