Table of Contents

Introduction 1
Part I: Getting Started with Raising Chickens 5


Chapter 1: The Joy of Chickens 7


Chapter 2: Basic Chicken Biology and Behavior 21


Chapter 3: A Chicken Isn’t Just a Chicken: Your Guide to Breeds 45


Chapter 4: Buying Chickens 65


Part II: Housing Your Flock 85


Chapter 5: Choosing Your Housing Type 87


Chapter 6: Designing and Constructing a Coop 111


Chapter 7: Coop, Sweet Coop: Furnishing and Housekeeping 133


Part III: Caring for Your Flock: General Management 149


Chapter 8: Feeding Your Flock 151


Chapter 9: Controlling Pests and Predators 175


Chapter 10: Keeping Your Flock Happy and Healthy 193


Chapter 11: Handling Health Problems 217


Part IV: Breeding: From Chicken to Egg and Back Again 247


Chapter 12: Mating Your Chickens 249


Chapter 13: Incubating Eggs and Hatching Chicks 267


Chapter 14: Raising Chicks 295


Part V: Special Management Considerations 319


Chapter 15: Managing Layers and Collecting Eggs 321


Chapter 16: Raising and Butchering Meat Birds 349


Part VI: The Part of Tens 383


Chapter 17: More than Ten Tips for Keeping Healthy, Stress-Free Chickens 385


Chapter 18: More than Ten Misconceptions about Chickens, Eggs, and So On 393


Index 401

About the Author

Kimberley Willis has raised numerous breeds of chickens and other poultry for eggs, meat, and showing for more than 40 years. Robert T. Ludlow owns and manages BackYardChickens.com, the largest and fastest-growing community of chicken enthusiasts in the world.