Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Chickens in Five Minutes a Day - Book Review and Giveaway!



Murray McMurray Hatchery's Chickens in Five Minutes a Day: Raising, Tending and Getting Eggs from a Small Backyard Flock Made Easy
by Farmers at Murray McMurray Hatchery
176 pages

I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of Chickens in Five Minutes a Day to review and giveaway.  I've been raising chickens for seven years and I still love to read about chickens and how to care for them.

This book is meant for those getting ready to start raising chickens for egg production.  The idea is to set things up in such a way that in general the chicken chores can be cared for in five minutes a day.  However, as the book points out you'll probably spend quite a bit more time enjoying watching them.

Too cute!
I found the book to be easy to read.  It wasn't dry or boring.  The illustrations are both cute and informative. I was impressed with how thorough the book was and I wish I had it before I started raising chickens!   There were many important points that I thought the book needed to make and they hit on all of them (e.g., what NOT to feed chickens, checking for pasting up, etc).

I also learned some interesting facts about hatcheries and the history of Murray McMurray Hatchery in particular.

I found that in the few cases where I disagreed with the book it was simply a difference of opinion rather than any lack in the book.  For example, the book suggests to add sugar to the chicks water and I chose not to.  

I like the use of safety gear!

I was glad to see the book recommend the use of diatomaceous earth as a natural way to reduce parasites in the flock.  However, I would have liked to see them warn against using the kind that is sold for pool filters.

I highly recommend this book for those who are looking into or planning on raising chickens for egg production.  It's an excellent place to start.  

The book is being released on 5/14/13 and it's available for preorder at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.  I noticed that the e-reader copies are currently being sold at about 50% off of the listed price of $19.99!

The Giveaway:
One of my readers will receive a copy of this excellent book!  The giveaway is limited to readers in the US and Canada.


a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book to provide a review. No compensation was received for this post. My opinions are my own and may differ from yours. This giveaway is NOT affiliated with Facebook or any other social media networks. City Girl Bought the Farm is not responsible for shipment/prize fulfillment. There will be no monetary value given instead of products.

22 comments:

  1. This looks great. I've finally talked my husband into getting chickens (in the next month or two), so this book looks like it will be very helpful.

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  2. Found your blog through Pinterest and this great giveaway... can't wait to read more of your posts!

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  3. Love hearing all different ways to raise chickens, the more the better :)

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  4. I have been campaigning to have backyard chickens. I think my hubby is close to giving in :) This sounds like a great book for a noob like me.

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  5. I would really like chickens for eggs but I don't know if they are good for eating as well? I have things to learn

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  6. my grandson has 8 chickens and I think he would enjoy this

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  7. I currently have three barred rock chickens! mary987 (at) hotmail (dot) com

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  8. We're thinking about it:) I think it'd be so neat to have fresh eggs:)
    anne

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  9. We have been seriously considering getting a few but we need to make sure we can have them first.

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  10. We have been seriously considering getting a few but we need to make sure we can have them first.

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  11. I would give this to my sister. She's taken it up but.....

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  12. my son wants to start but have not yet

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  13. I don't have them but my son & his family does & he would thoroughly enjoy this!

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  14. I had 2 or 3 chickens that I kept before I got married and moved into his condo. Now we have toddlers so we have a house but I did not think I had time for chickens but maybe, if it is only 5 minutes per day...The most time consuming thing was cleaning their cage every week.

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  15. Just getting started here! have had them in the past, but have been discussing getting a small portable chicken coop here. I love chickens :)

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  16. I would love to give it a try.

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  17. I've been thinking about getting a few chickens... but so far just thinking :)

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  18. we are planning on getting chickens when we get a house!

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  19. We're hoping to have chickens soon.

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  20. I have wanted to raise chcikens, but I haven't started.

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  21. I've kind of been thinking about it. My next door neighbor put in a chicken coop and I love watching them run through her yard. They're such characters!

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  22. I don't have any right now, but my dad does.

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