Raising Chickens for Dummies

Raising Chickens for Dummies

Learn to:

• Raise chickens in virtually any backyard

• Choose and purchase chickens

• Construct the right housing

• Feed and care for your chickens

Kimberly Willis

Poultry breeder and enthusiast

with Rob Ludlow

Owner, BackYardChickens.com

Your hands–on guide to modern chicken–raising methods

Thinking about raising chickens? This comprehensive, practical guide gives you expert advice on all aspects of keeping chickens in your backyard. Whether you′re interested in chickens as pets or as a source for eggs or meat, you′ll find all the latest information on housing, feeding, healthcare, breeding, and much more.

• Do you speak chicken? learn about basic chicken biology, breeds, and behavior

• Select your chickens from eggs to chicks to adults, decide which to buy, how many you need, and find the healthy ones

• Take care of a small flock choose a type of housing, construct a chicken coop, feed your birds, and do housekeeping

• Make more chickens discover how to mate your chickens, incubate eggs, and hatch and nurture chicks

• Reap the harvest manage laying hens, collect and store eggs, butcher meat birds, and package and store meat

Open the book and find:

• Basic chicken–keeping requirements

• Misconceptions about chickens explained

• Top tips for healthy chickens

• Do–it–yourself housing ideas

• The best feed for your birds

• Advice on controlling pests and predators

• Hints for optimal egg production

• Information on raising meat birds

• Answers to combat laying issues