Whether you're running a farm or interested in keeping a few backyard birds, Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry covers everything you need to know to successfully raise your own chickens, turkeys, waterfowl, and more. Stressing humane practices throughout, Glenn Drowns provides expert advice on breed selection, housing, feeding, behavior, breeding, health care, and processing your own meat and eggs. With tips on raising specialty species like doves, ostriches, and peafowl, you'll be inspired to experiment with new breeds and add diversity to your poultry operation. This classic guide to chickens, turkeys, waterfowl, and game birds is now fully revised and expanded to inform and support backyard hobbyists and small farmers who want to use natural, humane practices and raise a variety of interesting breeds. Glenn Drowns, author of Showing Poultry and Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry, 4th Edition, and his wife conserve and promote rare breeds and varieties of turkeys, ducks, geese, and chickens at their Sand Hill Preservation Center in Calamus, Iowa. Drowns, a highly respected poultry judge, has raised standard turkey varieties since 1989, and he received the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy's Breed Conservation Award in 1999 for his contributions to the identification and survival of rare turkeys. Part 1: Getting Started 1 Should I Raise Poultry? 2 Housing and Supplies 3 Poultry Biology 4 Baby Basics 5 Feeds and Feeding 6 Heritage Breeds Part 2: Choosing the Right Chickens 7 Laying Chickens 8 Meat Chickens 9 Dual-Purpose Chickens 10 Bantams 11 Ornamental Chickens Part 3: Turkeys, Waterfowl, Guineas, and More 12 Turkeys 13 Waterfowl 14 Guineas 15 Coturnix Quail 16 Game Birds 17 The "Uncommon" Poultry Part 4: Fowl Practices 18 Incubation 19 Home Processing 20 So, You Want to Be a Breeder? 21 Marketing and Sales 22 Showing Poultry 23 Poultry as Pets Part 5: The Bigger Picture 24 Growing Your Own Feed 25 Flock Health 26 Dealing with Predators 27 Government Regulation 28 Calendar Considerations Appendix A: Poultry Feed Requirements B: Characteristics Indicating High and Low Egg Production Characteristics of Layers and Nonlayers C: U.S. Weight Classes for Shell Eggs D: U.S. Standards for Quality of Individual Shell Eggs E: Incubation Troubleshooting Chart F: Poultry Ailments Checklist and Diagnostic Aids G: Using a Wet-Bulb System H: Types of Rodenticides I: Poultry Manure Information Resources Glossary Index A diverse flock of poultry can provide free-range meat, a rainbow of eggs, and endless entertainment---all delivered from the confines of your backyard or small farm. Glenn Drowns, an expert on rare breeds and varieties of turkeys, ducks, geese, chickens, and other birds, delivers everything you need to know to raise healthy, safe poultry. The revised and updated fourth edition includes: *Expanded breed coverage, including heritage and rare breeds *Complete daily care and feeding instructions *Emphasis on providing birds with room to roam and peck *Tips on growing your own feed *Information on less common species---pigeons, doves, emus, ostriches, peafowl, and swans

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