Chicken Boy: My Life With Hens

Product Information

Arthur Parkinson is well known for his flamboyant garden designs, and this book includes many of his own drawings and photographs with his ‘girls’, alongside lots of practical hen keeping advice. Parkinson’s gentle, passionate voice shines through his writing, which is unpretentious and accessible. The whole point of this book is to build a generous, nurturing relationship with the natural world and to rebalance things in favour of a world of we have so long taken from and not given back to.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. It is also the book for people who already keep hens as there is something to learn on almost every page. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Came away with a much deeper understanding of my hens, what they need and how I can improve their lives for the better.

Most of us want a dog, or a cat, or a pony when we are young - for Arthur Parkinson, it was always hens. 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. 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.

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.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. Kudos to the publisher for creating a book that feels special and high quality, with a gorgeous cover design and color scheme that complement Parkinson’s top notch chicken illustrations and photographs, which are included on at least every other page and add so much to the experience of the book. With delightful anecdotes, practical insights, and a dash of humour, this book celebrates the simple pleasures of connecting with nature and the enchantment that comes from sharing your life with these feathered friends. 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. 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.

This is for more than that, lovely narrative and packed with information that’s given in a warm and friendly way. A perfectly balanced memoir, hen keeping guide and art/photo exhibition of the joys and realities of keeping hens. Brings to life the joy of keeping hens and enriches one understanding of them in a beautiful and engaging way. 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.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 . 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.