Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance

Owning chickens is fast becoming the latest in metropolitan chic. If you can't own them, you'll still want to read about them. Primal urges, the quest for ultimate power, sex, death, gender bending, and huge vet bills-these are the things that chickens are made of. Martin Gurdon's hilarious Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance relives the highs and lows of chicken ownership. This unique chicken memoir follows the Gurdon family through the ups and downs of a wonderful hobby. In addition to providing eggs, the hens offer distractions from everyday life. You'll meet a cast of unusual characters, from the frightening disciplinary measures of Bossy Chicken, and the maternal instincts of Psycho Chicken, to the bizarre tales of Mike the headless chicken from Colorado, and the physical rehabilitation and sexual transformation of Yvette. The relationship between bird and human is by turns heartwarming and bewildering, but always entertaining. In fact, readers might even learn a thing or two about raising chickens in this lively book. Inside Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance, Updated Second Edition Hilarious account of a rookie poultry-owner's experience raising birds in his backyard. James Herriot meets Bill Bryson in this wryly amusing memoir of one man's relationship with his chickens. Chronicles the daily life of a chicken, including dust baths, brutal pecking-order rituals, gender-bending encounters, and for its owner the possibility of huge vet bills. Updated second edition features new photographs and a new chapter. A must for chicken lovers and a must for anyone with a quirky sense of humor. Beyond the laughs there are even some practical lessons to be learnt about what not to do when keeping chickens!

Martin Gurdon writes about anything for money, but specializes in cars and hens. As a freelance journalist, author and editor, Martin has written regularly for the Evening Standard, The Independent, Daily Telegraph, Octane, and Classic Cars magazine, where he spent six years as a columnist. Martin shares his garden with chickens, doves and ducks and was a little surprised to discover that their lives made good copy, thanks to a massive increase in amateur chicken keeping. He wrote a regular column about the birds for the Sunday Telegraph's Life supplement, is a regular columnist and contributor to Your Chickens magazine, and blogs on the www.allotment.org.uk website.