I caught Ida reading two chicken-keeping books at the same time. I can't blame her; they are both good. My go-to chicken keeping book is Harvey Ussery's The Small Scale Poultry Flock. Great all-around book for keeping chickens happy and healthy. He covers housing, feed, and systems in terms of using chickens in the garden and putting them to work. However when it comes to chicken ailments or injuries, his philosophy is "Just Cull It". For that reason, Gail Damerow's book The Chicken Health Handbook is excellent. It describes in detail, every chicken disease and pest imaginable. And for this reason, read it, but don't dwell on it. So many bad scenarios are described, you will be thinking you chicken is close to death if it sneezes once or twice. However, it is a great reference to have on hand if something goes wrong. Finally, get some Nustock ointment (for cuts and wounds), order Molly's Herbal Wormer as a preventative worm treatment, and if you have an extra dog crate around, don't donate it or toss it...it makes a great rehab cage for a sick or injured bird.
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