The New Rules of the Roost: Organic Care and Feeding for the Family Flock

"The New Rules of the Roost" goes beyond the basics and addresses the real problems that crop up over time with backyard chickens. This hardworking guide covers a wide range of topics including organic health remedies and disease prevention, pest management, organic nutrition, the best breeds for specific needs, and the simplest options for daily maintenance and feeding. You'll also learn tips and tricks for introducing new birds into your flock, managing aggressive behavior, caring for mature chickens, and much more. A must-have guide for chicken owners looking for deeper information on keeping their flock healthy and happy. Robert and Hannah Litt are the owners of the Urban Farm Store, authors of "A Chicken in Every Yard", and experts on keeping backyard chickens. They have been featured on Planet Green's Renovation Nation, National Public Radio, and Oregon Public Broadcasting. Introduction Kauai, the oldest and northernmost of the Hawaiian Islands, is renowned for its rugged canyons, tropical beaches, and laid-back lifestyle. It also provided the lush jungle setting for the dinosaur epic Jurassic Park, in which the ancient beasts are brought back into the modern world through genetic science-with predictably chaotic results. In reality, Kauai is teeming with living dinosaur relatives of Tyrannosaurus rex, and there is indeed a very real, and uncontrolled, genetic experiment underway. The tiny raptors are Gallus gallus domesticus, better known as chickens, and the island is overrun with them. Visitors are charmed by the antics of these familiar birds in this unexpected milieu, eagerly spotting them juking through the jungle greenery or cautiously collecting cabana crumbs. Locals regard them with disdain. They patiently explain that these are nothing more than fowl gone feral, an introduced irritation, escapees from local farms run amok in a relatively predator-free environment. Local lore has it that island chickens escaped from their coops and cages in the chaos of Hurricane Iwa in 1982 and again with Hurricane Iniki in 1992. These free-ranging chickens began to breed with the local Polynesian birds of Indian origin. Subject to the forces of natural selection, hundreds of years of purposeful breeding were undone in a few generations. Now absent from the island are the fluffy Orpington, the noble Rhode Island Red, and the green-egg-laying Ameraucana. In their place thrives a diverse population of chickens that share both domestic and wild DNA, a comical rabble of recognizable farm animals and exotic avian majesty. As so-called chicken-keeping experts, we were stunned and humbled by the spectacle of chickens by the thousands surviving, and indeed thriving, without the least bit of human care. Though we knew to expect the island birds, our first encounter with them was nothing less than a revelation, and seeing our first truly freerange, wild-breeding chicken on the lawn at the airport was a thrill (we're easily thrilled). She was small, perhaps 3 pounds, sporting brindle plumage that flashed iridescent green in the low morning sun. We set down our bags and approached for a gleeful gawk. She stopped feeding on some invisible tidbit in the grass and turned her head sideways to take a skeptical glance at us. We silently admired her for a moment, noting how she resembled her wild ancestor-the jungle fowl of Southeast Asia. These forest-dwelling, low-flying birds were the genetic source material for today's domestic chicken. This particular fowl was not in the least interested in our genetics, however, beyond identifying that we were some sort of large, chicken-devouring creatures with ugly feathers. We loudly fumbled for a camera, confirming for the small hen that we had some sort of malicious intentions, and she was gone in a tiny