Dumb Cluck - Wood Pecks

Raising Chickens For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2019916779

ISBN 978-1-119-67592-1 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-67593-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-67595-2 (ebk)

1. Chapter 5
2. Chapter 8
3. Chapter 9
4. Chapter 12
5. Chapter 13

1. Chapter 2
2. Chapter 3
3. Chapter 5
4. Chapter 6
5. Chapter 7
6. Chapter 10
7. Chapter 13
8. Chapter 14
9. Chapter 15
10. Chapter 16

Across the United States, from California (where Rob lives) to Michigan (where Kim lives) and beyond and even in other countries people are discovering the joy of chickens. Some people want to produce their own food, some are nostalgic and longing for a simpler and more pastoral time; and others were sucked in by some cute chicks. Whatever sparked your interest in chickens, we hope this book helps you become a happy, knowledgeable chicken keeper.

Chickens are a special part of both authors lives. Every day we listen to the questions and concerns people have about chickens. We take great enjoyment in the chickens we own, too. Were thrilled that more cities and townships are allowing people to keep chickens. But that means theres an ever-growing body of folks who need information about chickens. Because Rob and I cant always be there to answer everyones chicken questions, we decided it was time for a modern, comprehensive chicken book that provides quick answers to all your chicken questions.

In this, the second edition of Raising Chickens For Dummies, weve kept all the good parts of the first edition and done some updating to reflect new technology and knowledge about keeping chickens. Weve also expanded some chapters to bring you even more information about chicken keeping.

This chicken book is different from some of the others out there. Its easy to find the answer youre looking for because of the way the book is organized. Go ahead, flip through the book and see for yourself. Nice bold headings direct your eyes to just the section you need, and you dont have to read the whole book for a quick answer.

This book gives you a broad overlook of all aspects of keeping chickens, from laying hens to meat chickens, but you dont have to read it all at once or in any particular order. You can start anywhere in the book that interests you. Today you may be interested in learning how to care for some cute, fluff-ball chicks you fell in love with at the hardware store, and youll find that information here. In 5 months or so, when they begin laying eggs, youll need information on what to do and how to manage hens. That information is here, too.

And if you get tired of those chicks because they all turn out to be big, fat, noisy roosters, well, we give you good butchering instructions to turn them into chicken fricassee. So put this book on your bookshelf in a prominent place. Were sure youll refer to it again and again.

Were careful to use modern, scientifically correct information on chicken care, and we direct your attention to sources of additional information when necessary. If you dont want to read the sidebars or the technical points, you dont have to; youll still get the information you need to become a great chicken keeper. To round out the information, we also throw in lots of good, homey, down-to-earth advice that comes from owning and enjoying our own chickens.

When youre reading this book, you may notice that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If youre reading this book in print and you want to visit one of these web pages, simply type the web address into your computer exactly as its written in the text, as though the line break doesnt exist. If youre reading this as an e-book, youve got it easy just click the web address to go directly to the web page.

To get this book flowing, we had to factor in some assumptions about you, the reader. Heres how we've sized you up: