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Pasture Basics: How to Keep the Grass Green and Your Chickens Happy (Permaculture Chicken Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Anna Hess (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 227 ratings
Do you want to enjoy healthy eggs and meat from chickens raised on pasture?

Pasture Basics starts at the beginning to help you design the best pasturing setup for your flock and for your homestead. Great grazing for chickens won't be found in the perfect pasture for sheep or cows --- you need to tweak your design to match a chicken's unique behavior and stomach.

Included in this volume are an explanation of chicken digestion and behavior, pasture specifics like size and shape, a rundown on which traditional pasture plants chickens enjoy, tips on maximizing plant growth during rotation, and an explanation of how to establish new pastures and maintain existing grazing areas.

Cut your feed costs with pastured chickens!
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  1. Book 2 of 5
    Permaculture Chicken
  2. Print length
    80 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    February 12, 2013
  5. File size
    5.0 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Even for experienced chicken growers." --- Andrew Ayers "Ashaldaron"

"It was very informative and I believe that it will prevent me from making quite a few mistakes that I would have otherwise made do to my lack of understanding about the diet of chickens." --- NJS86

"This is actually a very well researched and organized book, replete with graphs, diagrams, and photos. Info is given on layout designs, types of vegetation, and creating and maintaining areas of chickie-optimized pasture. The text is informative and professional in tone, and refreshingly free of superfluous 'filler'." --- Ava Wilkerson

"This was just what I expected it to be. A basic description of what you need to know to get started on rotating chicken pastures to optimize chicken health as well as pasture health." --- Albert

About the Author

Anna Hess dreamed about moving back to the land ever since her parents dragged her off their family farm at the age of eight. She worked as a field biologist and nonprofit organizer before acquiring fifty-eight acres and a husband, then quit her job to homestead full time. She admits that real farm life involves a lot more hard work than her childhood memories entailed, but the reality is much more fulfilling and she loves pigging out on sun-warmed strawberries and experimenting with no-till gardening, mushroom propagation, and chicken pasturing.

She also enjoys writing about the adventures, both on her blog at WaldenEffect.org, and in her books.  Her first paperback, The Weekend Homesteader, helped thousands of homesteaders-to-be find ways to fit their dreams into the hours leftover from a full-time job.  In addition, a heaping handful of ebooks on Amazon serve a similar purpose.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00BFE60Y0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wetknee Books; First edition (February 12, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 12, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 80 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 227 ratings

About the author

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Anna Hess

Anna Hess

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Anna Hess is a homesteader, writer, and blogger whose first paperback, The Weekend Homesteader, helped thousands of homesteaders-to-be find ways to fit their dreams into the hours leftover from a full-time job. Her complete works include:

Homesteading:

The Weekend Homesteader

Trailersteading

Growing into a Farm

Microbusiness Independence

Low-Cost Sunroom

$10 Root Cellar

Gardening:

Homegrown Humus

Bug-Free Organic Gardening (formerly titled "The Naturally Bug-Free Garden")

The Ultimate Guide to Soil (also available as four smaller ebooks as "Personality Tests for Your Soil," "Small-Scale No-Till Gardening Basics," "Balancing Soil Nutrients and Acidity," and "Soil Amendments for the Organic Garden")

Chickens:

Getting Started With Your Working Chicken (FREE ebook!)

Incubation Handbook

Pasture Basics

Thrifty Chicken Breeds

Building a DIY Chicken Waterer

Eating the Working Chicken

Download a free ebook and dive into a wealth of information when you join my email list at https://wetknee.com/free-books/

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
227 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides excellent information for beginners and is very easy to read. They appreciate its value, noting it offers lots of information for a small price and helps cut feed costs. The book receives positive feedback for its nutrient content, with one customer highlighting its focus on creating and maintaining optimized pasture areas. The illustrations receive mixed reviews, with some customers appreciating them while others find them lacking in detail.

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57 customers mention "Information quality"57 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's information helpful and educational, with many noting it's excellent for beginners and provides lots of good tips. One customer specifically mentions it covers free-range chicken raising.

"...Surprise, surprise. This is actually a very well researched and organized book, replete with graphs, diagrams, and photos...." Read more

"This was actually a very detailed book on grazing your chickens...." Read more

"...your chickens is how they were intended to live, this will give you lots of information to ensure they are getting the proper care...." Read more

"Basic information that is well thought out and presented in manner that is easy to understand...." Read more

27 customers mention "Readability"27 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and well-written, with one customer noting it's a short read with useful information.

