The age-old question of which comes first is finally answered in Chicken and Egg! For the purposes of egg-centric chicken keepers, it's the egg! A new approach to chicken keeping, Chicken and Egg is specifically geared toward hobby farmers and casual chicken keepers who wish to produce eggs of a particular color, flavor, and type. Whether the reader desires the delectable turquoise eggs of the Araucana or the chocolate brown eggs of the Blue Copper Maran, learn how it's possible to put the egg before the chicken. Written by two expert poultry breeders and specialists, Andy Cawthray and James Hermes, this new colorful handbook offers an edifying overview of the natural history of chickens and the science of egg production so that keepers better understand how to care for egg-layers, improve the quality of their eggs through diet and housing, and maximize their egg production for years to come. The authors have rounded up a few dozen chicken breeds and offer their hardboiled advice about which hens offer the most egg-cellect daily output.-Directory of the best egg-laying chicken breeds, plus colorful two-page spreads of the 20 most popular choices-Advice on how to select and set up your flock, including safe and affordable housing, runs, and coops-Selecting the best diets for your flock to maximize production and avoid egg failure-Essential information about brooding and laying, the birds' behavior, and solving problems within the flock-Specially commissioned artwork from watercolorist and illustrator Kate Osborne