Raise healthy and happy chickens
Raising Chickens For Dummies, 3rd Edition shows you exactly how to get started on your own or improve the way you already raise your flock. The book gives you down-to-earth and easy-to-implement suggestions for raising healthy chickens in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
You’ll learn all about the different breeds of chicken, how to build and maintain your coops, relevant trends in chicken farming, and the essential products and technology that makes the process of raising chickens smooth and rewarding. You’ll also find the critical safety and health info you need to keep yourself, your family, and your animals safe from disease and harm.
Inside:
- Must-know guidance on breeds of chickens and how they interact with one another
- Easy-to-follow info about preventing diseases that are transmitted to and by poultry and how to address health problems in your flock
- Helpful products and tech that keep your chicks warm, supplement your chicken feed with nutrients, and protect or automate your chicken coops
A must-read guide for new and aspiring chicken enthusiasts everywhere, Raising Chickens For Dummies, 3rd Edition is a fun, organized, and up-to-date resource that’s packed with the most useful info you can apply immediately to raise chickens on your farm or even in your backyard!
INTRODUCTION 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
PART 1: GETTING STARTED WITH RAISING CHICKENS 5
CHAPTER 1: The Joy of Chickens 7
CHAPTER 2: A Chicken Isn't Just a Chicken: Your Guide to Breeds 17
CHAPTER 3: Buying Chickens 35
PART 2: CARING FOR YOUR FLOCK: GENERAL MANAGEMENT 53
CHAPTER 4: Coop, Sweet Coop: Choosing Your Chickens' Home 55
CHAPTER 5: Feeding Your Flock 83
CHAPTER 6: Controlling Pests and Predators 109
PART 3: SPECIAL MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS 125
CHAPTER 7: Managing Layers and Collecting Eggs 127
CHAPTER 8: Raising Meat Birds 153
CHAPTER 9: Keeping Chickens with Other Poultry 183
PART 4: KEEPING YOUR CHICKENS HAPPY AND HEALTHY 199
CHAPTER 10: Basic Chicken Biology and Behavior 201
CHAPTER 11: Preventing Problems 219
CHAPTER 12: Performing Chicken First Aid 245
PART 5: THE CYCLE OF LIFE: FROM EGG TO CHICK 273
CHAPTER 13: Making More Chickens 275
CHAPTER 14: Incubating Eggs and Hatching Chicks 293
CHAPTER 15: Raising Chicks 319
PART 6: THE PART OF TENS 343
CHAPTER 16: Ten Tips for Healthy, Stress-Free Chickens 345
CHAPTER 17: Ten Reasons Why Raising Chickens Is Awesome 351
INDEX 357
Kimberley Willis retired from the Lapeer County Michigan Extension office as a home horticulturist. She has written four books, including The Complete Idiots Guide to Country Living.
Rob Ludlow owns backyardchickens.com, the largest chicken enthusiast site on the Internet. He is also co-author of Gardening with Free-Range Chickens For Dummies.
