When you're ready for the next step, Backyard Chickens Beyond the Basics shows you the realities of raising productive flocks that are happy and healthy.

A must-have for every backyard chicken keeper, Backyard Chickens Beyond the Basics goes beyond introductory lessons and explores the realities of raising a flock for eggs -- and entertainment, of course! From odd eggs and molting, to feeding and preparing for the seasons, this book covers the subjects beginner books don't adequately address and re-examines common knowledge that may not actually hold true. It's a resource to turn to time and again.

Author Pam Freeman draws on her years of experience fielding reader questions to identify and clearly explain many common - and some not-so-common - issues in chicken keeping, including: 

• How do you add new chickens to your flock?
• What is the pecking order and how can you change or control it?
• Is it better to raise chicks by hand or with a broody hen?
• What do you do when you collect eggs?

In Backyard Chickens Beyond the Basics, readers will find not just answers, but a book full of "coop truth" that helps them continue on their journey. Because as every chicken owner knows: Chickens are individuals and real-life chicken keeping often takes you far from the beaten path.

Pam Freeman is the editor of Backyard Poultry magazine and Countryside magazine. After she received four Silver Laced Wyandotte chicks from the Easter Bunny, her flock quickly grew and Pam launched pamsbackyardchickens.com. In the years that followed, she hand-raised chicks, nursed chicks and chickens back to health, and experienced the entire lifecycle many times over. During that time, Pam also joined the Countryside Network, where she is now an editor managing a roster of her fellow chickenkeeping writers. Pam is a resident “Ask the Expert” columnist for Backyard Poultry magazine and continues to write regular posts about chicken keeping and homesteading for Backyard Poultry and other publications.