Is this the right book for me?

Raise Happy Chickens and Other Poultry is a quickly accessible but authoritative guide, suitable for total beginners, that provides all the information you need to start keeping your own chickens.

Telling you which breed of bird lays best and providing useful guidance on housing, equipment and the necessities of day-to-day care, it meets all the needs of anyone who dreams of a garden full of happy, clucking birds. It also goes beyond just chickens to other types of poultry, and gives advice and practical guidelines on housing, with full explanation of key areas like welfare, behaviour and diet.

Raise Happy Chickens and Other Poultry includes:

Chapter 1: Chickens

Which breed is best for you?

Buying

Handling chickens

Start-up costs and other considerations

Housing

Routines

Feeding and watering

Health, welfare and behaviour

How to cope with a broody hen

Selling eggs: the regulations

What to do when you want to go on holiday

Breeding your own stock

Chapter 2: Ducks

Which breed is best for you?

Buying

Handling ducks

Start-up costs and other considerations

Housing

Routines

Feeding and watering

Health, welfare and behaviour

How to cope with a broody duck

Selling eggs: the regulations

What to do when you want to go on holiday

Breeding your own stock

Chapter 3: Geese

Which breed is best for you?

Buying

Handling geese

Start-up costs and other considerations

Housing

Routines

Feeding and watering

Health, welfare and behaviour

How to cope with a broody goose

Selling eggs: the regulations

What to do when you want to go on holiday

Breeding your own stock

Chapter 4: Turkey

Which breed is best for you?

Buying

Handling turkey

Start-up costs and other considerations

Housing

Routines

Feeding and watering

Health, welfare and behaviour

How to cope with a broody turkey

Selling eggs: the regulations

What to do when you want to go on holiday

Breeding your own stock

Chapter 5: other breeds - guinea fowl and quail

Guinea fowl

Quail

Chapter 6: Meat production

General principles

Slaughter

Plucking and hanging

Processing and cleaning

Trussing

Chapter 7: Diseases, problems and general troubleshooting

Free-range poultry diseases

Common problems and some causes

Common diseases by age

Life expectancy

Description of major diseases

Chapter 8: Cooking with eggs

Favourite recipes

Learn effortlessly with an easy-to-read page design and new added features:

Not got much time?

One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.

Author insights

Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.

Test yourself

Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.

Extend your knowledge

Extra online articles to give you a richer understanding of chicken keeping.

Five things to remember

Quick refreshers to help you remember the key facts.

Try this

Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.