Raising chickens teaches more than animal husbandry. It’s a hands-on chance to learn the character- and community-building principles and practices that 4-H is all about. And, of course, it’s fun. This easy-to-follow, illustrated guide introduces beginners to the basics of how to raise chickens. Whether you’re a 4-H’r, a first-time poultry owner, or a future egg farmer, The 4-H Guide to Raising Chickens provides step-by-step instructions for your project. From selecting a breed to caring for chicks, from housing and fencing to feeding and preventing or treating illness, the guide presents simple, straightforward information about chickens of all kinds, raised for pets, eggs, or meat. It also includes a glossary and list of resources.

Whether you’re running a farm or interested in keeping a few backyard birds, Storey’s Guide to Raising Poultry covers everything you need to know to successfully raise your own chickens, turkeys, waterfowl, and more. Stressing humane practices throughout, Glenn Drowns provides expert advice on breed selection, housing, feeding, behavior, breeding, health care, and processing your own meat and eggs. With tips on raising specialty species like doves, ostriches, and peafowl, you’ll be inspired to experiment with new breeds and add diversity to your poultry operation.

A guide to raising one chicken or one hundred. It features topics from starting a backyard flock to putting eggs on the table.

Serious poultry farmers and backyard bird raisers have relied on this best-selling reference for more than 20 years. The fourth edition of Gail Damerow’s comprehensive handbook is now completely revised and redesigned, making it more accessible and informative than ever. You’ll get the most up-to-date details on shelter, food, health care, eggs, chicks, and meat, and recent research into chicken behavior and communication makes the sections on flock management truly authoritative. New color photos and illustrations provide more specificity and information about chicken breeds, anatomy, and health.

Readers will flock to this book Raising chickens is a growing trend hitting urban and suburban areas, as well as the country. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Raising Chickens covers every aspect of raising chickens, whether one lives in the country, suburb, or city. People wanting their own supply of organic, additive-free, free-range eggs want to know how to keep their chickens healthy and egg producing. • How to choose what to start with-chicks, pullets, or hens • How best to feed and water • Coverage of the most popular breeds • Everything about eggs, including how to sell them

Looking to get started keeping backyard poultry? Let the down-to-earth, common-sense advice in The Chicken Whisperer’s Guide to Keeping Chickens, Expanded & Revised be your guide. Since The Chicken Whisperer’s Guide to Keeping Chickens was first published in 2011, tens of thousands of people have discovered the joys and benefits of a backyard flock. Now Andy Schneider is back with The Chicken Whisperer’s Guide to Keeping Chickens, Expanded & Revised. Keeping backyard chickens is a fun, simple way to to reconnect with the earth, the community, and your food sources—and you can do it, even with limited space in your backyard. Let the Chicken Whisperer (poultry personality Andy Schneider) teach you everything he knows and everything you need to know about raising a backyard flock! Ditch the super-technical manuals and enjoy Andy’s unique, common-sense perspective in The Chicken Whisperer’s Guide to Keeping Chickens, Expanded & Revised. This fun, comprehensive guide is a perfect fit for your busy lifestyle. Inside, you’ll learn: The benefits of a backyard chicken flock The art of incubation Living with brooding hens Setting up coops and runs Proper poultry nutrition Understanding your chickens’ health and wellness And that’s just for a start, so why not start your flock today?

Properly raised chickens can be a major boon to any household looking to save money on eggs and poultry. A single hen can lay as many as 10 eggs per week, if not coaxed with chemicals or drugs to do more, so providing a family all of the eggs they need. Additionally, eggs can be harvested and sold at farmer s markets or to local supermarkets and poultry can be raised for slaughter to save additional money. Learning what chickens need to survive, from the feed they eat, to the housing they require, and the protection they need from predators is a necessary step for anyone looking to raise them. In this book, you will find a complete guide to understanding how chickens are raised on a small farm, from hatching to egg cultivation, and ultimately slaughter. There is a 16 page colour insert showcasing different breeds as well as general chicken photos. You will learn how to start understanding chickens and their numerous breed types, of which there are more than two hundred. You will learn how to purchase your own chickens and how to effectively handle them. You will learn what kind of housing your chickens need and the proper methods and forms of feeding each breed needs. Details about how to breed chickens for egg production and how to collect and store the eggs form a full chapter on chickens for eggs while additional information is included on how to manage your breeders and hatch eggs for raising your own chicks. Top chicken farms and experts have been interviewed for this book and their expertise and experience has been compiled to form additional sections on maintaining chicken health, the various different seasons and how they affect chicken care and how to raise chickens for meat. Everything you need to know about raising chickens is included in this guide in great detail, the perfect starting place for any new chicken farmer.