Keeping Chickens For Dummies

Learn to: Feed and care for your chickens Breed and rear chickens Construct the perfect hen house Keep your chickens happy and healthy Town, country and in-between ? your total guide to keeping chickens in any setting Whatever your reasons for wanting to make chickens part of your life, the best way to get started is with Keeping Chickens For Dummies ? your one-stop guide to choosing, housing, feeding, breeding, showing, selling and tending most common varieties of gallus domesticus. Get up to speed with chickens 101 ? immerse yourself in crucial chicken facts and figures, from basic biology and behaviours to common breeds and their varying requirements Choose wisely ? find the ideal breed for your lifestyle and long-term goals, and discover how to plan and buy a healthy flock Set up home for your chickens ? choose and build or buy a habitat for your flock, perform essential housekeeping and maintenance and keep your birds fat and happy Breed a brood ? discover how to mate your chickens, incubate eggs and hatch and nurture chicks Be the Cheerful Reaper ? manage laying hens, collect and store eggs, butcher meat birds and package and store meat 'For me, raising chickens, for eggs and meat, has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of our family farm. I am a great admirer of "chicken whisperer" Pammy Riggs, and with her two co-authors she has produced an admirably thorough guide to enjoying the pleasures and avoiding the pitfalls of keeping chickens. Get the book, and take the feathery plunge!' ? Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Open the book and find: Chicken-keeping basics The truth behind common misconceptions A gold mine of chicken health tips Do-it-yourself housing ideas The best feeds for different breeds How to ward off pests and predators How to optimise your layers' laying The lowdown on raising meat birds Important legal considerations with keeping chickens