This book covers the most significant breeds of cattle, goats, sheep, and swine - from the common Guernsey cow to the near-extinct Guinea hog. For each breed, Ekarius provides full-colour photographs, a brief history, and details about the breed's unique qualities and quirks. Readers will enjoy reading about major breeds such as the iconic Holstein cow, and Icelandic sheep, as well as hundreds of lesser-known varieties, like the long-legged, ginger-coloured Tamworth pig; the lilac-spotted Jacob Sheep; the deer like San Clemente goat; and the powerful, droopy-eared Guzerat cow.

From the large-rumped Karakul sheep to the wrinkled Fengjing pig, North America is home to an extraordinary array of livestock breeds. Increasingly, a rare breed renaissance celebrates heritage breeds for their contribution to biodiversity, adaptation to specific environments, curious appearance, or ability to produce singular meat, milk, or fiber. At the same time, people continue to need up-to-date information about the major domestic breeds. Finally, a single resource offers detailed information about both common and heritage breeds: Storey's Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs by Carol Ekarius. This attractive, at-a-glance reference, written by one of America's foremost livestock experts, covers 194 of North America's most significant breeds of cattle, goats, sheep, and swine — from the common Guernsey cow to the near-extinct Guinea hog. For each breed, Ekarius provides full-color photographs, a brief history, and details about the breed's unique qualities and quirks. Readers will enjoy reading about major breeds such as the iconic Holstein cow, and Icelandic sheep, as well as hundreds of lesser-known varieties, like the long-legged, ginger-colored Tamworth pig; the lilac-spotted Jacob Sheep; the deerlike San Clemente goat; and the powerful, droopy-eared Guzerat cow. Comprehensive, colorful, and captivating, this definitive, in-depth guide is informative enough to aid farmers in breed selection, but beautiful enough for fanciers to browse as a coffee- table book. Storey's Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs will appeal to anyone interested in North American livestock — small-scale farmers, conservationists, agricultural historians, gourmets, biodiversity champions, animal lovers, and anyone dreaming about crafting fibers from sheep and goats. This indispensable reference showcases North American livestock breeds for what they truly are: fascinating, stunning, and endlessly varied.

Guides you through choosing, caring for, training, and breeding mini horses, donkeys, mules, pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, and llamas.

The unique attributes and personalities of 100 breeds of chickens--with stunning full-color...

Provides an overview of the horse breeds in North America, including profiles and photographs of such breeds as the Morgan, Appaloosa, Arabian, and Percheron.

With this compact portable reference in hand, crafters can quickly and easily look up any of 100 different sheep breeds, the characteristics of their fleece, and the kinds of projects for which their fleece is best suited. Each breed profile includes a photograph of the animal and information about its origin and conservation status, as well as the weight, staple length, fiber diameter, and natural colors of its fleece. This is a great primer for beginners, and a handy guide for anyone who loves working with fleece.

Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep is the best-selling, most trusted reference for farmers and backyard homesteaders with any size flock. The fifth edition is now updated with full-color illustrations and photographs throughout, including a gallery of the best breed choices for both meat and fiber. With their small size and gentle dispositions, sheep are one of the easier livestock species to raise and offer varied marketing opportunities, including meat, wool, and milk. Detailed instructions and graphics lead readers through every essential procedure, including shearing, building a lambing shed, breeding and lambing, butchering, and marketing.