A permaculture approach to animal husbandry permeates almost every page of The Small-Scale Poultry Flock, through tapping into what Harvey Ussery refers to as the ‘abundant ecology’ all around us. This is not simply an excellent guide to raising poultry and other fowl; it also encourages the reader to step back, take time to observe and see how we all fit into the system rather than always trying to control it. A good life lesson that extends well beyond hen keeping!

The author’s aim is for his domesticated hens to be able to live as closely as possible to how they would in the wild. It’s not how he started out though, and he is honest about the mistakes learnt along the way (and generously shares advice on how to avoid these pitfalls in our own flocks). By taking the abundant ecology approach, the hens are doing what they want and can become willing and efficient helpers on your plot.

From guides to building your own mobile chicken tractor to spreadsheets detailing how to select brooders, layers and make your feed, the level of detail in this book is impressive, but still accessible.

He’s also a great storyteller and I particularly loved the backstory about how he met his wife over a shared love of compost at a Zen monastery. I also had no idea that chicken breath can help boost your winter crops! It’s these little gems of knowledge throughout that elevate this book from a practical ‘how to guide’ to something much more meaningful.

This is literally a cradle to grave guide to hen keeping - it doesn’t skimp on detail when it comes to killing birds, for example, and one of the recipes he includes so impressed the Dalai Lama that he had three portions! For those wanting to be less dependent on commercial feed, there’s advice on growing your own foodstuffs that extends far beyond the usual greens and grains. Not everyone will have the stomach for raising their own flies, but most of us will be ok with a dedicated chicken wormery and compost bug pile.

I’ve been keeping hens for over a decade and learnt a lot from the reading this; I’d already been applying permaculture principles to poultry care, but this book has given me a deeper insight into how to use abundant ecology to create a better working environment for both me and my hens.

If you’re new to hen keeping then this book will make you want to rush out and buy yourself a flock. For those more experienced readers, it will inspire you to be a much better ‘flockster’ than you already are.

By Sarah Cossom, The Hop Garden High Spen