Getting Started In Free Range Poultry

Free range poultry sounds simple - and it can be given the right skills and reasonable expectations. This book has been written to provide easily consumed technical information and real-life examples from growers who range from large scale production to mixed farming of meat and egg production to help you get started in free range poultry. Topics covered include: - Sourcing stock - Pastures for poultry - Health management - Biosecurity - Regulations Plus nine case studies. Each case study is unique—just as your enterprise will be. The examples we use range from large-scale, highly sophisticated production and marketing units to a farm with an eclectic mixture of meat and egg organic production, and all points in between. AgGuides are compiled by highly regarded industry experts to provide easy to follow advice on agriculture and support the Tocal College external study program for agriculture. AgGuides are compiled by highly regarded industry experts to provide easy to follow advice on agriculture and support the Tocal College external study program for agriculture.

“If your garden fantasies involve chickens, Jessi Bloom is here to make those dreams come true.” —The New York Times Many gardeners fear chickens will peck away at their landscape. But you can keep chickens and have a beautiful garden, too! In this essential handbook, award-winning garden designer Jessi Bloom offers step-by-step instructions for creating a beautiful and functional space while maintaining a happy, healthy flock. Free-Range Chicken Gardens covers everything a gardener needs to know, from the basics of chicken keeping and creating the perfect chicken-friendly garden design to building innovative coops.

Jill Winger, creator of the award-winning blog The Prairie Homestead, introduces her debut The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, including 100+ delicious, wholesome recipes made with fresh ingredients to bring the flavors and spirit of homestead cooking to any kitchen table. With a foreword by bestselling author Joel Salatin The Pioneer Woman Cooks meets 100 Days of Real Food, on the Wyoming prairie. While Jill produces much of her own food on her Wyoming ranch, you don’t have to grow all—or even any—of your own food to cook and eat like a homesteader. Jill teaches people how to make delicious traditional American comfort food recipes with whole ingredients and shows that you don’t have to use obscure items to enjoy this lifestyle. And as a busy mother of three, Jill knows how to make recipes easy and delicious for all ages. "Jill takes you on an insightful and delicious journey of becoming a homesteader. This book is packed with so much easy to follow, practical, hands-on information about steps you can take towards integrating homesteading into your life. It is packed full of exciting and mouth-watering recipes and heartwarming stories of her unique adventure into homesteading. These recipes are ones I know I will be using regularly in my kitchen." - Eve Kilcher These 109 recipes include her family’s favorites, with maple-glazed pork chops, butternut Alfredo pasta, and browned butter skillet corn. Jill also shares 17 bonus recipes for homemade sauces, salt rubs, sour cream, and the like—staples that many people are surprised to learn you can make yourself. Beyond these recipes, The Prairie Homestead Cookbook shares the tools and tips Jill has learned from life on the homestead, like how to churn your own butter, feed a family on a budget, and experience all the fulfilling satisfaction of a DIY lifestyle.

