Living with chickens: everything you need to know to raise your own backyard flock

227 Pages·2004·12.379 MB·English

by  Rossier, Jay;Hansen, Geoff

living with chickens PB 1/30/09 10:41 AM Page 1
NATURE $16.95 ($24.95 in Canada) RR “Welcome to the wonderful world of chickens!”
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Chickens—why not? Tens of thousands of people in all areas of the country —Pat Malone, president of the American Poultry Association
enjoy raising these birds, whether for food or companionship. Of course, SS
you may want to read LIVING WITH CHICKENSjust for the sheer joy of it. SS
Straightforward prose and illustrations give any future chicken farmer the tools he II
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or she needs to get started. Jay Rossier draws on his own experiences and those of
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his fellow poultrymen in discussing everything from feeding and housing the birds
to keeping marauders from invading the coop. Personal anecdotes, interesting facts,
and lush, full-color photographs round out this indispensable guide.
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JAY ROSSIER, coauthor of A New Lease On Farmlandand a contributor to Northern II
Woodlands magazine, looks after various fowls with his wife and children at their VV
home in Vermont. GEOFF HANSEN’S photographs have appeared in Newsweek,
USA Today, The New York Times, and the Boston Globe. He lives in Vermont with his II
wife and daughter.
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“LIVINGWITHCHICKENSwill help birds and their owners live

in harmony and health.”
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—Stephen Green-Armytage,Extraordinary Chickens
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“Beautifully realized with superb photographs—chock full of
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information—a chicken aficionado's delight.”
—Mark Lewis,The Natural History of the Chicken
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“A wonderful book,the most comprehensive and easily-digested book
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about chickens I’ve come across. Anyone with an interest in chickens will
be advised to toss the other books and keep this one.”
—The Valley News II
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“An uncommonly beautiful book to look at,with just enough lore about
these underappreciated animals to keep those of us entertained,who,in
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the end,will leave the nuggeteering to someone else.”
—The Arkansas Times
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“An excellent introduction to chicken basics.”
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—Library Journal
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Cover photograph by Geoff Hansen; colorized by Peter Blossom
Cover design by Yann Keesing
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$16.95 P
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ISBN 1-59228-013-7 6 6081301695 9 RRaaiissee YYoouurr OOwwnn BBaacckkyyaarrdd FFlloocckk
51695> THE LYONS PRESS
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9 781592280131 The Lyons Press is an imprint LYONS JAY ROSSIER • Photographs by GEOFF HANSEN
of The Globe Pequot Press PRESS
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V I
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everything you need to know to
raise your own backyard flock
j J
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Jay Rossier
Photographs by Geoff Hansen
Introduction by the American Poultry Association, Inc.
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The Lyons Press
Guilford, Connecticut
An Imprint of The Globe Pequot Press
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Previous Page:A group of hens and roosters race out
for their morning breakfast at Lianne Thomashow’s
home in Strafford, Vermont. About six months after
moving to Vermont from Brooklyn, New York,
Thomashow started her flock, and she now has a dozen
chickens on her quarter-acre lot in the village.
Copyright © 2002, 2004 by Jay Rossier
Photographs copyright © 2002 Geoff Hansen
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be
addressed to The Lyons Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.
The Lyons Press is an imprint of The Globe Pequot Press.
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Printed in China
Cover Design: Yann Keesing
Illustrations: Greg Crawford
Text Design: M. A. Dube
Sidebar engravings: www.arttoday.com
ISBN 978-1-59228-013-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
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To Andy, Sam, and Liam
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C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
Chapter 1 The Charm of Chickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 2 Where Your Chickens Will Live . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Chapter 3 Getting Eggs to Hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Chapter 4 Raising Chicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Chapter 5 Buying Adult Chickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Chapter 6 Feeding Your Chickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Chapter 7 Hens and Eggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Chapter 8 Butchering Your Meat Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Chapter 9 The Health of Your Chickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Chapter 10 Chickens and Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Appendixes
Chicken Breeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
Hatcheries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Equipment and Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
Cooperative Extension Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
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Opposite:An apple tree frames Tom Powers’ chicken
house in South Royalton, Vermont. Built in 1983, the
building is too far from the main house, according to
Powers: “I’ve had to dig a 100-foot path through the
snow ten times some winters.”
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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
FORMANYREASONSTHISBOOKOWESITSEXISTENCEto the patience,
persistence, and good humor of Ann Treistman of The Lyons Press. Many thanks
also to Geoff Hansen for his photographs and friendship, and The Mountain
School of Milton Academy in Vershire, Vermont, for the use of theirspace.
Many friends and acquaintances have shared their chicken experiences
with me and helped in other ways, but I had particularly valuable assistance
from Gerry Coleman, Alex Keats, Bob Machin, and Mary Hays.
Finally, many thanks to MaryAnn Dubé for her design, and to Kevin Lynch
and Chris Mongillo at Lyons for their hard work on the production of this book.
—Jay Rossier
THANKSAREDUETOCHICKENFARMERSCarrie Maynard, Tom Powers and
Lianne Thomashow, the Vermont Bird Fanciers Club, author Jay Rossier, and
especially editor Ann Treistman at The Lyons Press.
—Geoff Hansen, Photographer
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Opposite:One of Lianne
Thomashow’s birds, spending an
afternoon in the chicken coop on
a cold afternoon.
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