This contest is closed. Congratulations to Ruth and your 4-H club!
Gail Damerow has a new book out, and I have one copy to giveaway! Damerow has been dispensing sane, solid advice through her books for many years. I still turn to her first when I have something going on in my flock that I haven’t experienced before (after almost 20 years of hen keeping that still happens!) Her new book, Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks, is classic Damerow – well-organized, sensible and practical. In it, you’ll learn the basics of chick raising and care. But, I have to say that my favorite section is at the end and titled Screwpot Notions. Among other pseudo-facts, she dubunks sexing myths and herbal cures for coccidia. What with the proliferation of just plain wrong advice on the internet (not my site!), these few pages are essential reads for the confused and gullible.
My copy arrived just in time, as I’ll be at the Chelmsford, MA Agway on Saturday, Feb 16 (tomorrow! rescheduled from last week due to the snowstorm) to give a lecture on chick care. I’ll be talking about chick orders, breed selection, and what to do when you get the chicks home from the feed store. I haven’t raised other poultry, such as turkeys, but the Agway will have them in this spring. Damerow’s book covers poult (baby turkey) care as well as waterfowl, so I’ll have the book with me.
To win a copy of Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks, simply leave a comment below and let me know if you’ll be getting little peeps this spring. If you’re not, that’s okay, enter anyway! (You can let me know what you would get if you were to get chicks.) If you share on FaceBook or Twitter, let me know by leaving a second entry. The winner will be selected by a random number generator on Tuesday, February 19 at 10 pm EST. The book will be shipped directly from the publisher. Good luck!
How sweet!
Yes, this spring we hope to add to our flock… or realistically, it may be
a bit later, in summer. It’s my husband, this time, who has chicken fever.
He’s ready for some “big fat hens,” so we will be considering some of the
larger breeds. First: a new and improved coop and run. Our own Silkies
successfully hatched chicks, twice, and that was a truly wonderful experience.
Still, I am looking forward to raising little peeps ourselves, and I know there
is always more to learn!
Oooh! Pick me! pick me! Looks like an awesome book :)
Yes! My 6 babies are scheduled to arrive the week of May 13 and I can’t wait. This will be my first time to have chickens and I am reading everything I can get my hands on so that I make as few “first-timer” mistakes as possible. I love your web site!
I would love to have this book! I would like to hatch some chicks this spring and/or get some hatchery chicks. This book would be a great addition to my growing chicken library! Thanks for the opportunity.
We just got our first chicks and ducklings! I love those little babies!!
i hope to be adding to my flock this spring! hatching them would be ideal for my four ladies – i think they need some more friends.
Terry,
My wife and I are getting a group of chicks for the first time March 5th. We are so excited. We decided to go with bantams because of their foraging abilities. We did get st. run so some will end up as dinner :/ But we can’t wait for the little bundles of cuteness to arrive. I am working on their brooder boxes next week.
-Jeremiah
I will be getting.little peepers soon hopefully as well as letting one or.more.of.my.hens hatch some.
I got my first 4 chicks last spring, due to a limited space won’t be able to get any this year…but would love to be able to expand & possibly hatch my own chicks one day.
got my new girls a couple of weeks ago – they are now 18 weeks and things are just starting to settle down with the older girls!
Hello, Cant wait to read the newest book. We have turkey poults and itty bitty quail chicks so far.
Can post pictures if interested. They are heritage breed turkeys which we have raised.
St Augustine, Florida
I would love to receive this book! I have been raising ducklings every summer for the past 8 years and we even managed to hatch our own duckling last spring! I’ll keep my fingers crossed :)
I think I have to skip getting peeps this year, for lack of space. To justify new peeps, I would have to ‘get rid of’ two or three of my older girls …. and I just can’t do that. I have three girls just turning a year old this month, and they have been laying strong since last summer: two RIRs and a black sex link. I am not as emotionally attached to them as I am to the 4 older girls, but they are super layers. If I had more space (fantasizing a second coop here, but no way, since I am already over our legal city limit of 4 ‘poultry’) I would get 2 Speckled Sussex and 2 Ameracaunas and even 2 Wellsummers. Maybe next year.
