20 Best Chickens For Florida (2022 Updated)

This informative little book tells you everything you need to know about buying and caring for chickens and bantams.

Good information and great colored pictures of different breeds of chickens. Also I found the chapters on showing birds interesting.

Very informative an nice colourful photos.

If you have any interest in keeping 1 or 2 chickens in your backyard as pets and for the eggs, of if you want to setup an meat and egg operation with 100’s of chickens, this the definitive guide for doing it.

Written in an interesting and informative manner, an easy read. This is a tutorial – instruction book, the Table of Contents is very well organized such that finding your area of interest is quick and easy.

The index is a short cut to what your looking for after you get a little familiar with the book. The author is quite intuitive, covering some ‘simple subjects’ in good detail for newbies and at the same time elaborating with many more involved details for larger operations as well.

The authors intuitiveness is a welcome relief, she answers your questions before you form them. I was thinking she was reading my mind as I was reading through may sections, as questions began to form, there would be the answer! A must have reference book even if you have been raising chickens for a while.

A great investment.

This even gets into breeds of chickens and their anatomy. It is a very detailed reference guide, almost like the “for dummies” guide.

Thorough and concise information for all chicken raising people! Has all you need to know about chickens and their needs! Great information!

Gail Damerow is an expert on chickens. I had read that statement in my research on what books to get on chickens. My daughter-in-law raises chickens. My son mentioned to her that I was researching books on chickens, For Mother’s Day, my daughter-in-law got me “The Chicken Encyclopedia” by Gail Demarow.

In my conversation with my daughter-in-law thanking her for the book, I mentioned I had read Gail was an expert on chickens and my daughter-in-law said she met Gail at a seminar she went to and Gail is indeed an expert on chickens.

This book will definitely be my go-to book when I get my chickens. I highly recommend the book!.

Awesome. I had an older version of this book and this new book makes the old one look like crap. New book has all you need to know about Chickens and more. Storey prints the best animal books. I have his other books also.

The book is full of great information to help successfully raise and maintain your flock. This should be the only book you will need.

My daughter raises chickens and ducks so I got this for her as a birthday present. She loves all the information it contains and it is easy to reference. Great book for any poultry raiser!

everything about poultry with great pictures. very Informative,

We recently bought a new home and needed to find a new coop for our chickens fast. After some shopping around, I bought the small OverEZ coop based on its sturdy-looking design and ease of assembly. Unfortunately it wasn’t worth the price tag, as there seem to be several quality control issues with it.

First, many of the pre-driven screws were bent and wouldn’t drive correctly, requiring me to replace them with my own. Also the “catch” for the nest box lock is so loose it won’t stay connected to the handle, making the locking mechanism completely useless.

I ended up screwing down the door so that predators can’t easily enter through there before I can find some other locking solution. In addition, the lock on the “man door” isn’t positioned correctly, so the door isn’t held flush when the door is locked–there is about 1/2″ of play.

It’s not enough to let a raccoon in, but still not ideal at all. The window also leaks (bad dealing), and the screen (which should be hardware cloth to be honest) came out within a week of putting the coop together.

There are other design flaws as well. I personally find the coop too small even for my three chickens, though I suppose if the chickens only sleep in it it is big enough. Otherwise, though, it’s too cramped to provide food and water while keeping them inside.

The “man door” is also very narrow, and cleaning out the coop is a real chore as a result. A full size door would be much more convenient for changing bedding. The roosting bars are only 2×2″, which is too narrow for chickens to comfortably stand with feet flat as they prefer.

It would be better to have 2×4″ perches with the 4″ side up instead. I went ahead and just screwed the provided 2x2s together to make one perch for my three birds. In the end, I feel that even with higher prices on lumber right now, it’s possible to build a much better coop for the same money or cheaper.

Unless you need a new coop fast and are willing to have to do a lot of fixing to make it work, I would steer clear of this one.

Once it is put together, it is a very good shelter for our flock. However, it was not as easy and simple to put together. Some of the pre-drilled screws/nails were not at the right spot, some of the wooden panels did not match up properly with the dotted lines and instructions.