"...But I digress. Anyway. Excellent book, highly recommended for homesteaders, chook fanciers, and basically anyone interested in providing their flock..." Read more

"...Worth reading,gives some ideas to think about before entering into the chicken raising business...." Read more

"I really enjoyed this book and found it very helpful as we plan on creating a self sufficient homestead in the next few years...." Read more

"Really enjoyed the book...." Read more

20 customers mention "Ease of reading"20 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and understand.

"...The text is informative and professional in tone, and refreshingly free of superfluous "filler"...." Read more

"...that is well thought out and presented in manner that is easy to understand...." Read more

"...I found the writing to be mostly easy to follow and understand and I gleaned a few tips that I hope to implement with my birds...." Read more

"This is a well written and informative book...." Read more

11 customers mention "Nutrient content"11 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's nutrient content, with reviews highlighting how it helps create and maintain optimized pasture areas for chickens, resulting in healthy and productive flocks.

"...on layout designs, types of vegetation, and creating and maintaining areas of chickie-optimized pasture...." Read more

"...types of grasses and other types of plants and weeds that are better for your chickens than normal lawn grass grass...." Read more

"...Good for the birds and good for the farmer...." Read more

"Quick read that hits the high points of chickens on the pasture. Goof start for anyone new to pastured chickens." Read more

9 customers mention "Value for money"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book offers good value for money, providing lots of information for a small price and helping to reduce feed costs.

"...range them (and if you don't, shame on your), this is well worth the price of admission." Read more

"This ebook has a lot of great information for the price...." Read more

"...I think this info is worth the price of the kindle. It also gives some good insight into a good chicken diet and why; I like that she explains that...." Read more

"...and rewards of using chickens to maintain your pasture, reduce your feed costs, and allow birds a happier "free range" lifestyle...." Read more

9 customers mention "Illustrations"6 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the illustrations in the book, with some appreciating the nice and great pictures, while others find them lacking in detail.

"...Info is given on layout designs, types of vegetation, and creating and maintaining areas of chickie-optimized pasture...." Read more

"...The book just seemed a bit incomplete...." Read more

"Basic information that is well thought out and presented in manner that is easy to understand...." Read more

"...Also like the many full color photos included. Highly recommend this book for the novice backyard or small farmer." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • AG
    5.0 out of 5 stars Surprised by the quality of this book!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I got this as an ebook freebie... Which as you fellow kindle owners probably know, typically means (for the nonfiction titles) a book of amateur quality with rehashed information. But I downloaded it anyway--nothing to lose, right?--since I've been looking for more info on pasture rotation for my flock of 30+ chickens, and any little tidbit I can glean on the subject is helpful at this point. Surprise, surprise. This is actually a very well researched and organized book, replete with graphs, diagrams, and photos. Info is given on layout designs, types of vegetation, and creating and maintaining areas of chickie-optimized pasture. The text is informative and professional in tone, and refreshingly free of superfluous "filler".