Our feed stores got their first peeps in yesterday, and I really like getting them as early as possible, for earliest possible eggs in summer. It just makes sense in our latitude (44+ N) to get the earliest possible start on the laying season, and it only requires a bit more time with heat lamp in the garage.
Last summer my ditzy Dominique went broody from hell. If that happens again this year, I may change my mind and get some fertile eggs from a friend. It would be fun to watch her do the mother hen thing, but yikes, then I would have to deal with the roosters. So I would love to win this book!
i got 11 tiny baby sussex oct 4 this last year. they arent laying yet. i would like to raise some marans, so maybe i can see the eggs in person. wouldnt mind trying to raise quail either.
Hi Terry,
I love your blog and read it every day.I’ve often referred to the FAQ’S page and gained so much new and interesting information from it as well as from your blogs.I’ve used the Spa Treatment a few times with success!
I hope to have one of my own hens hatch some eggs for me this spring/summer.I’m partial to Barred Rocks.
i always share this site on facebook
I am the planning to get 3-4 chicks this sring, I have never raised them before so I’m doing my research. Your website and the chicken keeping website have provided a lot of info. This book would also be helpful!
Have a great day!
We don’t plan on adding any little ones this year, but IF I could add some, I think I’d like to have some Dominiques, they are so pretty and good layers of nice brown eggs. My second choice would have to be Australorps. I still have four of my original A’Lorp girls and they are the sweetest gals ever. I love my GL Wyandottes, but they are quite flighty, always have been.
I’d love to have a copy of this book. You can never have to many books to read. So much to learn!!
I currently have a happy flock of 4 the same age as the gems ( two buff orpingtons and two barred rock) and one 9 year old black hen with lovely brown spangles who started laying again when the youngsters did. I will wait a year or two before messing with this very comfortable balance, but when I do, they will all be different colors to make them easier to identify from afar! Also, I miss the sweet white ex battery hen who used live here and became a real personality in the neighborhood, running all day with the wild turkeys and carefully laying an egg a day in the garage. That was before I got my electric run fence and we lost her to neighborhood dogs. White leghorn? I cried for weeks, every time I saw a white feather. She sure had a wider life while it lasted though! My new group have a 150 ft perimeter and chicks can’t go into an electric mesh until they are too big to get through or stuck, so it is a big deal to raise them that long in a tractor. But when I do, I’ll include a white leghorn. Is there a red variety that is less aggressive than a Rr and is a good layer?
Spring is in the air today, and I am hoping to have a couple of my hens get into their broodiness (spelling?) I sure could use a good book on Broody chickens. I need all the help I can get. :P
Although I’m not a current chicken owner (currently an apartment dweller which might still work except I’m on the 3rd floor) but my son’s high school has chickens and I’d love to donate to the school! It would be awesome for the teachers as a reference and also for the students. Thanks for your generosity and an awesome time at the show this weekend!
Would love to have this book. I got chicks last year. None this year as we want to build a second coop.would like to have a set up like yours so that retirees have a home. I want to get more peep in spring 2014. I have 2 belgian d’uccles.I am in love with them!! they are mille fleur. And 8 LF. I would love to have a few more d’uccles. Want mottled and lavendar but hard to find so was thinking in 2014 about hatching. it scares me a bit though. And I have fallen in love with your speckled Sussex!
Hi Terry, we are expecting 6 Tolbunt Polish eggs the end of Feb. that we will be setting to hatch. With any luck we will be adding a few of these beauties to our small flock. This contest comes at a perfect time.We would be thrilled to win the book and have it on hand for extra guidance!
Thanks – I’d love to raise chicks! We have two poorly hens at the moment and if we have to replace them my Mister says I might be able to get chicks! If I could, I’d get bantam gold laced wyandottes, buff sussex and black australorps.
