Full of expert advice and plenty of encouragement for the youngest poultry farmers, this introductory guide is designed to show children ages 9 and up how to safely and successfully raise their own chickens. With age-appropriate language and clear diagrams, Gail Damerow provides everything kids need to know to choose, purchase, house, and show their own chickens. Whether they’re interested in raising chickens for pleasure or to make money, this easy-to-use guide will help children achieve their chicken-raising goals.

This book was written for anyone considering purchasing and raising domesticated animals for family pets, producers of eggs and milk, or a friendly creature in the backyard.

Whether you are thinking of keeping a few chickens in your backyard, or whether you are interested in a self-sufficient lifestyle, this book will answer all your questions. Not only will it give practical guidance on how to start off such an enterprise, but it will also be a constant source of help whenever a crisis arises. Chickens: poultry-keeping systems, housing and equipment, feeding, eggs, breeding, incubation, rearing, health and disease. Ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, pigeons for squabs, quail. Rabbits: housing, equipment, feeding, breeding. Goats: feeding, milk. Sheep: breeds, feeding, wool, meat and milk, rearing. Pigs. Cattle: handling, feeding, breeding, rearing. Horses: stabling, breaking, training, breeding, lameness, asses or donkeys.