Chicken Manual

Laurence Beeken has kept poultry for 20 years both as a back-garden hobby and for exhibition, showing at National level. He has contributed to Kitchen Garden magazine, providing articles and pictures covering all aspects of poultry-keeping, from egg to plate. He lives near Spalding, Lincolnshire.

'a complete and easy-to-follow reference for the novice.' Practical Poultry‘In typical Haynes style, this 192-page hardback provides a complete and easy-to-follow reference for the novice poultry keeper.’ Practical Poultry ‘a superb book’ Keep Chickens ‘a good, easy-to-understand reference manual for the novice, as well as having plenty to interest more experienced keepers.’ Kitchen Garden ‘eminently readable and full of practical advice.’ Your Chickens ‘a complete and easy-to-follow reference for the novice' Practical Poultry

• Four major sections are devoted to 'Getting started', 'Keeping your chickens', 'Specialist information' and 'Problems'. Getting started: choosing a breed, the popular breeds (30 are highlighted), hybrids, other poultry, the various ways of acquiring chickens (including hatching your own). Keeping your chickens: daily care, seasonal care, feeding and watering, housing, security from predators (two-legged and four-legged), vermin (rats/mice, foxes, mink/stoats/weasels, pigeons, magpies/crows), laying (types of eggs, selling, regulations), first aid. Specialist information: anatomy and plumage, colours and markings, breeding (reproduction, mating, incubation, hatching, rearing), showing, conservation, dispatching (methods of killing, dressing). Problems: common diseases (includes simple diagnosis charts), biology, health, nutrition, bird 'flu facts. Step-by-step procedures will feature where relevant, in time-honoured Haynes style, and will include construction of a poultry house and brooder and how to use an incubator correctly.