I’m trying to hold out until next year before I get two more chicks. That would bring my flock up to 5 which is about all my urban garden can manage. Even now, the three eat everything they can get their beaks on. I’d love to get another Easter Egger and either a Speckled Sussex or a Welsummer but I haven’t seen either of these in the feed stores around here so I would probably be happy with an EE and a Buff Orp. I’d like a gold or red hen. :-)
I am really hoping that this will be the year when I can get some chicks!
I am hoping to get chicks next spring. I first need to research (what is the best breed for beginners), build a coop, etc. & etc.
This looks like a great book! Even if I don’t win it – I will likely purchase. We recently found this site and enjoy it! We are relatively new to chicken keeping (about 7 months) and we are loving it! Last week, one of my daughters teachers asked us to bring hens in to her first grade class so that they could ‘study’ them as ‘little scientists’. We took 5 of our 12 ladies and it went great! Kids loved it! Learned a lot – and we had fun!
The principal approached us a few days later and asked if we would be willing to take chicks if one of the other classrooms (3rd grade) incubated them. Apparently they did this in the past as part of one of their units (they have all the equipment) but didn’t know what to do with the chicks afterward. Soooo… we are getting a crash course in that part of chicken keeping as well as we plan to be involved. Our coop and run are built for about 30 chickens. We are working on landscaping our back yard to give them some ‘free range’ time as well. That will take a little longer….
*Anyone with any suggestions on good breeders or sites to order breeds that thrive in CO would be appreciated!!
Again, cool site. I sent the link to my daughters teacher. Thanks!
Do let the teacher know that I do Skype classroom visits – from the coop!
I couldn’t agree with you more about Damerow’s books. What terrific references. I would LOVE to add this one to my collection! I’ll be just that more prepared for the approaching day when I can have my first little flock. I’m still doing the research on which breeds will be beautiful, give a variety of colored eggs, and get along happily together. So much fun!
Love all things to do with chickens. Not adding this year going to add next year when the girls will be 2. Since the law saays I have to buy six chicks have to make sure I have correct space. Im going over to amazon now to look up her other books.
Would love to receive the book! We will be getting a new group of Orpington chicks in various colors in the next couple of weeks. Our Orps have been laying diligently all winter. It’s a wonderful breed (have to admit that it’s the only breed I’ve ever raised)!
Terry here is a great reason to get a large bunny: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279181/Burglar-scared-away-family-home-giant-pet-rabbit-started-thumping-foot-cage-floor.html. :)
Yes, I’m getting more chicks soon! Plus, I’ll be hatching scads of ducklings and even more chicks, too.
I just started my flock October 2012 and I’m HOOKED! I have 29 girls (no Roos) and they’ve won my heart. I’m considering trying to hatch some eggs, as I have not done that yet. Would love this book! <3
20 or so silkies, some araucanas, leghorns, a cuckoo maran, and a few other layer varieties that we aren’t sure about yet but hope to be able to tell, once they’re bigger.
I’ve already started hatching here! I’ve got 7 that hatched on New Years and 2 more that are a week old. Then there are the 17 currently in the incubator as well! lol yep… I’ll have lots of chicks this spring! LOL
Yes, I plan on letting one of my broody hens hatch some little ones. I’d like to get hold of some guinea eggs and see if the hen will raise them for me, as I’ve had poor luck hand raising them in the past. I’m sure the book would be a big help. Love the blog and find your archives especially helpful.
I was all set to get chicks last spring until exactly a year ago tomorrow my husband found out we would be transferred to another state by the military; hence, my chick dreams were dashed for at least a year. I am currently campaigning to buy a house out in the country where my chicke dreams can run wild. I am hopeful that if we get moved in to a new place by mid-summer, I could still get pullets and some eggs before the winter. I will not be deterred!
In high hopes that my husband and I can get our runner extended as soon as the ground is workable then I would like to add to my girls. I think I might look into getting a bakers dozen of a variety. I like to be able to tell the difference between them so that I can give them names.
