Title says it all. My fiancée and I are new to both and want to educate ourselves before diving in this spring.

I have attempted to raise chickens in the past, and learned a lot (the hard way) about how secure their area needs to be in a rural setting. Haven't approached the hobby again since then.

We both know a little about beekeeping from talking to locals and reading a bit online. And that's one area where it is easy to network and learn. But we would like a beginner-level book to read as well.

Thanks!

Beekeeping for Dummies

Join a bee club or see if your cooperative extension offers classes.
My wife and I signed up for a local class for beekeeping. It is at the local high school.

Subscribe to The American Bee Journal magazine. Great stuff. Randy Oliver's website has massive amounts of great information (linked is The First year). He writes for the ABJ and published his articles on his web page as well. Then jump on Amazon. In the link, there are a few books recommended for the new beekeeper.

Learn to treat pests and disease. Keep them dry. Keep them fed as needed. Then let the bees do what they do.

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens is a great reference book to keep on hand. It covers a lot of things that can't be found easily online.

While not a book, backyardchickens.com is probably one of the best reference materials you're going to find. Very knowledgeable and friendly people and the forums have a very decent search function.

My wife and I are going to start raising bees this spring and have enrolled in the local classes. We get paired up with a mentor, learn what works best for our area and a whole lot of other stuff. I'm holding off picking up any reading materials until we talk to the pros.