Chicken Boy: My Life With Hens

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I have neither inclination nor conducive circumstances to raise chickens anytime soon (although I generally enjoy reading about agrarian life and have always been fond of chickens), but Chicken Boy ranks among my favorite reads in recent memory. Arthur Parkinson is the author of The Pottery Gardener and The Flower Yard, and the co-host, with Sarah Raven, of the popular Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange podcast. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

Join Arthur Parkinson as he shares his journey of raising chickens and finding joy in his feathery companions. It also made me realise that I am not in a position to get chickens and that to get them would be entirely for my own pleasure and that is not the point.Arthur Parkinson is a young British gardening expert who, judging by his six-figure Instagram follower number (which I now count myself amongst), is apparently pretty well known, although he was unfamiliar to me before I encountered Chicken Boy. This hugely informative, joyful and amusing book has me desperately wondering and hoping that I could, after all, find space in my small garden for a few chickens. From the local allotments and his nan’s back garden, to Chatsworth and an unlikely friendship with the late Duchess of Devonshire, a famous hen-keeper, Chicken Boy tells the story of the love and satisfaction to be found in caring for living things.

Came away with a much deeper understanding of my hens, what they need and how I can improve their lives for the better. Brings to life the joy of keeping hens and enriches one understanding of them in a beautiful and engaging way. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

From the allotments of Nottinghamshire to Chatsworth and an unlikely friendship with the late Duchess of Devonshire, a famous hen-keeper, this memoir – illustrated by the author – tells the story of the love and satisfaction to be found in caring for living things. I really enjoyed this book and can also highly recommend his previous books The Flower Yard and The Pottery Gardener. Although it might seem like a book on hen keeping would appeal to only a niche audience, I feel confident that most readers would thoroughly enjoy it. He has written several books on gardening most notably The Flower Yard and his first book on chickens is due out at Easter 2022.

And to be able to walk round a garden full of flowers and chickens with him talking and laughing and sharing stories. Most of us want a dog, or a cat, or a pony when we are young - for Arthur Parkinson, it was always hens. It is impossible to easily classify the book in terms of genre: part reflection on the joys of keeping hens, part memoir of the substantial role that chickens have played in Parkinson’s life, part guide to hen keeping, part encyclopedia of the beautiful menagerie of chicken breeds.A perfectly balanced memoir, hen keeping guide and art/photo exhibition of the joys and realities of keeping hens. Parkinson’s gentle, passionate voice shines through his writing, which is unpretentious and accessible. If the initial age verification is unsuccessful, we will contact you asking you to provide further information to prove that you are aged 18 or over.

Arthur Parkinson is an English author, Gardener, photographer, illustrator and farm animal rights campaigner, originally from Nottinghamshire where he still spends much of his time between living also in Gloucestershire. Additional note that this is the most beautiful and satisfying hardback book I now own, the format and texture and every page so well thought through n produced. Illustrated with Arthur's own characterful watercolours and photographs of his 'girls', and laden with practical hen-keeping tips, gardening advice and introductions to common, rare and pure breeds, Chicken Boy is a one-of-a-kind memoir of a life in nature. But the quiet fulfilment of keeping hens became his sanctuary, a tonic for mental and physical health, a connection with his family and the natural world. His writing and photography are regularly featured in the Daily Telegraph , and have appeared in The Times , Country Life and Country Living , among other magazines and newspapers; he has also featured in BBC Two's Gardeners' World .Parkinson is charming and knowledgeable, passionate about chickens and the way of life he has chosen and he is very generous in the way he shares it with the reader. Would love to have chickens but not enough space unfortunately and having read this book I would want only the best for my chickens!