A Beginner’s Guide to Poultry Farming in Your Backyard Raising Chickens for Eggs and Food Table of Contents Introduction It Is Just Chicken Feed Sustainable Poultry Feed Crop bound Chickens Best Natural Food for Chickens Hatching Chickens How to Make an Incubator Fresh Water Supply Nesting boxes Free Ranging Birds Dust baths and Shed Floor Covering Bumble Foot Building Your Own Chicken Coop Egg Production Raising Broilers for the Market Well Ventilated Coops Protecting chickens from Predators Conclusion The Truth about Growth Promoting Feed Author Bio Introduction Ever since man found out that it was extremely easy to have domesticated sources of food, reared right in his yard, millenniums ago, is it a wonder that poultry especially chicken farming is one of the best methods to get easy access to a good source of food for your family? There is absolutely no country in the world, except perhaps the Arctic regions, – where man has not reared ducks, chickens and other poultry for table purposes down the centuries. Apart from these being an easy source of eggs to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, you also knew that you would have a tough old rooster for dinner, when a large number of family members popped in unexpectedly, demanding sustenance. We are going to be concentrating on chicken farming, for domestic purposes in this book. You have this dream of raising chickens in your backyard. You are interested in a continuous supply of eggs, and the occasional chicken for your pot of a Sunday. Layers are those chickens, which are normally raised for egg production. The chickens which are going to go straight into the pot are called broilers. Since ancient times, human beings have been raising poultry for domestic purposes and also for marketing purposes. Poultry farming has been a part of rural life in the east down the centuries. All the kitchen waste was fed to the hens. These hens came under the 21st century poultry farming term – free ranging. That meant they were allowed to scratch about in the backyard, getting their fill of insects, worms, green vegetables, organic matter, and was it a wonder that they laid delicious, nutritious, and proteinaceous eggs? Every intelligent householder kept three or four hens depending on the size of his family, and he bought a cock from the market, when he needed chickens. Once a clutch of chickens was hatched, Cocky Locky went into the cook pot. One of the common mistakes made by new poultry farmers is buying a large number of birds, because they are not very clear about whether they want these words for home consumption or they want to trade in the eggs and poultry meat. Around 50 years ago, one of my father’s colleagues was facing this problem. He had this huge garden and backyard. He had heard about dad rearing poultry in that garden successfully. So he also wanted to experiment in this exciting new activity which would keep his family well supplied with eggs, and fresh meat. So the next time dad went visiting to his base on a tour, he asked dad the best way to raise birds without too much of a hassle. You are going to get these easy tips in the book.

Get ready for your new flock in thirty minutes or less! This short, sweet, and self-sufficient guide shows beginners how to keep chickens as part of a rural or urban homestead. Learn everything you need to know to get started on your poultry adventure, with quick answers to frequently asked questions like: What kind of chickens should I get? Which color eggs are best? How many chickens should I get? Should I add a rooster to my flock? Where should I get my chickens? She's so cute! Can I name her? When should I kill my chickens? What infrastructure do I need to make my chickens happy? What should I feed my chickens? Should my chickens have a tractor, a coop, or be free range? How much space do my chickens need? How do I manage my working flock? What is the chicken's place in the farm ecosystem? "The author gives just what is needed to get started raising chickens." —- Veronica "This is a quick little book packed with lots of good realistic advice." —- TSP "A great first-read for anyone considering raising chickens. Lots of useful factual information for the experienced chicken keeper as well as for the beginner." —- pamela

This popular practical guide to the free range management of chickens on any scale, small or large, has been revised and extended to deal with changes in regulations, welfare considerations and the latest research findings.

A proven production model is described, which is capable of producing an income from a small acreage of equal or superior to that of off-farm jobs.

Do you love eggs and chickens? If yes, then you got to have your own flock of chickens in your backyard. Raising chickens in the city, is that even possible? Yes, it is possible. Chickens are the new favorite pets of many people. Some places don't allow you to keep chickens at homes, but the list of places who are relaxing their laws and ordinances is growing day by day. So, if you are a city dweller and would like to get your hands on some fresh eggs, keep a flock of your own hens. But why this interest in raising chickens? The reasons are simple. They are quite inexpensive to keep. It costs about $1-$10 to raise one hen. You will spend around $500 on an average on a coop. This is a one-time expenditure. Feeding them will cost around $5 per month. Keep around $10 per month unexpected expenses on raising 3 hens and that's it! You get to eat your own fresh eggs. You also know what the hens producing the eggs have been eating. So, compared to your factory farmed poultry and eggs you have a safer and healthier alternative. These eggs are also more nutritious and taste better than the eggs of battery hens. They contain a much higher content of vitamins A and E, beta-carotene, and folate. At the same time, the cholesterol and saturated fat found in the eggs of free-range hens is much lower than those of battery hens. Besides this, chickens are excellent pets for children. Their manure can be used for composting since it is high in nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. They will also eat up all the weeds, slugs and seeds leftover after you have harvested your vegetable garden along with various pests. In short, chickens are a wonderful pet, and even your small kid can take good care of them with a little bit of guidance from you. But the problem is where and how to start? Not to worry. Read this guide and you will know how and where to begin. You will learn everything from buying your coop and chickens to cleaning and storing your eggs in this guide. So, let's get started with your own flock of chickens!