Face-To-Face With the Chicken

While this book almost exclusively depicts chickens in a free-range setting, it does so realistically and that is why we are recommending it. It discusses pecking order although it avoids the most unpleasant aspects of that behavior. It includes the need to have a rooster to have fertile eggs that will hatch but does not mention that most eggs are not fertile and a rooster is not needed to produce eggs. It depicts an embryo developing inside the egg and a chick hatching. What is most appreciated about this book is that it does not shy away from discussing predators and depicts both a fox and weasel in photographs and text. It also discusses rats, cats and dogs as serious predators. Almost no other book on free-range chickens includes this information or if any information is included, the impact and problems are downplayed. If this book is used, the incorrect information about battery-raised chickens needs to be corrected. Neither the photo nor description is accurate. These chickens are not force fed. They are provided free access to food and water and eat and drink as they choose.