So, because of this, it took us a much longer time than expected to put the coop together. about 3. 5 hours. My husband and I were quite frustrated and disappointed with things not fitting as it should and having to piece the parts together through trial and error.

There were also 2 screws missing. The nesting boxes also have a large gap because the wood did not line up as detailed in the instructions. We had high hopes for this coop, being that it is amish-built and thought that it would take the headache of building our own from scratch away.

There should have been more precision in the measuring and building of the pieces. Like I said, once it is all put together and standing, it provides a water-proof, safe and comfortable shelter for our flock but putting it together was just a big pain in the neck.

I bought this coop in September of 2021 in the brown and black colored version they sold temporarily. It definitely does not hold 15 chickens. Maybe 6-8 maximum. My 4 gals fit fine but this coop won’t hold 15 unless they are packed in there with no room to move.

The pieces were sturdy and it was fairly easy to assemble, though very heavy. We needed 3 strong people to lift each side. The front piece with the windows was not cut to the correct size and so we had to cut a piece of wood to cover a large gap in one side of the coop.

The roof arrived damaged; bent and scratched. The coop also must’ve been packed while the paint was still wet because removing the packaging caused lots of the paint to peel off, so I was glad it was shipped with extra cans of paint but slightly annoyed I had to repaint so much of a brand new coop.

It’s not easy to clean since there’s no removable pan and it’s too short to get inside to sweep it out, and I’m a pretty small person. If I had to do it over, I’d buy a shed from a box store like tractor supply and just add nesting boxes yourself.

This is an amazing product. I’m using it for 2 rabbits. It’s super easy to access all the parts for cleaning, there’s plenty of space for the rabbits and multiple hay/litter boxes, some toys and tunnels etc.

The rabbits are really happy in there, it’s very good to access the rabbits too as they tend to come to the top box for feeding, then you can slide the door shut and trap them in there so you can grab them and handle them etc.

It looks very sturdy and well made, it doesn’t look out of place in my garden. The wire is a little weak and I’m not sure how fox proof it would be for chickens, luckily I’m in a rather foxless area and the coop is right outside my back door against the wall and under a patio roof so relatively safe.

By far the best coop/hutch I’ve owned or seen, extremely practical and great size and design for the animals. It also lets a lot of light in and the top is sturdy and good for storing things on top of (I have a rabbit carrying case and some hay bags etc up there in a storage box) Definitely recommend for rabbits/guinea pigs.

Great Coop & Run. We keep 3 silkies in this. They roam free by day in our garden, but if they don’t through winter, I wont feel so bad. Enough space for them in here. Good build quality. Easy to pop together.

Takes an hour or two with a drill. Caging decent quality, wood decent quality, screws good quality. Be aware holes for the screws in the roof are already there. Took me a while to realise they were pre-drilled.

Just hard to see. Also roof over the run area doesn’t open up. But no biggie. Good value for money! To save the wood for longer and ensure your chickens don’t become chicken dinner, consider bedding a timber rectangle into the soil and screwing your coop and run onto it.

I was slightly hesitant when I read some reviews, but when it came I was surprised at how easily and quickly I assembled it on my own (I am 76). I bought it to keep quail in and it is ideal for this purpose.

Negative point water can get into the nest boxes but a plastic runner soon solved this. For quail you cannot have the whole roof lifting as one, for if they are in the coop they can fly out and if they are in the run they can also do so.

I did not join the roof as one but left it in the two sections, one over the coop the other over the run, problem solved. I have 16 day old quail in the coop, with a 12 inch 40 watt tubular heater in, temp is at 25 to 30 degree centigrade.

On sunny spells I let them out into the run (which is on grass) and they come back in when I want them to, also the water and food is in the coop, another reason for them do do so. This coop and run is Ideal for my purpose, anyone wanting a superior product can do so but at a much higher price.

