Take more pleasure in owning a backyard flock with low-cost, imaginative projects that reduce chores, solve common problems, and benefit chickens and chicken-keepers alike, from a predator-proof chicken run to a self-filling waterer, automatic coop doors, and more.
Keep Chickens with Less Work & More Joy
Free yourself from the burden of daily hen-tending tasks, and go on vacation without worrying about your flock. How? Turn your backyard into a hentopia: a chicken habitat that keeps your flock safe, clean, fed, and entertained, with less work left over for you. Frank Hyman's ingenious designs and DIY instructions guide even those with minimal carpentry skills in building inexpensive, low-maintenance structures and accessories to create a sustainable paradise for your hens.
“This is the book I wish I'd read when I started keeping chickens. Frank Hyman is so funny and personable that he has managed to write an extremely handy and detailed chicken-keeping manual that is also quite entertaining to read. More importantly, he's lived the backyard chicken lifestyle and solved every imaginable problem using nothing more than a few ordinary tools and some ingenuity. Whether you're dreaming of keeping chickens or already manage a flock of your own, you will be inspired to take on one of these projects--and your chickens will thank you.” — Amy Stewart, NYT bestselling author of
The Drunken Botanist and
Wicked Plants “Having worked with Frank for nearly a decade and read dozens of his articles and columns, I always walk away with some new bits of information that I can put to use right away.
Hentopia is no different. Frank’s creative projects are practical, well designed and easy to do and will make your everyday chicken-keeping chores a breeze. He’s a true zen master of poultry!” — Roger Sipe, Editor,
Hobby Farms and
Chickens magazines and
HobbyFarms.com “Practical, resourceful, and fun!” — Melissa Caughey, author of
How to Speak Chicken and
A Kids’ Guide to Keeping Chickens, and blogger at Tilly’s Nest
“
Hentopia brings together practical DIY family flock keeping systems that decrease daily chores while at the same time keep costs down with innovative use of materials. It describes ways to allow chickens to have a high quality of life—including fresh grazing and foraging—while having protection from predators. From the chickens’ point of view this book is something to crow about!” — Patricia Foreman, Animal Scientist, Pharmacist, and author of
City Chicks
