Once Upon a Flock: Life with My Soulful Chickens

Once Upon a Flock: Life with My Soulful Chickens stars Scheuers backyard chickens—with their big personalities, friendships, rivalries, and secrets—and the flocks guardian, Marky the terrier. The flock includes Hatsy, the little dynamo; LilWhite, the deranged and twisted Buff Orpington; Pigeon, the fixer-upper chicken; and Lucy, the special-needs hen who bonds with Lauren and becomes a fast friend.

This charming story of Laurens life with her quirky flock is filled with moments of humor and heartbreak: When Lucy is afflicted with a neurological disease, Lauren builds Lucy a special-needs coop. When Lucys nesting instinct leads

Lauren to act as a chicken midwife of sorts, Lauren hatches a chick in her home. And when Lucys best friend Hatsy falls ill, Lauren finds an unlikely friend for Lucy in a chicken named Pigeon, who requires an emergency bath and blow-dry. Enthusiastically immersing herself in the world of her flock, Lauren discovers that love, loss, passion, and resilience are not only parts of the human experience, but of the chicken experience as well. Throughout it all, Lauren documents the laughter and drama of her flocks adventures with her own whimsical photos and illustrations. At once humorous, poignant, and informative, Once Upon a Flock is a feathered tale like no other.

When longtime illustrator and lover of power tools Lauren Scheuer was looking for something new to build, she got the idea to raise backyard chickens, which would necessitate a fun coop-building project. As soon as her newborn chicks arrived in the mail her whole family fell in love with the little bundles of fluff. Not just colorful lawn ornaments, the birds proved to have endearing individual personalities—and wild adventures ensued.

Once Upon a Flock tells the whimsical, wonderful stories of Lauren’s backyard chickens, their friendships, rivalries, and secrets. Lauren’s flock includes Hatsy, the little dynamo; Lil’White, the evil Orpington; and Pigeon, the fixer-upper chicken. We meet Lucy, a special needs hen who bonds with Lauren and invites her into an intimate friendship. And we witness the transformation of Lauren’s dog Marky from chicken-predator to proud watchdog. By enthusiastically immersing herself in the flock, Lauren discovers that love, loss, passion and resilience are not only parts of the human experience, but of the chicken experience as well.

Throughout the book, Scheuer documents the humor and drama of the flock’s adventures with beautiful photos and charming illustrations. At once humorous, poignant, informative, and quirky, Once Upon a Flock is a feathered tale like no other.