This is a good book for anyone new to owning chickens (or is considering owning chickens). It is written by an American author, so is heavily directed towards an American audience, but there is a lot of good advice there.

I have to admit, I’ve owned hens for years and so I skim-read large parts of the book because it wasn’t relevant to me in my chook journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nonfiction. I have read several books on keeping chickens since I decided to join the world of backyard chickens last year. This book is so different from the others, and so refreshing. While many chicken books make you feel inferior if you don't have a custom built shed turned coop complete with curtains for the nesting boxes, this book acknowledges that traditionally chicken keeping has been done by those with little means. The author refers back to her Guatemalan grandparents who let their chickens sleep outside in trees and mainly fed them with food scraps. While she acknowledges that we all do the best we can, she ensures us that any chicken that gets to spend its life outside of a factory farm is better for it.

This book addresses so many topics, but the one that has been mot valuable to me was mud. I had a horrible time keeping my chicken run dry, and she suggested using pine pellets in the run. I found some at the feed store, put them down in the run, and now the ground and the eggs are much cleaner. This book is definitely one that could be referred to as reference when needed but I enjoyed reading it cover to cover. I look forward to digging in more to the world of "Chickenlandia."

Let's All Keep Chickens!; The Down-to-Earth Guide to Natural Practices for Healthier Birds and a Happier World by Dalia Monterroso was such a delightful book to look at and had amazing advice for new chicken parents! I felt so lucky to get a copy for myself! I have shared on my goodreads, bookstagram, and booktok!

Since we're getting a small backyard flock, I was very eager to read about natural practices for chicken-keeping. I found this book to be a great resource for the beginner chicken parent. The author provides lots of advice and suggestions that she's personally used, and does so in a very gentle way. She presents differing opinions that are found in the chicken keeping world, then explains why she makes her own choices. Although I didn't really care about the author's background story, some might find that to be very relatable and interesting. I was just there for the chicken info, and this book delivered.

This is a great book for beginners filled with a lot of important information. We have learned a lot that we applied towards the raising of our own chickens.

All about chickens. This book is very informational but written in more of a novel format. While it would be hard to use as a reference book, it is an easier read for those thinking about getting chickens. There was some very good information but much of it was more opinion than fact and can mislead chicken owners if they are using the book as a single source. I did enjoy many of the ideas and the pictures. While I don't agree with all of Dalia's methods, this was an interesting read in seeing a different point of view.

Did not finish…the format was hard to get into and it was way too much technical info then I was ready for at this stage.

Having had a plan to get chickens this year, I was thrilled when I was approved for this book! And it delivered! It has all the hints and tips you could ever want, advice on what to and not to do. Bits of history. It covers all the bases and this will be an excellent resource for a long time to come!

I loved this book - it is an accessible, straightforward, down to earth guide for anyone who wants to keep chickens (and like the title says, let's all do that!) I love how the author address issues or access, gatekeeping, sustainability and our shared human experience, while drawing from her own ancestry in Guatemala. There are even some nice recipes at the back of the book as a bonus! I kept chickens in the past, and plan to do so again and this was an excellent refresher and would be a wonderful intro for anyone interested in raising their own chicks! Let's all keep chickens!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Review Copy! All opinions are my own!

I loved how fun and detailed this book was! Homesteading is becoming very popular in our region and I am always looking for books to suggest to patrons. I am looking to raise chickens myself and I can't wait to get my hands on this book.

This all seems to be good information with the caveat that it doesn't include information about raising chickens for meat (which most backyard chicken keepers probably do not want, anyway.) It's engaging, has decent photos, and seems comprehensive. I am taking off a star for the inclusion of homeopathic "medicine" - it makes me wonder about the reliability of the rest of the book.

This is the most helpful chicken book I’ve read so far! I was able to get an electronic ARC from netgalley and preordered the paperback before I even got halfway through the book (yes, it’s that good!).

Just a disclaimer, I do not have chickens yet. My family is moving from a suburban to a more rural area and one of the first orders of business for us is a small backyard flock. We have friends who have kept chickens but we’ve never done so ourselves so I’m in “gather as much info as possible mode” right now. I cannot tell you how many websites and books I’ve read or how many YouTube and TikTok videos I’ve watched over the last six months or so but it’s A LOT. “Let’s all keep chickens” has been the most complete, easiest to understand guide. And it’s laid out in a helpful way that makes sense.

