A revised and updated bestseller Revised in coordination with the American Poultry Association Covers all the essentials of raising and keeping chickens. More than 75 color photographs and illustrations. People across the country are raising chickens, whether for food or companionship. You can, too, with this indispensable guide. Straightforward advice and dozens of clear, detailed illustrations gives any future chicken farmer the tools he needs to get started, from step-by-step instructions on building the coop to a brief background on chicken biology; from hints on getting high-quality eggs from the hens, to methods for butchering. Full-color photographs of the birds and their landscape round out this comprehensive book. This bestselling book has been completely revised and updated. Jay Rossier was coauthor of A New Lease on Farmland, published by the E. F. Schumacher Society, and wrote occasional book reviews for Northern Woodlands magazine.

Through a series of letters, Sophie Brown, age twelve, tells of her family's move to her Great Uncle Jim's farm, where she begins taking care of some unusual chickens with help from neighbors and friends.

From addled to wind egg and crossed beak to zygote, the terminology of everything chicken is demystified in The Chicken Encyclopedia. Complete with breed descriptions, common medical concerns, and plenty of chicken trivia, this illustrated A-to-Z reference guide is both informative and entertaining. Covering tail types, breeding, molting, communication, and much more, Gail Damerow provides answers to all of your chicken questions and quandaries. Even seasoned chicken farmers are sure to discover new information about the multifaceted world of these fascinating birds.

"The need to preserve farm animal diversity is increasingly urgent, says the author of this definitive book on endangered breeds of livestock and poultry. Farmyard animals may hold critical keys for our survival, Jan Dohner warns, and with each extinction, genetic traits of potentially vital importance to our agricultural future or to medical progress are forever lost."--BOOK JACKET.