Your hands-on guide to modern chicken-raising methods Thinking about raising chickens? You've come to the right place! This new edition of Raising Chickens For Dummies provides the most up-to-date, thorough information on the many aspects of keeping chickens in your backyard. Inside, you'll find hands-on, easy-to-follow instructions on choosing and purchasing chickens, constructing housing for your birds, feeding your chickens for optimal health, combating laying issues, controlling pests and predators, optimizing egg production, and much more. Raising chickens on a small scale is a popular?an... View More...
One-Straw Revolutionary represents the first commentary on the work of the late Japanese farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka (1913 2008), widely considered to be natural farming's most influential practitioner. Mr. Fukuoka is perhaps most known for his bestselling book The One-Straw Revolution (1978), a manifesto on the importance of no-till agriculture, which was at the time of publication a radical challenge to the global systems that supply the world's food, and still inspires readers today. Larry Korn, who apprenticed with Mr. Fukuoka in Japan at the time, translated the manuscript and... View More...
Luke Dixon argues the case for urban beekeeping and then tells the reader everything they need to know about how to do it. From siting hives and reassuring the neighbours, to combating interference from wind, artificial light and predators, this is a one-stop reference to take the urban beekeeper from set-up to first honey harvest. Advice on equipment, planting, swarm prevention and management, and selling honey are all included. In 2010, bee colonies in Britain grew by 50% and 31% of the growth is in urban areas An in-depth guide to everything you need to know about keeping bees in town Abo... View More...
Discover how raising your own meat goats can be a fun and profitable endeavour. With expert advice on selecting the best breed for your needs, maintaining facilities, and providing necessary medical attention, this guide covers all aspects of successfully keeping meat goats. Offering plenty of tips for creating an economically viable operation and identifying niche markets for your products, Storey's Guide to Raising Meat Goats shows you how to care for a thriving and productive herd full of healthy and happy animals. View More...
Enjoy the sweet rewards of keeping your own honey bees. Learn how to plan a hive, acquire bees, install a colony, keep your bees healthy, and harvest honey. Full of practical advice on apiary equipment and tools, this comprehensive guide also includes an overview of colony life and honey bee anatomy. Whether you're just getting started or are managing dozens of hives, Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees will help you successfully manage a thriving beekeeping operation. 244 pages. View More...
A must read book for animal lovers everywhere, ANIMAL HEALING with AUSTRALIAN BUSH FLOWER ESSENCES gives very practical hints for keeping your animals fit and happy as well as dealing with their problems of health and behaviour. This carefully researched book gives extraordinary insights into the emotional world of your animals and explores the healing powers of Australian Bush Flower Essences. The topics covered in this book include: Animals and Their Humans Australian Bush Flower Essences A New Animal Arrives Communication and Training Overcoming Fear and Related Problems Stress, Depressi... View More...
"If 70 percent of all cattle or 30 percent of all chickens were to die annually, states of emergency would be declared everywhere. The death of bees is at least that dramatic and with even more far-reaching consequences." More Than Honey, the book based on the award-winning documentary of the same name, takes us on a global tour of the world of bees, introducing us along the way to "killer bees," Frankenbees, beekeepers, and human pollinators. Markus Imhoof and Claus-Peter Lieckfeld examine both the history and current status of our relationship to and reliance on bees, and expose the human be... View More...
Melissa Caughey shares her advice in an engaging way so that kids understand what it means to keep chickens and what kind of housing, food, equipment, and care the chickens will need to thrive. She also includes ideas for lots of creative activities sure to spark enthusiasm and imagination, such as speaking chicken, creating a veggie pinata for the flock, and making a chicken fort in the backyard. She even offers ten egg-centric recipes that kids will love to make and eat, including French toast, egg drop soup, and Mexican egg pizza. View More...
Nutrition, environmental impact, ethics, sustainability—it seems like there's no end to the factors we must consider when we think about our food. At the center of the dietary storm is animal-based agriculture. Was your beef factory-farmed or pasture-raised? Did your chicken free range, or was it raised in a battery cage? Have you, in short, met your meat? Most efforts to unravel the complexities of the production and consumption of animal protein tend to pit meat eaters and vegetarians against each other. The Ethical Meat Handbook seeks a middle ground, arguing that by assuming full resp... View More...
All you need to know to keep your chooks healthy and content from the popular ABC Organic Gardener magazine. Whatever size your backyard, you can keep hens and collect fresh eggs every day! Featuring the best of Organic Gardener magazine's expert advice, Happy Hens is packed with everything you need to know about caring for your chooks, whether you are just starting out or already have a flock. You will discover: - What to look for when buying chickens so you start with healthy, happy layers. - A handy guide to the best backyard breeds available in Australia - How to choose the right bird for ... View More...
