Hobby Farms Chickens: Tending a Small-Scale Flock for Pleasure and Profit is geared toward the hobby farmer looking to begin his or her own flock of chickens on a small farm or even backyard. Author Sue Weaver, who keeps various exotic breeds and countless barnies on her farm, is an expert on all things livestock and an avowed chicken fanatic. This photo-filled guide begins with “Chickens 101” and details the physiology of chickens, members of the Phasianidea family, providing beginning hobby farmers with a basic education in the chicken’s unique physical makeup (from wings and feathers to beaks and digestive tracts), behavior, mating, and its unexpected high intelligence. The author offers advice on choosing the right types of chickens to get started: meat, egg, or dual purpose, or maybe even “just for pets.” The book is an excellent resource for selecting which breed of chicken is best for the hobby farmer, based on the birds’ traits, such as aggression, personality, noise factor, tolerance for heat, confinement, cold, etc. Chickens also provides information on selecting or building a suitable chicken coop for the hobby farmer’s brood, outlining the basic requirements (lighting, ventilation, flooring, waterers, insulation, safety, and so forth). A detailed chapter on feeding chickens offers essential guidance on nutrition, commercial feeds, supplements, and water requirements. For the chicken hobby farmer looking to start with a clutch of baby chicks (from his own hen or an outside source), the author provides excellent info on incubators and hatching as well as all of the accommodations and preparation required for hens in the nest box. A chapter on selling eggs and broilers provides timetables, requirements, and dos and don’ts to get a hobby farmer’s business off on the right foot. All chicken keepers will find the chapter on health of particular value, with expert advice on preventing common problems and dealing various maladies and diseases. Much detailed information about all of the topics in the book is encapsulated in sidebars. A glossary of over 125 terms plus a detailed resource section of chicken and poultry associations, books, and websites complete the volume. Fully indexed.

Healthy chickens are happy chickens. This one-of-a-kind reference book covers the health problems that plague chickens of all breeds and ages. Practical charts identify common symptoms and causes of infection, while an alphabetic listing of diseases provides advice on treatment. You’ll find helpful descriptions of troublesome ailments of all types, from poor egg production to crooked toe syndrome. Practical remedies and gentle preventative care measures will help your beloved flock stay happy, healthy, and safe.

1. Introduction and background -- 2. Aims and principles of organic poultry production -- 3. Elements of poultry nutrition -- 4. Approved ingredients for organic diets -- 5. Diets for organic poultry production -- 6. Choosing the right breed and strain -- 7. Integrating feeding programmes into organic production systems -- 8. Conclusions and recommendations for the future

This book explains why avoiding both processed foods and foods commonly marketed as "healthy"--Like grains, legumes, and pasteurized dairy--will improve how people look and feel and lead to lasting weight loss. This second edition has been updated to include new information, answer common questions, and make it even easier for you to customize your diet to meet your personal health goals. Includes two new chapters, three new 30-day meal plans, 40+ new recipes, a new guide to special ingredients and where to find them and new additions throughout the book explore new topics, such as when eating low-carb can actually be a problem, how stress affects the adrenal system, and why the government changed its mind about dietary cholesterol. And the organization has been extensively revised to make the valuable information on food and how it affects the body more user-friendly--and easier to apply to your own health needs.--

Your hands-on guide to modern chicken-raising methods Thinking about raising chickens? You've come to the right place! This new edition of Raising Chickens For Dummies provides the most up-to-date, thorough information on the many aspects of keeping chickens in your backyard. Inside, you'll find hands-on, easy-to-follow instructions on choosing and purchasing chickens, constructing housing for your birds, feeding your chickens for optimal health, combating laying issues, controlling pests and predators, optimizing egg production, and much more. Raising chickens on a small scale is a popular—and growing—pastime. If you're interested in keeping chickens as pets or as a source for eggs, Raising Chickens For Dummies gives you plain-English explanations of everything you need to know to about caring for chickens. Inside, you'll learn about basic chicken biology, breeds, and behavior, which chicken breed is best for you, how many you need, ways to spot healthy chickens, how to build a chicken coop, best practices for mating your chickens, how to incubate eggs, how to hatch and nurture chicks, manage laying hens, collect and store eggs, and butcher meat birds. Offers practical advice on choosing and purchasing chickens Helps you construct the right housing for your chickens Provides tips on feeding and caring for your chickens Includes top tips for raising healthy chickens Whether you're a first-time poulterer or you've been raising chickens for years, this comprehensive guide provides practical how-to advice for keeping chickens in virtually any backyard. Raising Chickens For Dummies (9781119675921) was previously published as Raising Chickens For Dummies (9781118982785). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.

With this updated second edition of a best-selling cookbook, you can have it all — great tasting, nutritious meals that don’t break the bank or your daily schedule. Cook one recipe in bulk and stock your freezer with three nights of homemade dinners for your family. Updated recipes incorporate plenty of fresh, seasonal produce, along with bulk grains and beans. From Asparagus and Potato Frittata and Lemon Blueberry Strata to Tomato Basil Soup and Berry-Roasted Chicken, the 150 tasty options span the menu. Filling the freezer with healthy, ready-to-cook meals is more delicious than ever. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

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.