Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, 4th Edition: Breed Selection, Facilities, Feeding, Health Care, Managing Layers and Meat Birds
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Overview
Revised and updated, this is the most trusted and comprehensive reference you can find for chicken care, housing, feeding, and health care.
Serious poultry farmers and backyard bird raisers have relied on this best-selling reference for more than 20 years. The fourth edition of Gail Damerow’s comprehensive handbook is now completely revised and redesigned, making it more accessible and informative than ever. You’ll get the most up-to-date details on shelter, food, health care, eggs, chicks, and meat, and recent research into chicken behavior and communication makes the sections on flock management truly authoritative. New color photos and illustrations provide more specificity and information about chicken breeds, anatomy, and health.
Serious poultry farmers and backyard bird raisers have relied on this best-selling reference for more than 20 years. The fourth edition of Gail Damerow’s comprehensive handbook is now completely revised and redesigned, making it more accessible and informative than ever. You’ll get the most up-to-date details on shelter, food, health care, eggs, chicks, and meat, and recent research into chicken behavior and communication makes the sections on flock management truly authoritative. New color photos and illustrations provide more specificity and information about chicken breeds, anatomy, and health.
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
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
“Not only is Damerow a knowledgeable farmer, she’s a great writer, too! Every chicken keeper of every experience level should have this book on the bookshelf.” — Roger Sipe, editor of Hobby Farms and Chickens magazines
“Redesigned but still exhaustively thorough! Every possible topic is covered in an easily understood and complete manner.” — Paul Kroll, American Poultry Association - American Bantam Association general licensed judge
“Gail Damerow has inspired and educated generations of homesteaders. Here she offers well-researched information for both the novice and experienced poultry keeper.” — Patara Marlow of Appalachia’s Homestead
- Title: Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, 4th Edition: Breed Selection, Facilities, Feeding, Health Care, Managing Layers and Meat Birds
- Author: Gail Damerow
- Series: Storey’s Guide to Raising
- Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
- Print Publication Date: 2017
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Pages: 424
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781612129310, 9781612129303, 1612129307, 1612129315
- Resource ID: LLS:9781612129310
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-06-02T05:49:33Z
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.