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    How to Raise Chickens for Eggs and Meat: A Quick Guide on Raising Chickens for the Beginning Homesteader
    How to Raise Chickens for Eggs and Meat: A Quick Guide on Raising Chickens for the Beginning Homesteader
    How to Raise Chickens for Eggs and Meat: A Quick Guide on Raising Chickens for the Beginning Homesteader
    Ebook68 pages44 minutes

    How to Raise Chickens for Eggs and Meat: A Quick Guide on Raising Chickens for the Beginning Homesteader

    By HowExpert

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    About this ebook

    Raising chickens is a fun adventure for a beginning or experienced chicken farmer to embark upon. In doing so, you’ll increase your overall health and have a lot of fun doing so! However, it does require some basic research.

    This book will teach you how to:
    • Select the best breed of chicken for your needs
    • Raise chickens from day-old chicks
    • Incubate eggs
    • Construct and equip brooders
    • Raise chicks
    • Troubleshoot health problems in freshly hatched chicks
    • Transition pullets and cockerels to an outdoor coop
    • Build and equip coops with feed, water, nesting, and roosting systems
    • Evaluate whether free-ranging is right for your birds
    • Prevent the incidence of predators
    • Decide upon the best coop construction for your lifestyle
    • Provide proper feed, water, shelter, and bedding
    • Increase efficiency and environmental friendliness through helpful add-ons
    • Raise laying hens
    • Increase and maintain egg production
    • Deal with the molting process
    • Raise healthy meat birds
    • Slaughter, butcher and process meat birds
    • Overwinter (or raise birds throughout cold months)
    • Maintain adequate egg production during the winter
    • Improve meat quality and flavor
    • Be a successful and happy chicken owner!

    About the Expert:
    Rebekah White lives in upstate New York on a small, cozy slice of heaven. She raises chickens, pigs, honey bees, and vegetables to sustain herself and her close family. When she’s not at home with her animals, she is working at her “day job” teaching high school English at a rural school. In the meantime, she enjoys running, traveling, cooking (especially with fresh produce and homegrown meats!), and writing (ideally about the farm!). She has also published articles on home remedies and recipes, canning and food preservation, and various general interest stories.

    HowExpert publishes short 'how to' guides in unique topics by everyday experts.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHowExpert
    Release dateAug 29, 2017
    ISBN9781370343034
    Author

    HowExpert

    HowExpert publishes quick 'how to' guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.

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      Book preview

      How to Raise Chickens for Eggs and Meat - HowExpert

      How to Raise Chickens for Eggs and Meat

      A Quick Guide on Raising Chickens for the Beginning Homesteader

      HowExpert Press & Rebekah White

      Copyright HowExpert.com

      Smashwords Edition

      ~~

      This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ~~

      Legal Disclaimer

      Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

      ~~

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1: Which Came First—the Chicken or the Egg? Well, That Depends.

      Chapter 2: Transitioning Chicks: Pullets and Cockerels

      Chapter 3: Housing

      Chapter 4: Increase Efficiency and Eco-Friendliness

      Chapter 5: Raising Chickens for Egg Production

      Chapter 6: Raising Chickens for Meat

      Chapter 7: After the First Season (and Beyond)

      About the Expert

      Recommended Resources

      ~~

      Chapter 1: Which Came First—the Chicken or the Egg? Well, That Depends.

      Regardless of how much space, time, or energy you have, chickens are a great addition to any backyard environment. They provide a nutritious, steady food source, whether they are used for eggs or meat, and can help control tick populations (ultimately preventing disease). They are low maintenance and provide years of entertainment. Whether you have a hundred-acre farm or a half an acre suburban lot, chickens are a fun investment that doesn’t require much skill to raise. Before you can start, however, you need the actual chickens! Depending on how much time you wish to invest, there are two options for starting a flock: from day-old chicks, or incubated eggs.

      Buying Baby Chicks

      Buying day-old chicks is a common option for many beginning chicken farmers. Because you don’t need any special equipment (besides a brooder and a heat lamp, which will be explained later in more detail) and aren’t required to invest three weeks of your time in waiting for eggs to hatch. You also don’t have to worry about whether the eggs you hatched were fertile, because the chicks have already been hatched!

      Overview

      Depending on breed, quantity, and merchant, chicks range in price from $1 apiece to $5 apiece. Generally, broiler species (such as Cornish crosses) will be more expensive and layer birds will be less so. Chicks can be purchased in-store at retailers such as Tractor Supply, via catalogue order through retailers such as Stromberg’s, or from local chicken farms.

      Figure 1.1: Baby Chicks

      If you decide to purchase started chicks from a physical location such as Tractor Supply (versus online or through catalogue order), find out the delivery dates to the store. That way, you can purchase chicks the day they arrive, as opposed

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