Raising Chickens for Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Getting Started with Raising Chickens
	Chapter 1 The Joy of Chickens
		First Things First: Dealing with the Legal Issues
			Knowing what info you need
			Finding the info
			Confronting restrictions
		Assessing Your Capabilities: Basic Chicken Care and Requirements
			Time
			Space
			Money
		Focusing Your Intentions: Specific Considerations
			Want eggs (and, therefore, layers)?
			Thinking about home-grown meat?
			Enticed by fun and games or 4-H and FFA?
		Considering Neighbors
	Chapter 2 Basic Chicken Biology and Behavior
		Familiarizing Yourself with a Chicken’s Physique
		Labeling a Chicken’s Many Parts
			Checking out the differences
			Honing in on the head and neck
			Checking out the bulk of the body
			Looking at the legs and feet
			Checking out chicken skin
			Finding out about feathers
		A Picture of Health
		On Chicken Behavior
			Processing information
			Communication
			Table manners
			Sleeping
			Socializing
			Romance
			The celibate hen — living without a rooster
			New life
			Bath time
		Interacting with Other Poultry and Animals
			Dogs and cats
			Ducks and geese
			Turkeys
			Guineas
			Pheasants and quail
			Livestock
	Chapter 3 A Chicken Isn’t Just a Chicken: Your Guide to Breeds
		What You Need to Know: A Brief Synopsis
			Common breed terminology
			How breeds are categorized
		If You Want It All: Dual-Purpose Breeds
		For Egg Lovers: Laying Breeds
			White-egg layers
			Brown-egg layers
			Colored-egg layers
		Best Breeds for the Table
		Show Breeds
		Perfect for Pets: Bantam Breeds
		Heritage and Rare Breeds
	Chapter 4 Buying Chickens
		Planning Your Flock
			Deciding what you’ll start with: Eggs, chicks, or adults
			Choosing the Sex
			Getting the right number of chickens
		Counting the Costs
		Starting with Chicks
			Where to get chicks
			When to buy chicks
			What to look for
			Handling chicks
		Starting with Adults
			Where to buy adult chickens
			What to look for
			Transporting your birds safely
Part 2 Housing Your Flock
	Chapter 5 Choosing Your Housing Type
		What a Chicken Needs in a Home
			Shelter from wind and rain
			Protection from predators
			Temperature control
			Enough space to move about normally
			Sufficient lighting
			Fresh air
			Clean surroundings
		Surveying Your Housing Options
			Raising chickens in cages
			Keeping birds cage-free, but indoors only
			Pairing a shelter with a run
			Offering shelter with free-range access
			Mobile housing methods: Pastured poultry
		Choosing a Type of Housing
	Chapter 6 Designing and Constructing a Coop
		To Repurpose, to Build, or to Buy? That Is the Question
			Checking on housing restrictions
			Making do with what you’ve got
			Building from scratch
			Buying a chicken coop
		Choosing the Right Location
		Combining Form and Function: The Basic Coop Blueprint
			Coop size and shape: Giving your birds some breathing room
			Ventilation: Allowing fresh air to flow
			Roost and relaxation
			Feathering their nests
		Wiring, Fixtures, and Other Important Amenities
			Providing the hookups (electrical, that is)
			Lighting up
			Baby, it’s cooold outside!