Two years ago my mama ( which that’s war I called her due to her being so caring for the flock) went broody and I had purchased some fertile eggs and she did just fine. I might try to do that again if one of my girls decides to get broody this year.. I’m just itching for the sun to work it’s magic on our soon to be spring and melt all this snow we have here in NH.
We will be adding to our small flock this spring. We have 3 older hens – ~6 years old – One RIR and two Brahmas. They are living the good life here in Santa Barbara. Only Martha – our RIR – still lays. The other two – Gertrude and Florence – have all but retired… although everyone once in a blue moon they’ll surprise us with a random egg. The current plan is to bring home 2 Buff Orpingtons and 2 New Hampshire Reds from our fantastic local farm – Dare 2 Dream Farms.
I have an incubator and candler and I am ready to hatch some eggs. I want to get some Maran eggs to hatch so I can breed them with an Americana to grow out some Olive Eggers down the road.
Shared on Facebook
No new peeps this year; we have 1st year layers from last year and some 2/3 year olds still laying, so we don’t need any more eggs any time soon (getting 7-8 and sometimes 9 per day right now; way too many for the 3 of us!) But, probably by next year, we’ll be dying for some chicks again!
I had to work some extra hours today and called the IFA (Intermountain Farmers) store. They have baby chicks in! I’m going to stop by tomorrow and take a peek!
No chicks this spring, maybe one day. Though a friend of ours is getting chicks, so this could help him out.
Also shared on Facebook.
I have a small (three egg) incubator that I use in my classroom every spring. Hopefully I’ll have some little peeps to add to my flock again this year!
Yes, we will be getting peeps this spring. Not sure yet how many or what kind, we just know we want to add to the flock. Will also be remodeling the coop and run too so we’ve got our work cut our of us.
This is such a wonderful giveaway! I plan to add 1 of each, Speckled Sussex, Olive Egger and Cuckoo Marans. I currently have 4 SLW and 1 EE, Thank you for the hard work on your blog – I read everyday and take a peek at your flock and of course the boys too.
I am not planning on getting chicks this spring but will be next spring. We have a little granddaughter and can’t wait to share the experience with her.
I really enjoy your web sight! Brings back many childhood memories! Love peeking in to watch your pretty & cute chickens & your cute goats! Thanks again for sharing! ;))
No chicks this year for me. My attempt last spring to guess the number of older hens that would pass on was way off. So the chicks I got last year will have do.
I am hoping one of my Hens will go Broody as I would like to try raising some baby chicks that way. My # 1 choice would be white Sussex chicks or one of the Blue Eggers. I would only be able to keep 2 pullets but would sure enjoy watching the progression from eggs to feathered friends.
I plan to pick up some ducks. I had a hen hatch chicks last fall so I don’t need chickens. My hens provide enough eggs for me and my neighbor keeps bring more over — two dozen at a time!
Hi Terry,
No chicks this spring, but will get more next year. I’m looking forward to adding this book to my library whether I’m chosen (which I hope I am!) or not. Ms. Damerow’s books are like the encyclopedias of the “chicken books” on my shelf!
This book looks pretty handy! I need to replace my aging laying flock this year, but haven’t decided which breed(s) yet.
A little off topic: I have no chicks or goats, after ‘Little Bit’ my 21 year old cat passed on I decided no more animals. She was my fur person and I still miss her. But for all of you that still have fur and feather people in your life, you can add to the fun. I was visiting one of my favorite web sites and thought of you all. Canon, (http://cp.c-ij.com/en/index.html) has a web site devoted to papercraft. They recently added a hen and egg moving toy that looks like a lot of fun.They also have bunnies and a jumping goat moving toy. If you have kids or grandkids this is a great site to find things to build together.
If you are like me and just get a kick out of messing with glue and paper, it is a hoot.
Cheri
Sadly, I’m not allowed to have chicken where I live. But, I am searching for a new home where I can get a few. =)
I have an incubator full of eggs hatching right now! I went down to the basement to lock them down and six were already hatched. Icelandics are always the first to arrive at the party! They were still in closed egg cartons and the turner was on! Silly chicks!
