Livestock

With an increase in awareness of the damage of many medicated commercial feeds and genetically modified food sources, some backyard chicken owners are trying their hand at growing their own chicken feed.

Raising a few chickens to supply your family with eggs is fun and easy. Even if you don’t live out in the country, you can easily raise chickens in a small backyard, and you can’t beat the flavor of fresh eggs. There are a few things you need to know before you start raising your own chickens, such as whether your town allows chickens, what kind of housing you want to use, and what breed you will want to raise.

The Backyard Homestead, edited by Carleen Madigan, is published by Storey Publishing (2009) and claims to teach readers how to "produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre of land." How useful is this book for beginning urban farmers wanting to get back to basics and increase their self-sufficiency?