I really like all the information that can be found in this book. I was looking for a book that would cover a lot of different types of chickens, and this one does just that. Compared to other books, this one has a more broad coverage of chickens/chicks.

we started raising chickens, and i needed some information, there is nothing i dislike about this book. it is one of the best books i have found on chickens. from incubation to raising,feeding caring, diseases, ect.

and all about different breeds.

This is one of the best books that we have purchased for detailed information on raising chickens, chicken breeds and learning about these wonderful animals.

Love this feeder so much that I have now bought two! It is easy to open, easy to clean and holds a full bag of feed. I have used these to feed, chickens, ducks, turkeys and rabbits and it works great for all of them.

The first one that I purchased has seen daily outdoor use for almost two years now and is still going strong. When we expanded our flock, I knew that this was the only feeder that I wanted so I purchased the second one.

This time I couldn’t find the feeder in my local store so I ordered online and had it sent to the store. It arrived in good condition and was packed well. I’ve tried several different types of feeders over the years but this one is by far the BEST! I love how sturdy it’s made and how well it’s held up over time.

Being able to hold 40/50 lbs of feed is a huge plus for me too! Now this is the only feeder I’ll buy!.

I bought this chicken feeder along with the OverEZ Waterer. This is my second round with chickens. If anything taught me that I’ll always have chickens, it was COVID. I had difficulty finding eggs for a couple of weeks and the ones that I got were small and pasty yellow yolks.

I found this feeder when looking for a solution for dirty water and was impressed with the thought behind it. It is amazing how much this has helped in keeping my coop and flock organized. The chicks do still throw out some feed, but it isn’t all the feed being flung out of the feeder.

The chicks like the foraging aspect of feed, so it does keep them entertained. I put the feeder in a (no longer used) Little Tykes playhouse which keeps all the feed that is spilled, contained within the play house as well as providing excellent shading for the feeder.

The chicks were 5 weeks old when I introduced them to their outside space and the girls mastered both the OverEZ Chicken Feeder and Waterer quickly. The chicks will be free ranging in a few more weeks which will reduce the feed they are consuming.

This feeder should keep the wild birds from eating as much of the feed has they did with my last round of chickens. Once I have my app accessible, automatic door opener installed on the coop; I can actually consider taking a trip without worrying about having someone take care of them morning and night.

These are AWESOME, especially if you have a lot of chickens, ducks and geese or are away often on for a few days. This is my second one for my second pen. I rarely go anywhere overnight but I know with these, I wouldn’t have to worry if I did.

No need to depend on someone else to get the feed right. They will hold a full bag of food, which holds my crew over for right at a week. I still go check on them every day but with this feeder (and matching wateres) I know if for some reason I didn’t/couldn’t they would be fine.

To be fair, to others commenting that the chickens can scratch the food out. I haven’t found a feeder YET that doesn’t allow that, but with this one there is much less mess than most I have tried. Some of it is mommies getting feed out for the little ones I think.

One thing I WOULD like is if maybe the middle one was up higher and the sides lower or even 3 different heights, because lets face it, who has chickens that are ALL the same age and height? Not me. As it is I put it on a block and put stepping stones on side at 2 different heights for the littles.

SO i use this for my guinea pig for inside use and it fits perfectly in the laundry room. He is an active guinea pig and a cage was just not big enough. The upstairs and downstairs are perfect for him running around.

I got him a small guinea pig bed for downstairs area. ****IF YOU KEEP IT INSIDE, GET A TRAY TO GO AT THE BOTTOM OF IT**** I ordered a black dog tray to slip underneath for bedding and that worked out since I’m keeping this Hutch inside instead of outside.

Otherwise, for my one overactive guinea pig, this Hutch is GREAT for inside use :).

First off, the the assembly is not straightforward and requires a lot of thinking. Some critical steps like the orientation of the doors and installation of the latches we had to learn by trial and error.

The wood is cheap quality and splinters easily. When we were putting the top of the roof, the edges were very hard to align where if we screwed in one side, the other would stick out. Also, the height of the coop is way too small and I wish I had gotten a taller one.

Might be ok for rabbits but not great for chickens. I only installed 1 latch door for the house because theres not enough room for a feed box inside if you install both latches. Overall its a cheap quality product and I wish I had spent more money and gotten a better product.

