Whether you are raising a few backyard chickens or a flock of 100, this is the book you need to keep your birds healthy and safe. With the most up-to-date information on shelter, food, eggs, chicks, health care, and meat, this time-tested authority can help beginners and seasonsed pros alike find success with a flock.

Preface
1 Choosing a Breed
  Breeds
  Breed Selection
  Purebred versus Hybrid
  Which First – Chicks or Eggs?
  Examining Birds
  Getting Started
2 Fowl Disposition
  Fowl Language
  When the Cock Crows
  Peck Order
  Fowl Intelligence
3 Shelter
  Free Range
  Fenced Range
  Portable Shelters
  Permanent Shelters
  Cages
  Fences
4 Feed and Water
  Water
  The Natural Chicken
  Feed Choices
  Feeding Routines
  Feeders
  Feed Storage
5 Routine Management
  Cannibalism
  Predators
  Weather Considerations
  Coop Cleanup
  Dealing with Manure
  Trimming Procedures
  Handling Chickens
  Enterprise Integration
6 Health Care
  Biosecurity
  Parasites
  Health, Disease, and Disease Resistance
  Poisons and Other Hazards
  First Aid
7 Laying-Hen Management
  Egg Formation
  Layer Nutrition
  Controlled Lighting
  Distinguishing Layers from Liars
  Egg Issues
  Flock Replacement
  Egg Sales
8 Eggs for Eating
  Egg Collection
  Egg Quality
  Egg Safety
  Nutritional Value
  Preserving Eggs
9 Managing a Breeder Flock
  Rise and Fall of Breeds
  Breeding Plan
  Methods of Breeding
  The Gene Connection
  Inbreeding Depression
  Culling for a Healthy, Hardy Flock
  Feeding Breeders
  Mating Logistics
  Artificial Insemination
  Sex Determination
10 Hatching Eggs
  Egg Collection
  Natural Incubation
  Incubating Eggs Artificially
  Candling the Eggs
  The Hatch
  Chick Identification
  Record Keeping
11 Chick Care
  Natural Brooding
  Mechanical Brooders
  Brooder Features
  Feed and Water
  Chick Problems and Solutions
12 Exhibiting Your Chickens
  Why Show?
  Selecting Birds for Show
  Rules of the Game
  Coop Training
  Conditioning
  At the Show
  After the Show
  Become a Master Exhibitor
13 Managing Meat Birds
  Meat Breeds
  Management Methods
  Feeding Meat Birds
  Broiler Health Issues
  Production and Marketing Choices
  Readiness for Butchering
14 Meat on the Table
  Killing
  Picking
  Evisceration
  Cooling
  Cutting Up
  Storing Poultry
  Sanitation and Safety
Glossary
Recommended Reading
Index
Metric Conversion Charts

Gail Damerow has raised chickens for more than four decades and has written extensively about poultry and other livestock, gardening, and rural know-how. Her 17 books include The Chicken Encyclopedia, Hatching and Brooding Your Own Chicks, and the essential wellness guide for a thriving flock: The Chicken Health Handbook.