Do you raise icelandics? I saw a flock in Iceland, but they are very rare here. Tell me about them.
Hi Terry, I’m a long time reader but first time commenter from Sydney, Australia.
I wish my family could afford the time and effort to get more chicks because they are irresistible. However, this is sadly not the case. I currently have only a 4yo lonely but dominant Light Sussex/ISA Brown hen and a 5yo broody Old English Game (they don’t get along and need to be kept in separate pens) from an original flock of 10. I have hatched three chicks from a Silkie (only survivor is the Light Sussex cross) and I wish I could have the opportunity to do that again in the future.
If I were to get chicks, I would adore having Silkies again for the obvious reason that they are the cutest and gentlest of breeds (also because I have never seen a Silkie chick in real life), as well as an Ameracauna/Aracauna/Easter Egger for their interesting personalities and funky eggs. I personally wouldn’t mind accidentally getting a rooster because one of the chicks I hatched turned out to be a perfect gentleman who was bullied by the girls! He was possibly one of the tamest roosters I have ever known. I have also dealt with the noise many times over.
Sorry about the long comment and thanks for making your blog an awesome read!
We are getting chicks. My little one demands Easter Eggers and I have an affinity for the sweet and very productive Black Stars.
I’m in!
This year we’ll be raising 25 Austrolorps, 15 Delawares and 10 Barred Rocks (so Ernie, our pet Barred, won’t be a singleton). I’m most interested in the bebunking myths chapter!!
Terry, speaking of chicks, what breed is your silver gal of the Gem tribe? She is fabulous.
She’s supposed to be a “Blue” Cochin, but her coloring is more “splash”.
Terry, I would love to win this book! But sadly, we cannot start our flock until we retire (not too far off, just four or five years!) to our property in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. And you betcha my dream of chicken keeping WILL become a reality! The hubs still thinks it’s some passing fancy, but it’s just gotten stronger EVERY year we stay here in this covenant-rigid subdivision! I can see my flock of girls now…!!!! Have fun giving your lecture!!!!
That looks so inviting. I’ve been thinking of starting from “scratch” instead of buying more day old chicksthis year from the hatchery. So-o-o much more fun. They will feel truely like my babies. I’ve bred just about every animal we’ve ever had except my chickens.
Yes I am. Going to the feed store about 30 miles away that always has at least a dozen pullet chicks to choose from. I plan on getting 6 but will probably come home with 8 depending on what they have. I take one of those and one of these……..
Plus I plan on setting 6 very small bantam eggs from my flock.
My son is wanting to add to our flock with the breed of game bantams called “Modern”….not quite the heavy breed egg layers we are accustomed to…in fact they are a complete opposite! Dainty, long legged fowl that remind one of a flamingo standing on one leg. Jack would love to win the book to use as his reference for chicken keeping. We have enjoyed your Hencam.com for many years and look forward to many more.
I will definitely be ordering some new chicks this spring along with a few dozen meat birds. I’m already studying the Murray McMurray catalog!
This will be our first time for chickens. We’re building our coop now in the snow and have 3 peeps on order. We’re getting a gold lace Wyandotte, a speckled Sussex and a black Australorp the first week in April. In the mean time we’re reading and absorbing all the information we can.
Currently I’m not planning on new chicks this spring, but it would have to be Easter Eggers again – they are hilarious chickens and I’m enjoying the 5 I’ve got right now. Love Gail’s books btw – she’s one of my go-to’s when I’ve got questions.
My 10 chicks will be arriving mid May, and as a newbie (I grew up in the city, thankfully my husband grew up on a farm) I am reading everything I can. More info of any kind would be wonderful.