			Fighting the heat
		Being Mindful of Materials
			Getting to the bottom of flooring
			Constructing the frame
			Wrapping your head around fencing
			Supporting fencing with posts
	Chapter 7 Coop, Sweet Coop: Furnishing and Housekeeping
		Bedding Down
		Making Nests Comfy and Cozy
		Setting the Table and Crafting a “Pantry”
			Feeding containers
			Watering containers
			Proper feed storage
		Cleaning House
			Gathering cleaning supplies
			Seeing what you need to do and when
			Disposing of manure and old bedding
Part 3 Caring for Your Flock: General Management
	Chapter 8 Feeding Your Flock
		Feeding Basics
			Understanding why you need to manage your birds’ diet
			Knowing what nutrients chickens need
			Comparing your feed options
			The plain truth about homemade feed
			Food to avoid feeding chickens at all costs
		Choosing the Right Commercial Feed
			Demystifying commercial rations
			Selecting a form of feed
			Double-checking the label
		Supplementing Diets with Grit
		Deciding When to Put Out Feed
		Determining How Much to Feed
		Keeping the Diet Interesting by Offering Treats
		Hydrating Your Hens (And Roosters)
	Chapter 9 Controlling Pests and Predators
		Keeping Pests from Infesting the Coop
			Preventing pests
			Identifying and eliminating common culprits
		Fending Off Predators
			Providing safe surroundings
			Recognizing common chicken predators
			Figuring out who’s causing trouble
			Catching the troublemaker
			Dealing with the neighbor dogs
	Chapter 10 Keeping Your Flock Happy and Healthy
		Providing Biosecurity for Your Flock
			Maintaining biosecurity
			Knowing when to quarantine chickens
		Keeping Disease and Parasites Away
			Giving vaccinations
			Putting up barriers against parasites
			Learning about chickens and human health
		Controlling Environmental Conditions
			Dealing with heat, cold, and dampness
			Keeping your chickens from eating poisons
		Safely Handling Your Flock
			Catching chickens
			Carrying and holding chickens
			Taming chickens
		Diffusing Stress
			Managing the molt
			Introducing new birds carefully
			Discouraging bullying behaviors
		Employing Optional Grooming Procedures
			Marking birds for easy identification
			Trimming long, curled nails
			Trimming wings and other feathers
	Chapter 11 Handling Health Problems
		Making Decisions about Treatment
			Choosing to treat ill chickens
			Deciding to eliminate chickens
			Finding a vet to treat chickens
		Treating Injuries
			How to give your bird the once-over
			Ways to keep an injured bird safe
			Skin injuries, cuts, and puncture wounds
			Foot sores (also known as bumblefoot)
			Head injuries
			Broken legs or wings
			Frostbite
			Egg binding
		Getting Rid of Parasites
			Internal parasites
			External parasites
		Recognizing and Dealing with Disease
			Checking for signs of disease
			Understanding some common chicken diseases
		Administering Medications
		Encountering Death
		Reporting Diseases and Deaths
Part 4 Breeding: From Chicken to Egg and Back Again
	Chapter 12 Mating Your Chickens
		Rooster or Hen?
			Sexing young chickens
			Sexing mature chickens
		Reviewing the Reproductive System
			Roosters
			Hens
			How an egg forms
		Sperm Meets Egg: Fertilization
		Reproductive Behavior
			Courtship and mating
			Nesting and brooding behavior
		Mating Methods
			Flock mating
			Pair and trio mating
			Artificial insemination
		Selecting Birds for Breeding
			Choosing the right combinations
			Producing purebred chickens
			Producing hybrids
			Producing sex-/color-linked colors
		Getting Birds Ready to Breed
			Feeding future parents
			Maintaining lighting and temperature
			Trimming feathers
	Chapter 13 Incubating Eggs and Hatching Chicks
		Making More Chicks: Incubation Basics
		Choosing Your Hatching Method
			Looking at the two methods: Hens versus incubators
			Determining which method is best for you
		Letting Mother Nature Do It: The Hen Method of Incubation
			Understanding why some hens brood and others don’t
			Encouraging your hens to brood
			Adding eggs to the nest
			Giving a sitting hen what she needs
			Caring for a hen and chicks
		Going Artificial: The Incubator Method
			Choosing an incubator
			Accessorizing your incubator
			Setting up and caring for your incubator
			Finding and storing fertile eggs
			Caring for eggs in the incubator
		Looking Inside the Egg
			Egg ultrasound: Candling an egg
			Knowing what to look for: Stages of embryonic growth
		Hello, World! Hatching Your Eggs
			Playing doctor: Helping a chick hatch
			Handling the bad hatch: When things go wrong
	Chapter 14 Raising Chicks
		The Basics of Brooders
			Knowing when chicks need a brooder
			Choosing the brooder size and shape
			Getting the temperature just right
			Lighting the brooder
			Choosing brooder bedding
			Buying a commercial brooder
		Making Your Own Brooder
			Building the body of the brooder
			Heating the brooder
			Putting safety first
		Helping a Hen Provide Warmth and Protection
		Feeding and Watering Chicks
			Starter feed choices
			Medicated feed
			The feeding process
			You can lead a chick to water . . .