The reason I ordered this immediately is because I’m going to want it handy to answer my questions while we’re in the thick of it. For instance, I’ve been feeling intimidated about getting chicks. Grown birds don’t scare me but little fragile chicks did. The chapter on taking care of chicks was so thorough and explained what all is needed in such a way that I now feel completely capable and ready. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who’s thinking about getting some chickens off their own!

I liked the perspective of this book and how easy the author made it to keep chickens. I agree that everyone should try to keep chickens if they can and that it’s not out of reach. She gives simple and doable options for readers but also shared the above and beyond ways to care for you flock if you can. I was encouraged by the stories in the book and the personal history that the author brought into the book rather than keeping it strictly educational. The writing was captivating, even for a book about keeping chickens.

I'm a chicken lady myself and was drawn in by the adorable cover on this one. It hits the mark for everything I'd want in a chicken raising book, above all, how inclusive and it is to people who may not have the fund to have an Instagram-worthy chicken hobby. Chickens are so joyful and it comes through in every aspect of this one.

Seriously!! We all need to keep chickens. For food security, the health of our gardens and environment, and because they are just so darn fun! Dalia Monterroso does a great job illustrating the ins/outs and ups/downs of chickencare. She goes into impressive detail on every topic including the breeds, housing, feed, “dis-ease” management, and navigating life in general wherever you are with your feathered friends. All of her advice is based on a phenomenal organic, sustainable, as-natural-as-it-gets worldview. This book should be on every urban and rural homesteader’s shelf. Go get you some chickens!

Thank you, NetGalley!

Great book for people who want to get started in keeping chickens. Especially if they have no clue. I found this one to be informative.

Several chapters on helping you prepare for chickens as well as chapters for once you have acquired chickens. Filled with tips for various possibilities including predators and weather. You feel like you are in a conversation with the author.

The strapline for Dalia Monterroso’s emphatically titled book is “The Down-to-Earth Guide to Natural Practices for Healthier Birds and a Happier World” and it provides a perfect summary of what the author is trying to achieve. She is clearly a passionate keeper and carer of chickens, and she hopes to encourage others to take up the enterprise through her light-hearted but thoroughly experienced guide. No prior experience is needed, just an interest in the birds and an open mind.

I was attracted to the book because, over the last few years, I have been developing a growing interest and attachment with the land and living from it. I have lived in the same place for a long time, but it is only recently that I would say I have become firmly rooted in it, rather than it being the place where I slept between commutes to and from work. Now, I am part of a small cooperative of families who rent a field together, grow vegetables, tend an orchard and this summer began keeping bees.

It has mostly been a learning process, connecting with a slower way of life based on relationship with the land, building an understanding and some basic skills, and learning about chickens seemed like a natural progression. Dalia’s book seemed to offer a way to get a good grounding in the basics and give me a sense of whether I wanted to go further and investigate adding chickens to the mix. It certainly delivered on that promise, and I would recommend it to anyone who is considering adding a flock, whether on a smallholding, allotment or in the garden.

For me, I think the time isn’t quite right. I do have a source of eggs locally so it is not my top priority and the responsibility of keeping more livestock is a little too much for this moment in time. It is certainly something that I hope to explore again in the future though and I’m sure this book will come out again when I do as a valuable source of knowledge and encouragement.

This is a book for everyone who has ever dreamed of keeping chickens! I liked the responsible way the author discusses proper care of chickens and their health...they do require care and work. I hope more people will choose to give homes to these practical birds.

With infectious enthusiasm, constant encouragement, and a practical approach, Dalia Monterroso shows that nearly everyone--no matter their location--can successfully and humanely raise chickens. In addition to a fresh supply of eggs, Monterroso insists that chicken farming brings us back to an essential human ritual of partnership with the animals, land, and co-relationships; honoring this interconnectedness, she says, benefits not only the chickens but the humans who care for them as well.
Whether you believe this to be true or not, Monterroso's book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in keeping chickens. She gives thorough explanations not only of her care guidelines, but the reasons for them, and insists that we all have innate chicken-keeping skills if we will just tap into them.
In addition to being a pleasure to read straight through--the photos alone are enough to convince you to get your own brood--the book is set up in helpful sections which are easy to navigate if you decide you want to take the plunge into poultry husbandry, from designing the best coop and run, to homeopathic health support and treatments for any problems that arise. Far from suggesting that potential chicken-owners must spend a fortune on setup and maintenance, Monterroso offers low-cost options as well as fancier ones, further supporting her belief that humans and chickens should be together, no matter their tax bracket.
Highly recommend for anyone interested in poultry-keeping, or even in understanding the history of chicken farming as a natural part of the human experience.