Know Your Chickens
My three favorite books under ten dollars right now have to do with farm animals. Know Your Cows, Know Your Chickens, and Know Your Pigs are great little, full-color guides to several dozen breeds per critter. Being part owner of nine hens and one rooster, I know all I care to about our birds. Feed them, let them out, collect the eggs. If you are one of those people (and there are many) who want to know a little bit more, say as much as you can fit in your pocket or purse, Know Your Chickens is for you. The bovine version has sold even better than the poultry while the pigs have kind of wallowed.Fox Chapel Publishing sent me a birthday present! Well, not exactly, but it did show up unexpectedly in my mail yesterday. And what a delight it was! It was the *Know Your* series by Jack Byard It includes *Know Your* Pigs *Know Your* Chickens *Know Your* Donkeys & Mules and *Know Your* Cows. These are pocket books that are sold separately. Monday is library day here at the homestead, as the  boys and I pulled off, grabbing the mail in transit, I was super curious what was in the package. I had no idea that they were sending me anything. Medium ripped it open for me. He was thrilled. Medium is 10 yrs old. He devoured the *Know Your* Cows pocket book. He found our Kerries, but was confused on not being able to find Murrial. I had to explain that the shorthorns that Mr. Byard had in the book was the closest he would get to her (Murrial is an American Milking Shorthorn). In the foreword of the book, Mr.Byard does say that there are a lot of cows out there, and he hopes he can give you a glimpse into the diversity of them. Large had a grand time with the *Know Your* Pig. I think he has picked out a pet, a very wooly pig. The *Know Your* series is a great reference for not only children (Mr. Byard is a retired teacher and wrote these books because he discovered that most children didn't know that there are more than 2 kinds of sheep, black or white), but anyone interested in heritage, endangered or just plain barnyard animals. The pictures are gorgeous, highlighting the best of the animals. And it includes tidbits and trivia about the animals. I highly recommend this series. So much so that I contacted Fox Chapel Publishing to see if I could host a giveaway for you all.