A beginner's guide to ruling the roost and raising happy backyard chickens The Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens makes it easy to start keeping these surprisingly smart birds right in your own backyard. From constructing coops to rearing chicks, you'll learn everything you need to know to make sure your chickens stay happy and healthy all year round. Which breed of chicken is right for you? What's the best bedding material? What sort of feed should you use? Expert chicken keeper Anne Kuo answers these questions―and many others―in this fun and friendly reference book that will get you excited to raise your new feathered friends. This book on raising chickens guides you through: Getting from the chicken to the egg―Find out how to raise chicks, keep your birds safe from predators, introduce new birds to the flock, and more. Creating a custom coop―Build the perfect home for raising chickens with detailed backyard coop construction guides. Expert care advice--Learn how to identify different behaviors in your chicken, help solve egg shortages, and navigate a range of potential surprises with confidence. Get your first flock started successfully with The Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens.

Backyard farmers interested in having a readily available source of eggs and meat are provided with nontechnical information on housing, feeding, raising, and butchering chickens

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.

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.

Expert advice on selecting breeds, caring for chicks, producing eggs, raising broilers, feeding, troubleshooting, and much more.

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

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.