Read Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens Online
Authors: Gail Damerow
Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens
S
TOREY’S
G
UIDE TO
R
AISING
C
HICKENS
THIRD EDITION
RAISING CHICKENS
Care
FeedingFacilities
GAIL DAMEROW
The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.
Edited by Rebekah Boyd-Owens, Sarah Guare, and Deborah Burns
Art direction and book design by Cynthia N. McFarland
Cover design by Kent Lew
Text production by Erin Dawson
Cover photograph by © Jason Houston
Interior photography and illustration credits appear on
page 438
Expert review by Ronald Kean
Indexed by Christine R. Lindemer, Boston Road Communications
© 2010, 1995 by Gail Damerow
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other — without written permission from the publisher.
The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.
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Storey Publishing
210 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams, MA 01247
Printed in the United States by Versa Press
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L
IBRARY OF
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ONGRESS
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ATALOGING-IN-
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UBLICATION
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ATA
Damerow, Gail.
Storey’s guide to raising chickens / by Gail Damerow. — 3. ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60342-469-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-60342-470-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Chickens. I. Title. II. Title: Guide to raising chickens.
SF487.D185 2010
636.5 — dc22
2009045294
• Which First — Chicks or Eggs?
• Health, Disease, and Disease Resistance
• Distinguishing Layers from Liars
• Culling for a Healthy, Hardy Flock
• Incubating Eggs Artificially
• Chick Problems and Solutions
• Production and Marketing Choices
CHICKENS WERE ON EARTH LONG BEFORE HUMANS
and still have the same basic needs they always had — food, protection, and procreation. Unlike the jungle fowl from which they derived, domesticated chickens have become dependent on humans to help fulfill those basic needs.
Over the millennia, different breeds were developed in different areas for different reasons. As a result, today’s breeds range from those that are tiny enough to fit in the palm of your hand to those that are so tall they come nearly to your waist. Colors and patterns range from solid red, white, blue, or black to speckled, striped, and laced. The feathers might be long and thin, short and wide, or furlike and may appear not only on the chicken’s body but also on its feet like a pair of boots, down its legs like trousers, beneath its beak like a beard, on the sides of its beak like a mustache, or on top of its head like a fancy Easter bonnet.