Details

<b>Introduction 1</b> <p><b>Part I: Choosing Chickens 7</b></p> <p>Chapter 1: Enjoying Chicken-Keeping 9</p> <p>Chapter 2: Understanding Basic Chicken Biology and Behaviour 23</p> <p>Chapter 3: Getting Familiar with Chicken Breeds 41</p> <p>Chapter 4: Buying Chickens59</p> <p><b>Part II: Housing Your Flock 79</b></p> <p>Chapter 5: Going House Hunting for Your Chickens 81</p> <p>Chapter 6: Designing and Constructing Chicken Housing 105</p> <p>Chapter 7: Furnishing and Housekeeping 129</p> <p><b>Part III: Caring for Your Flock: General Management 145</b></p> <p>Chapter 8: Feeding Your Flock 147</p> <p>Chapter 9: Controlling Pests and Predators 173</p> <p>Chapter 10: Keeping Your Flock Happy and Healthy 189</p> <p>Chapter 11: Handling Health Problems 209</p> <p><b>Part IV: Breeding: The Chicken and the Egg 237</b></p> <p>Chapter 12: Breeding Your Chickens 239</p> <p>Chapter 13: Incubating Eggs and Hatching Chicks 259</p> <p>Chapter 14: Raising Chicks 289</p> <p><b>Part V: Considering Special Management Issues 313</b></p> <p>Chapter 15: Looking After Layers and Collecting Eggs 315</p> <p>Chapter 16: Managing Meat Birds 341</p> <p>Chapter 17: Taking Meat Birds through D-Day 351</p> <p><b>Part VI: The Part of Tens 379</b></p> <p>Chapter 18: More than Ten Tips for Keeping Healthy, Stress-Free Chickens 381</p> <p>Chapter 19: More than Ten Misconceptions about Chickens and Eggs 387</p> <p><b>Index 393</b></p>

<p><b>Pammy Riggs</b> is a well-respected figure in the farming and food industry. She owns and runs the award-winning Providence Farm in Devon and has been a hands-on farmer and small-scale food producer for over 20 years. She has taught a variety of poultry-related courses around the UK, including the poultry-keeping course at River Cottage. <b>Kimberly Willis</b> has raised poultry for more than 30 years. <b>Rob Ludlow</b> runs BackYardChickens.com, the leading chicken-raising information resource on the Web.

<p><b><i>Learn to:</i></b> <ul> <li>Feed and care for your chickens</li> <li>Breed and rear chickens</li> <li>Construct the perfect hen house</li> <li>Keep your chickens happy and healthy</li> </ul> <p><b>Town, country and in-between – your total guide to keeping chickens in any setting</b> <p>Whatever your reasons for wanting to make chickens part of your life, the best way to get started is with <i>Keeping Chickens For Dummies</i> – your one-stop guide to choosing, housing, feeding, breeding, showing, selling and tending most common varieties of <i>gallus domesticus.</i> <ul> <li><b>Get up to speed with chickens 101</b> – immerse yourself in crucial chicken facts and figures, from basic biology and behaviours to common breeds and their varying requirements</li> <li><b>Choose wisely</b> – find the ideal breed for your lifestyle and long-term goals, and discover how to plan and buy a healthy flock</li> <li><b>Set up home for your chickens</b> – choose and build or buy a habitat for your flock, perform essential housekeeping and maintenance and keep your birds fat and happy</li> <li><b>Breed a brood</b> – discover how to mate your chickens, incubate eggs and hatch and nurture chicks</li> <li><b>Be the Cheerful Reaper</b> – manage laying hens, collect and store eggs, butcher meat birds and package and store meat</li> </ul> <p><b>'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!'</b> <p><b>– Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall</b> <p><b>Open the book and find:</b> <ul> <li>Chicken-keeping basics</li> <li>The truth behind common misconceptions</li> <li>A gold mine of chicken health tips</li> <li>Do-it-yourself housing ideas</li> <li>The best feeds for different breeds</li> <li>How to ward off pests and predators</li> <li>How to optimise your layers' laying</li> <li>The lowdown on raising meat birds</li> <li>Important legal considerations with keeping chickens</li> </ul>

GB