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...
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...
Knowing how to safely and effectively lead, restrain, and otherwise handle livestock in the field and in farm facilities is critical to being a successful livestock farmer. Renowned animal behaviorist and best-selling author Temple Grandin's guide to livestock handling for small farmers includes her own unique understanding of what motivates the behaviors of cows, pigs, goats, and sheep. She explains herd dynamics, pecking order, and what species are compatible with others in the field. She also explains the distinctive fears, instincts, and memories of each species and then applies this under... View More...
Winner of Australian Book Industry Association (ABIA) 2017 award for Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year. The Australian Native Bee Book by Tim Heard. This complete guide to native stingless bees is written by Australia's foremost expert. Keeping native stingless bees is a hot topic in Australia for commercial, environmental and recreational reasons. This comprehensive guide covers bee biology, behaviour, nesting, social life and foraging; how to build a native bee hive; how to transfer a bee colony to a hive box and propagate hives; all about sugarbag honey, including how to extract it... View More...
As the popularity of urban homesteading and sustainable living increases, it s no wonder you re in need of trusted, practical guidance on how to properly house the chickens you re planning (or have already begun) to keep. Building Chicken Coops For Dummies gives you the information you need to build the most cost-efficient, safe, and easy-on-the-eye enclosures for your backyard flock. This practical guide gives you easy-to-follow and customizable plans for building the backyard chicken coop that works best for you. You ll get the basic construction know-how and key information you need to desi... View More...
Beekeepers keep bees for three reasons: bees are pollinators and their presence increases a garden's productivity; there is a fascination with how they live, collect food and colonise; and they produce honey. Build Your Own Beekeeping Equipment offers 35 building projects for everything from hive components to frames to swarm catchers, all illustrated with step-by-step instructions. Many require only simple hand tools and can be made using recycled materials at a fraction of the price charged in stores. Beekeeping continues to gain popularity among not only rural people living self sufficientl... View More...
Is this the right book for me? RAISE HAPPY CHICKENS 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, behav... View More...