I have 2 of these. Works great for my chickens. My first chicken has one and then I have two other chickens in another. They work well. I decided to go over the wood with a waterproof outdoor paint in the same cute barn looking (deep red and white) color scheme since we always have bad weather where I live.

The first coop has lasted over a year so far. maybe a yr and a half. so its been good so far.

We ordered this to move the wife’s chickens to a new area. We looked at several coops and it came down to this or the OverEZ. We choose the Snap Lock for price and ease. First, shipping was super fast! It was delivered to us within 3 days of ordering.

Second, assembly was a ‘snap’, literally. We assembled the coop within 30 minutes. The instructions are written very well. We even had to partially disassemble the coop to move it. We had initially thought of putting outside the new run, but then the wife decided inside would be better.

The reassembly was just as easy. We are only giving 4 stars due to the flimsy base. Many other reviews mentioned it and we were aware, but it is very thin. Snap Lock should figure a way to make the base as sturdy as the rest of the kit.

We also used the included screws to secure the roost posts. They were too easy to knock out of the wall slots, so we figured the chickens would do it as well. Overall, we are very impressed with the coop.

Let’s see how the chickens like it.

We did a lot of research on coops before we got our flock, including talking to friends that also kept chickens. One thing everyone agreed on was the pre-build wooden coops are trash and need modified right out of the box, and degrade in less than 3 years.

We new we didn’t want a ‘disposable’ coop (which is what most pre-builts amount to), and we didn’t have the time or resources during a pandemic to build out own that would suit our cold winters in Northwest ohio.

With that in mind, we liked the idea of this coop despite it’s very high price point. It was easy to put together, which was nice. It also included plans to built a stand. YOU MUST PUT IT ON A STAND.

The base is too flimsy to support the wieght of the empty coop let alone with birds and litter. this is problem #1 Problem #2: Be prepared to file down edges and seems. Even with a rubber mallet we had to file down plastic seems to get the interlocking joints to fit.

I already had files on hand from my job, but be prepared if you don’t. Problem #3: Roosting bars are loose and fall out. You’ll need to modify them out of the box. When I confronted the manufacturer about it they just told me to drill holes and use screws to fix them in place.

It’s a design flaw they don’t seem inclined to do anything about. Problem #4: It leaks. We get water that collects under the liter pans. The manufacturer told us the coop needed to be completely level to keep leaking to a minimum and even then there may be water under the liter pans.

It’s a health hazard for the birds. We were told to just drill extra holes in the plastic bottom. However, this is sure to compromise the integrity of the base. Problem #5: Gaps. There are small gaps in the snap-together panels.

Considering you should have a draft-free coop, this will be a problem in winter. We are most likely going to have to wrap the coop in insulating material to cut down the drafts through the gaps. Problem #6.

The next box pans slide out about 2 inches all the time. I’m going to add non-skid material under them to prevent this, but it’s another design flaw. Problem #7: Roost bar placement. If you use the lowest roost bar, the birds poop in the nest boxes all night.

Their butts hang right into the nest box, so be prepared to clean them more frequently. The solution to this is to not use the roost bar placement closest to the nest boxes. Problem #8: It’s NOT Raccoon proof.

It’s a plastic coop, so if a tenacious raccoon wants to chew through the vents, they could do so in a few hours (this is my assumption, we haven’t had it happen). Problem #9: Defective Parts. We had a nest box lid that collected water in the plastic void out of the box.

The manufacturer DID send a free replacement set of lids, but now we are checking the coop weekly to make sure something else isn’t defective. THINGS WE DO LIKE: 1. This coop is super easy to clean. Everything slides out and we just dump the litter right into the compost bin.

If it’s extra dirty, we spray it down with the hose. 2. It’s light. So if one person needed to move it they could (but 2 is easier due to size). 3. It won’t rot, so there is little maintenance needed.

4. Eggs are super easy to collect. The nest boxes are easy to get into, and if you use the stand design you don’t even have to bend over. 5. It looks nice for a pre-fabricated coop. Our neighbor even likes the look.

