Chicken Nuggets
A miscellany of poultry pickings

Few farmyard and back-garden animals display such appealing and amusing characteristics as chickens. Some continually scratch the ground in search of insects, many just bustle and hustle, while others reveal self-importance through a measured walk. They would have been outstanding vaudeville acts, but their egg-laying and meat-producing abilities have been hijacked by Man to produce food for millions of people throughout the world each day. Decorated throughout with historical woodcuts and engravings, and packed with intriguing facts and folklore, this book is not only a charming gift but is also a useful practical guide.

Introduction

Where did chickens originate?

Getting to know chickens

Keeping chickens

Chickens in literature

Chickens in superstitions

Chickens in slang

Breeds and fame

David Squire

David Squire has a lifetime’s experience with plants. He studied botany and gardening at the Hertfordshire College of Horticulture and at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden as Wisley, Surrey, where he gained the Wisley Diploma in Horticulture. He also was awarded an N.K. Gould Memorial Prize for his collection of herbarium specimens of native British plants. In 2005, this collection of plants was accepted by the Booth Museum of Natural History, Brighton, Sussex, to become part of the library and museum exhibits of Brighton
and Hove.

David’s passionate interest in native plants ranges from eating and survival to their historical roles in medicine, folklore and customs. His interest in honey bees dates back to late school years when he kept bees.

Throughout his gardening and journalist career, David has written more than eighty books on plants, gardening and insects, as well as dogs and self-sufficiency, including keeping chickens. David’s books have been sold in twenty countries and The Scented Garden won the Garden Writer’s of America ’Quill and Trowel’ award.