Chicken Whisperer follow-up

Greg Ellis runs Garden Matchmaking, a dating service for gardens. He's doing some great work.

The National Heirloom Expo was held in September. I wore my Have You Hugged Your Chicken Today tee shirt from Backyard Poultry magazine. Every time I wear it, I get lots of smiles and comments.

The Heritage Breeds Cross Stitch patterns will look great on shirts. Susan Cantor makes a quilt from mens' neckties with a poultry design for the raffle at the annual Poultry Science Association meeting. She needs more ties to make next year's quilt. Send your poultry ties to:

Austin H. Cantor, Ph.D., P.A.S., associate professor, Department of Animal & Food Sciences, 606 W. P. Garrigus Bldg., University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0215. Call him at 895-257-7531 or email him at austin.cantor@uky.edu.

Books we discussed include:

The Small-Scale Poultry Flock by Harvey Ussery.
The most comprehensive and definitive guide to date on raising all-natural poultry, for homesteaders or farmers seeking to close their loop, The Small-Scale Poultry Flock offers a practical and integrative model for working with chickens and other domestic fowl, based entirely on natural systems. Including extensive information on:

• Formulating and making your own feed
• How to breed and brood the flock (for breed improvement and for genetic conservation), including the most complete guide to working with broody hens available anywhere
• Providing more of the flock’s feed from sources grown or self-foraged on the home place, including production of live protein feeds using earthworms and soldier grubs
• Using poultry to increase soil fertility, control crop-damaging insects, and tmake compost—including systems for pasturing and tillage of cover crops and weeds
• Step-by-step butchering—one of the best guides available—complete with extensive illustrative photos.

American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection, available from the APA.

The American Bantam Association 2011 Yearbook, available from the ABA.

Poultry Science, Chicken Culture: A Partial Alphabet by Susan Merrill Squier. A collection of engrossing, witty, and thought-provoking essays about the chicken—the familiar domestic bird that has played an intimate part in our cultural, scientific, social, economic, legal, and medical practices and concerns since ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Talking Chicken by Kelly Klober, www.acresusa.com. Practical advice on heirloom chickens and eggs.

Enjoy! There's always lots going on in the poultry world.