Raising Chickens For Dummies

Raising Chickens For Dummies

Practical how-to advice for raising chickens in virtually any backyard!
Raising chickens on a small scale is a popular–and growing–pastime. And Raising Chickens For Dummies provides an up-to-date, thorough introduction to all aspects of caring for chickens, including choosing and purchasing chickens, constructing housing, and proper feeding. Raising Chickens For Dummies provides authoritative, detailed information to make raising chickens for eggs, meat, or backyard entertainment that much easier.

Contents

Introduction.
Part I: Choosing Chickens.
Chapter 1: The Joy of Chickens.
Chapter 2: Basic Chicken Biology and Behavior.
Chapter 3: A Chicken Isn’t Just a Chicken:Your Guide to Breeds.
Chapter 4: Buying Chickens.
Part II: Housing Your Flock.
Chapter 5: Choosing Your Housing Type.
Chapter 6: Designing and Constructing a Coop.
Chapter 7: Coop, Sweet Coop: Furnishing and Housekeeping.
Part III: Caring for Your Flock: General Management.
Chapter 8: Feeding Your Flock.
Chapter 9: Controlling Pests and Predators.
Chapter 10: Keeping Your Flock Happy and Healthy.
Chapter 11: Handling Health Problems.
Part IV: Breeding: From Chicken to Egg and Back Again.
Chapter 12: Mating Your Chickens.
Chapter 13: Incubating Eggs and Hatching Chicks.
Chapter 14: Raising Chicks.
Part V: Special Management Considerations.
Chapter 15: Managing Layers and Collecting Eggs.
Chapter 16: Raising and Butchering Meat Birds.
Part VI: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 17: More than Ten Tips for Keeping Healthy, Stress-Free Chickens.
Chapter 18: More than Ten Misconceptions about Chickens, Eggs, and So On.
Index.