    My thanks to the author for offering this title as a free read. I'll certainly check out the other books in this series... except for the butchering guide, I guess, since my girls are all pets. Very loud, messy, neurotic pets. Which actually makes them more like family, really. And you don't eat family. Unless your plane goes down in the Andes, or you're lost at sea, or your wagon train becomes trapped by snow for an extended period of time in the Sierra Nevada. Then it's generally acceptable to nosh a cousin or two. But I digress. Anyway. Excellent book, highly recommended for homesteaders, chook fanciers, and basically anyone interested in providing their flock with a healthy, balanced, natural grazing area.
    22 people found this helpful
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  • Twiddlebug
    4.0 out of 5 stars Graze those chickens!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This was actually a very detailed book on grazing your chickens. I appreciate the honesty that grazing will allow you to reduce some of your feed costs but not eliminate all of it. Learned a lot, I definitely recommend purchasing it if you want to allow your chickens to graze and hunt bugs. However, the book is not tailored for the arid west. We don't get summer rains in California as the area which the book talks about does. We graze our chickens and got the dirt field she speaks about avoiding! I've learned I can only graze in the spring after the summer rains brings up new growth and stop grazing when the grasses is half grazed down. I especially like the grass comparison chart showing what season different varieties thrive in because I will be using that to see if I can make more year around forage with irrigation. I will also be trying her suggestion to mow.
    Helpful
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  • Andrew and Jenn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Even for experienced chicken growers
    Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I got this book thinking it was going to be about a chicken's use inside of a permaculture system, which to me it really wasn't. However, that has more to do with me failing to read the actual description of the book. What this book WILL do for you, is teach you a lot about what you take for granted when raising chickens, the grass they live on. If you are like me, and believe that pasturing your chickens is how they were intended to live, this will give you lots of information to ensure they are getting the proper care. To me, grass is all the same, and in this book, you learn a lot about how to encourage the proper grass for your chickens. If you have birds, and you free range them (and if you don't, shame on your), this is well worth the price of admission.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Chicken pastures
    Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Basic information that is well thought out and presented in manner that is easy to understand. Worth reading,gives some ideas to think about before entering into the chicken raising business. If the reader has the land available makes sense to try some of these ideas.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of sort of self obvious stuff
    Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This is a good collection of sort of self obvious stuff that is not necessarily obvious until it is done. The only thing that it convinced me of is that using any of the methods she describes does not benefit the plants that nourish the chickens. When bees pollinate plants that they like to get honey from, those plants benefit at the expense of plants bees don't like. A win-win situation. Chickens, if given the opportunity, destroy the plants that they like by eating them to the ground at which point the chickens are eating expensive commercial chicken food and only the plants that are unwanted benefit. It may be that anything without a large herbivore (cow dung/maggot) is just less sustainable. Chickens + plants may just be too simple to be self sustainable. Perhaps that question she should have been trying to answer is how to grow more insects/grubs for the chickens to eat instead of concentrating on plants.
    One person found this helpful
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  • future homesteader
    5.0 out of 5 stars a great introduction
    Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I really enjoyed this book and found it very helpful as we plan on creating a self sufficient homestead in the next few years. It offers practical information for both beginners just starting to raise chickens or experienced raisers who want to create a more self reliant farm. I look forward to reading the other books in this series!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • riverbuyer
    3.0 out of 5 stars ... further information on pasturing your chickens this is a great guide and worth the 5 star rating
    Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    If you're just looking for a general guide or a reference guide for further information on pasturing your chickens this is a great guide and worth the 5 star rating. For the price the information in the book is invaluable, but I always wish for more information as per my nature for anything I buy.
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  • girl+dogs
    4.0 out of 5 stars To The Point....Mostly
    Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This ebook has a lot of great information for the price. A lot of the same can be found in Harvey Ussery's book, 'The Small Scale Poultry Flock', all-be-it a little more lengthy and expounded(but it is much more expensive). For someone on a budget who is looking for ways to improve their flocks' feed consumption and grazing ability, this is certainly a great alternative.

    I found the writing to be mostly easy to follow and understand and I gleaned a few tips that I hope to implement with my birds. I wish the author had included a little more information on a few of the topics instead of referring the reader to a separate ebook. I'd have gladly paid more for the added info in one book instead of having to purchase 2-3 different ebooks. The book just seemed a bit incomplete.

    All in all though, I'd recommend this edition to anyone who is interested in creating a poultry favorable pasturing environment and I will be on the lookout for other work from this author that interests me.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Andrea Casalinho
    5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed and honest
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 5, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    An excellent guide, even for experienced chicken keepers. Very detailed and honest, and written by someone with obvious experience and a love of chickens. Anna Hess has written other books about chickens in this series, and all the ones I've read so far have been really worthwhile.
    Report
  • A1R B3ND3R
    5.0 out of 5 stars thank you
    Reviewed in Canada on April 30, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I LOVED this book so much and am so happy to try out some of your Ideas. I am 11 years old and am in to permaculture and chickens but when I heard about a book called (the permaculture chicken ) I was so happy Thank you
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  • Evelyn M. Gilmar
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good information not addressed anywhere else.
    Reviewed in Canada on April 6, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Now that you have your chickens on pasture just what exactly is that pasture? All plants are not created equal - some have more nutritional value and others, some grow better in various conditions, some provide forage at differing times of the seasons. Anna Hess does a great job of addressing all of these factors and much more. A must book for anyone serious about pastured poultry. Well researched and written by a knowledgeable person who has been there, done that.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    excellent quality and quick delivery thank you
    Report
  • Anne Stone
    2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Boring narrative and predictable ending, saved slightly by good descriptions of the scenery
    Report

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