		Raising Chicks in Your Brooder
			What to do the first hour
			The first few days
			Trimming beaks
			Preventing disease
		Watching the Stages of Growth
			One month: Tween-agers
			Six weeks to maturity: Teenagers
			I’m a big chicken now: Young adulthood
		Chicks and Children
			Human health issues
			Lessons on proper handling
Part 5 Special Management Considerations
	Chapter 15 Managing Layers and Collecting Eggs
		Knowing What to Expect from Your Hens
			The layer’s life cycle
			Internal factors that influence laying
			External factors that influence laying
		Managing Your Hens’ Laying Years
			Getting young hens ready to lay
			Helping your pullets avoid stress
			Providing encouragement
			Using lighting to encourage laying to start
		Encouraging Egg Production After It Has Begun
			Providing supplemental lighting to keep hens laying
			Keeping up a routine and minimizing stress
			Retiring old birds when the laying days are done
		Collecting, Cleaning, and Storing Eggs
			Getting your eggs in one basket
			Cleaning your cache
		Assessing Egg Quality
			Identifying parts of an egg
			Looking at the outside
			Looking at the inside
		Storing and Handling Eggs
			How to store eggs
			Eggs to discard
			What to do with excess eggs
		Dealing with Production Problems and Bad Habits
			Addressing the failure to lay
			Bringing order to hens that lay all over the place
			Getting a broody hen to go back to laying
			Handling hens that break and eat eggs
	Chapter 16 Raising and Butchering Meat Birds
		Raising Meat Chickens
			Looking at the three main approaches to raising meat birds
			Choosing the right chickens
			Choosing the right time of year to raise chickens
			Deciding how many chickens to raise
			Caring for meat chickens
		Planning for D-Day
			Knowing when your birds are ready
			Deciding whether to hire a butcher or do it yourself
		Hiring Out the Butchering
			Finding a butcher
			Knowing what to expect
		Preparing to Do the Deed Yourself
			Choosing the location
			Gathering equipment and supplies
		Following the Play-by-Play of Butchering Day
			Beginning with the kill
			Removing the feathers
			Cleaning and inspecting the bird
		Packaging Home-Butchered Poultry
			Rinsing and checking the chicken
			Cutting the chicken in a usable fashion
			Avoiding freezer overload
Part 6 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 17 More than Ten Tips for Keeping Healthy, Stress-Free Chickens
		Choose the Right Breed for Your Needs
		Set Up Suitable Housing
		Supplement Lighting When Needed
		Control Pests
		Protect Against Predators
		Control Parasites
		Vaccinate
		Feed a Well-Balanced Diet
		Provide Enough Clean Water
		Beware Disease-Transmitting Dangers
		Use Quarantines Whenever Necessary
	Chapter 18 More than Ten Misconceptions about Chickens, Eggs, and So On
		Bird Flu Is a Risk to Reckon With
		You Can’t Raise Chickens If You Live in the City
		Roosters Crow Only in the Morning
		You Need a Rooster to Get Eggs
		Keeping Chickens Penned Is Inhumane
		Chickens Are Vegetarians
		Big, Brown, Organic Eggs Are Best in Taste and Quality
		Fertilized and Unfertilized Eggs Are Easily Distinguishable
		Egg-Carton Advertising Is the Absolute Truth
		Chickens Are Good for Your Garden
		Chickens Are Dumb and Cowardly
Index
EULA