CONCLUSION: Would I recommend this coop at it’s current price-point? No, probably not. It’s very expensive for what you get, and the whole point of it is to have a coop built for you and basically ready to go without needing to be handy.

For this price we expected to get this coop, pop it together, and go. Instead we have spent countless hours modifying it to make it work or make it better for our birds with numerous calls to the manufacturer (including getting replacement parts).

Honestly, if you like the idea of this coop and are handy with tools (or know someone that is) you would be better off buying a used kids’ plastic playhouse and modifying it to your flock’s needs. It’ll be cheaper, and will pretty much be the same thing in the end.

Very similar to HOOT OWL HOOT (both cooperative games / working as a team rather than competitively) but different enough to switch things up while still being fun. LOTS of tiny baby chick pieces to collect & lots of repetitive counting – which could be good or bad depending on your individual child.

Great for older toddlers I’d say, maybe even closer to 3-4. Probably not exciting enough for a 5 or 6 yr old & almost impossible to lose the game , unlike Hoot Owl Hoot. Still very cute & simple, doesn’t last longe than 5-10min TOPS.

The Owl game lasts a little longer maybe 15min. Great starter board game for little ones! Who doesn’t love farm animals?.

LOVE this game! It’s a game of teamwork, you either all win together or all lose together, although it usually works out for winning. Colorful gameboard with simple spinner and one character for the board.

Lots of little chicks get ‘lost’ all over the farm, and you and your teammate(s) have to help Mommy Hen get back to the coop to her babies. But you have to rescue them all before she gets there! Watch out for the sneaky fox on the spinner (my daughter loves this part) which means one chick gets lost again.

Game play wraps up in perfect length of time and just about any age could play this. Top 3 favorite.

We have loved every peaceable kingdom game we’ve bought. We’ve had this game for years and I still play it with my youngest. Cooperative games are such a great way to teach board game mechanics and practice early educational skills without worrying about winning and losing since you’re working as a team.

Also we lost a couple chickens and it was easy to follow the instructions in the box to have them send replacements. The representative was really nice too.

Hands down the most delicious chicken in a pouch. It is just scrumptious. Target has the best price as well. Just ordered 10 pouches. Better than any other brand. My husband or Mr. Picky is addicted to this Starkest chicken.

Highly recommend you will love this. A must have for salads.

I don’t always have access to fresh food, so it’s really nice to have this option from Target, especially this lower sodium one (not that I have sodium issues, but I don’t WANT to have any, either). These make great additions to pasta, wraps, chicken salad, or you can eat them on their own with spices/hot sauce.

The possibilities abound.

Excellent product. Salted just right. No draining like the canned chicken. I bought 10 packages while on sale should have gotten more. Great for sandwiches and quick salads

Very good quality grit. 4 stars only because of the math involved in mixing this with the food. 1 pound grit to 40 pounds of feed. Since we use feed bags in 25 pound bags, we have to measure out 5/8ths of a pound for every feed bag.

I guess if I bought 200 lbs of feed at a time it would solve my issue haha.

My chicks love this grit! I sprinkle it on top of their feed every so often. I have 21 chickens so sometimes I sprinkle it around their bedding and let them peck around for it!

It looks good not that I know much is the first time I’ve ever used it and put some in your feed today and we’ll see what happens

This is a really cute little coop. It went together very easily. It only took me about 20 minutes to snap it together. I think this would fit 5 regular size hens or 6 Bantams or Silkies. It seems to be pretty durable.

We are going to put ours on a stand with some cement support. It can sit on the ground but I think it will be more servicable elivated. The only complaint I have is that the cover for the nesting boxes does not line up very well and I can only close one of the locks.

I think I will be removing the two existing closures and installing a bigger one that lines up better. Overall I am very happy with this coop and am glad I purchased it.

It’s quite expensive for the space you get but I think it’s worth it. Easy to put together and disassemble and not too heavy to move by yourself (as a single woman. ) the stand is kind of a pain in the butt or build, I sincerely wish that they sold a stand with it rather than just plans because I would pay a lot for the convenience of having a premanufactured one.

