Book excerpt: The popularity of egg-laying chickens is on the rise. Sustainable and fun, raising chickens is one of the most interesting and rewarding backyard hobbies you can find. In Chicken DIY, aspiring chicken farmers will find creative plans and easy-to-follow construction tips for making a safe and healthy environment for their fine-feathered friends. Veteran farmers and poultry enthusiasts Samantha and Daniel Johnson provide complete and easy-to-follow instructions for 20 essential projects, from coops and feeders to runs, ramps, roosts, and incubators. Clear step-by-step color photographs guide the reader through each hands-on project. Inside Chicken DIY How to prepare and build a safe and healthy environment for your backyard flock 20 hands-on projects for chicken coops, roosts, runs, ramps, feeders, waterers, nest boxes, egg incubators, and more Clear step-by-step color photographs Overview of the basic tools and skills needed to complete each project Complete, thorough, and easy-to-follow instructions "Why DIY?" section explains the positive benefits and satisfaction of building things yourself Bonus chapter takes a fascinating look at the history of chicken-keeping and DIY chicken projects through history