All the buzz on keeping backyard bees - an informative and inspirational handbook full of advice, experience and stories from experts and enthusiasts. With bees worldwide in deadly peril, Australians are keen to lend a helping hand. Keeping a hive or three has become a popular lifestyle trend - and it's more achievable than you might think.Whether you're in the inner city, suburbs or on acreage, keeping bees can be easy, low-fuss and fun for the whole family to get involved in - imagine bottling your very own honey! This lively guide features inspirational experiences and gorgeous photos from ... View More...
A must-have for every backyard chicken keeper, Backyard Chickens Beyond the Basics goes beyond introductory lessons and explores the realities of raising a flock for eggs - and entertainment, of course! From odd eggs and molting to feeding and preparing for the seasons, this book covers the subjects beginner books don't adequately address and re-examines common knowledge that may not actually hold true. It's a resource to turn to time and again for expert advice to make sure your birds are happy, healthy, and productive. Author Pam Freeman, an editor and ""Ask the Expert"" columnist at Backyar... View More...
Whether you're about to acquire your first sheep or are interested in diversifying your operation with rare breeds, Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep covers everything small-scale sheep farmers need to know to keep their animals healthy and productive. Drawing from years of hands-on experience, Paula Simmons and Carol Ekarius provide expert advice on breed selection, lambing, feeding, housing, pasture maintenance, and medical care. You'll also find tips on profitably marketing your meat and fibre products, as well as information on obtaining organic certifications. View More...
The bee book by Peter Warhurst and Roger Goebel has been written and compiled by beekeepers who are also apiary officers of the Dept of Primary Industries & Fisheries, Queensland. It draws on their personal experience and that of other beekeepers, as well as over 100 years of departmental research and experience. This practical, readable and comprehensive book contains detailed information on honeybees and on every aspect of responsible, successful beekeeping, whether as a hobby, a part-time occupation or a commercial operation. It also covers the special requirements of managing hives i... View More...
The book is aimed at both the novice and experienced beekeeper in Australia and explains in detail the steps required to manage colonies of bees. Supported by over 350 photographs and drawings, each action to be performed is explained in detail with photographs showing the steps as well as the final result. Many potential beekeepers are unclear about the equipment they need to buy and how to obtain their first colony of bees. The first chapters in the book explain in detail the equipment needed as well as equipment that may be useful later on as their confidence and experience grows. The chapt... View More...
This Storey Basics title offers exactly what you need to know to keep your small farm's equipment in good working order. Long-time farmers Steve and Ann Larkin Hansen cover everything from tractors and mowers to trimmers, tillers, ATVs, plows, discs, drills, planters, cultivators, mechanical rakes, and balers, showing you how to care for your equipment to prevent problems and how to diagnose and fix the things that do go wrong. View More...
Mead may have been "discovered," as some suggest, when one of our not-yet-upright forebears stuck their hand in a fermenting bee hive and came away with a honeycomb containing a little more than they bargained for. Whatever the truth, brewers have brought this beverage into the twenty-first century, and you can rest assured that The Complete Guide to Making Mead is a thoroughly up-to-date, modern, and authoritative guide to homemade mead. Best of all, it has something for everyone, from the stone-cold beginner to the seasoned veteran. ` Award-winning mead-maker Steve Piatz begins with a bri... View More...
Whether you want to the make most of a small plot of land or add diversity to a large farm, raising miniature livestock can be a fun and profitable experience. With expert advice on choosing a breed that suits your needs, Sue Weaver shows you how to house, feed, and care for miniature goats, sheep, donkeys, pigs, horses, cattle, and llamas. You'll be inspired by profiles of successful breeders as you learn everything you need to know to keep your miniature livestock healthy and productive. View More...
Beginning Beekeeping is a simple, straightforward approach that gives you the basics to get started with beekeeping, while following a balanced, objective approach that weighs the pros and cons of conventional and organic methodologies. Featuring more than 120 beautiful color photos, this guide will help you will learn how to foster and maintain healthy, vibrant hive colonies, as well as to incorporate the various techniques and practices for keeping bees using conventional as well as more natural practices. In addition, you will learn how to troubleshoot and treat potential hive issues such a... View More...
Temple Grandin, one of the most influential advocate of humane livestock treatment, has spent her life developing stress-free facility designs and standards of humane management. In an environment of growing concern regarding large factory farming practices, Grandin is a voice of reason explaining the benefits of keeping animals calm through every phase of their lives - benefits that include safer working conditions, higher yields of marketable meat, better-quality meat, and, of course, more humane conditions for the animals.The first half of "Humane Livestock Handling" reviews the natural beh... View More...