Hi Terry, I am not looking at getting more chicks this year since I have 8 girls that are just one year old this month! 2 RIRs (Laverne & Shirley), 2 barred rocks (Rita & Roxie), 2 Buffs (Faith & Love), and 2 Golden Sex Links (Marilyn Monroe & Betty Boop). I have been reading all your archives to learn all I can about taking good care of my girls. They are laying 5 to 8 eggs a day right now. Because of your site and your readers comments, I feel so much more confident in what I do for them… Thank you so much! I told my vet about your site since she couldn’t help me much when Laverne was sick…but after reading your spa Epson salt treatment info and treating Laverne …three weeks later she was back with her girlfriends and is now laying again! I would love a book to help me learn even more. My husband says I have OCD…obsessive chicken disorder.. I love it! Carol
No chicks for me this spring. I’m moving to the big city come April or May. I would love a chance @ the book so I can live vicariously( as I often do watching the HenCam from my cubicle ). If I was going to get chicks, it would be a mixed bunch of Ameraucana and Marans. I have never had chickens and not sure if these breeds would be a good choice as a mixed flock. A girl can dream though :)
Oh, and I shared on FB and Twitter !
I have a couple of goats (William and Molly) and a few chicks ( Henny, Penny, Lucy). My little ladies are some big layers I have gotten 3 eggs every day for the last 3 weeks. I plan on getting some color layers this spring. I am new to your site, but have to say I try check the cam every day. :)
We can’t have chickens in our current location, but someday! My parents are planning to get some new chicks this spring as they are down to 3 older hens, so I will let them borrow the book if I win. :)
Our first batch of little ones are in the incubator and due at the end of the month. Then I get to do some more hatching for friends.
This book sounds wonderful…to read for future chicken keeping planning…
We started a tiny flock last spring while helping at our local farm – we took two late hatchets home and quickly fell in love. We’ve since added two more this fall. The book would be a great resource for our family as well as our 4h group – we are concentrating on chickens this spring.
How generous! I would love this book for my tiny flock: black star,australorp, ameraucana, and a silver wyandotte. Brought the tiny ones home on Tuesday and can’t stop watching them. So much joy!
Hi, Terry. I went to my local Super Target today and they had about 5 of those Nook e-readers there so I went onto the brower of each of them and typed in HenCam.com. Just trying to help you advertise! :)
Thanks! Actually, I have to increase my readership if I’m going to keep putting the hours that I do into HenCam, so I appreciate any good word of mouth.
Your welcome! :)
We are getting some little chicks and some ducklings this Spring! I am so excited, about once a week I pop into Tractor Supply to see if any have arrived yet!
We ordered 25 Welsummer chicks last spring. I absolutely love the dark eggs! I’m thinking this spring I may order to add some blue/green eggs to my cartons. Looking forward to shopping around! I thoroughly enjoy your site. I have learned so much from you. Thanks for sharing your years of experience and your knowledge!
I’m not getting new chicks this spring. But if I could, I would like to get some that lay dark brown eggs, like the Welsummers.
Love your blog, appreciate the fact you put so many hours into producing what I think is among the finest sites I’ve visited. While I don’t have chickens now, I really hope to have a few when we move to a single family home in a couple of years. I’ve read many of your recommended books in preparation of hen keeping, I’d love to win this one!
Thank you, Terry. Sincerely, Karen.
We got 4 girls last spring that were hatched in Brandon’s science class so no new baby peeps this spring.
We shared on Facebook. Thanks for the fun.
I previewed this book from the library and it is GREAT. I might be getting some more Australorps because they lay the best but then the Silver laced Wyandottes are so pretty. It’s so hard to choose.
No chicks this year..I did it last year! I toyed with the idea of getting a couple more guineas to keep my one guinea happy…but I think I will wait!
We’ve never tried chicks, only pullets, but have high hope to get some by early summer. My girls (actual daughters), but especially me, miss our girls we had to give up for adoptionback home when hubby took a work assignment out of state. But this summer we return, so chicks it is!
I’ve wanted chickens for years. We have a garden and bees now and we are thinking this spring is our time to start chicks. Thanks for the opportunity and such a lovely website!