However once the stand is a part of the coop it’s life changing. The coop has decent ventilation, though you can’t ever have enough, and the coop is easy to clean. I would at most put 4 large breed birds in there but that’s just me.

Maybe even 3, truthfully. the girls love the nesting boxes as well.

I just bought the smaller coop. I bought it because it can be easily accessed and cleaned and it went together like a breeze. 3 complaints: 1-the holes for the carabiners are really small and some of us chicken keepers are women with nails and it is really hard to get them in there and mine didn’t come with those loops to attach them so when I accidentally drop them finding them in the grass is quite hard, 2-the bottom tray can only be accessed by taking out the nesting boxes (divider walls and base) and then pulling the tray up and out-a pull out tray like the other coops have would be sooo much better, 3- the bottom piece is really thin-this is my main gripe, the side of it are already bending outwards.

If it was meant to sit on a base it was not made clear at the time of purchase, now I have to build a base and quite quickly, but the base skirt has already curved outward on the skirt part because it is sitting on the grass.

I do like it a lot except for these 3 reasons. On a different note, customer service from TSC was EXCELLENT! It arrived at the store fast, they helped me with questions and supplies and when I found that it went on sale a week later and emailed them they credited back the different in about 3 hours at 9p that night, amazing!!.

This is the first edition, published in 1995, of Gail Damerow’s Guide To Raising Chickens. I prefer it to the second edition which was updated and published in 2010. In this book you will find lots of comprehensive instructions for raising chickens from eggs, or newly hatched chicks (both available by mail) or a flock with rooster(s) and chickens who breed.

Damerow includes instructions for incubating, providing heat and enclosures, feeding, housing, and avoiding problems for your chickens. She also lists poultry health problems, parasites, diseases, behavior problems, and remedies.

Damerow includes instructions for caponizing a rooster, but mentions that this is illegal in most states for anyone but a licensed veterinarian to perform. Full butchering and meat preparation procedures are provided, as well as information about storing, preserving, sizing.

and evaluating the quality of eggs, and management of laying hens. This is a good, detailed, practical place to begin your exploration into keeping your own chickens, or an excellent reference if you already have a flock.

Gail Damerow has worked with her chickens so long that reading the book sounds like you are hearing directly from the chickens themselves. We read this book several times from the library; and decided we really need “Raising Chickens” as part of our permanent library.

Granted, we are beginners. But following the counsel this book provides enabled us to successfully raise our first chicks. We enjoy eggs from them almost every day; and believe me, you never tasted GOOD eggs until you have them still ward from the bird.

Get the book – raise some chicks yourself – you’ll be very, very glad you did. Carolyn & Chuck.

Delves deep into everything you need to know about raising chickens. I love that it is not vague or too technical. Educational and understandable.

This product is not a dewormer as advertised. Label was different when I received the product.

A little to tell but my hens and rooster are doing well! Some of my young birds had a little trouble with it! But seems to be working ok!

Using this product as instructed kept my chicken producing eggs when they would usually taper off. I was impressed.

We have tried a few different Chinese and Japanese freezer meals, and we was completely blown out of the water with this. Didn’t really expect to enjoy it as much as we did. The whole family was very impressed.

We will definitely be keeping a box In the freezer. My husband had it ready when I got home from work. he said he cooked the chicken in the air fryer. And we paired it with green giant mixed vegetables and white rice.

Much cheaper then take out and in my opinion more delicious and more convenient!.

What else can I say, will be ordering more since I am not sure my local grocery store has them when it is time to go grocery shopping. I can always depend on PERDUE having them. Wish you had the Hearts to go with them and the Livers.

All are good for gravy or soup or just to snack on.

Question: Why does two 1.25lb. pkgs. of Perdue chicken livers @$1.44/lb. come to $5.76? When I do the math I get $3.60.

They are great gizzards!!! Pressure cook if you like them soft or bring to a boil and simmer if you like them chewy. Batter and deep fry both for awesome flavor….