Henkeeping Specialist : The Essential Guide to Choosing and Keeping Poultry for Egg and Meat Production

Everything you need to know about keeping chickens!

• Range of breeds and how to choose the right one for your needs
• Egg production including the fertilization and collection of eggs
• Meat production including the best chickens for your table and how to pluck, draw, and truss them
• Breeding chickens including artificial incubation and caring for your male birds and brooding hens
• Pests and diseases that might affect your flock, and how to keep your chicken healthy
• Keeping other poultry, an introduction to ducks, quails, and guinea fowl

Self-sufficient living has never been more popular, and this Specialist Guide makes it easy!

You don't need a large garden, expensive equipment, or even a great deal of time to keep your own chickens. By keeping poultry, you can really benefit from the produce—just a couple of hens is all you need to keep your family well stocked in fresh eggs all year round!

This essential guide, The Henkeeping Specialist, provides all the key information you need to know to successfully keep your own poultry, from setting up and choosing the right site to housing, feeding, daily care routines, disease prevention, and breeding. There is a comprehensive A-Z section on the different chicken and bantam breeds available, as well as advice on choosing the right breed for you.

This guide is packed with plenty of practical advice on managing egg production, incubating, rearing, and specific nutritional requirements. It is ideal for newcomers interested in learning all about the basics of henkeeping, as well as for those seeking a more self-sufficient, natural, and ecologically conscious lifestyle.

Get started keeping chickens in your own backyard with The Henkeeping Specialist!

David Squire has worked for many years as a gardening writer and editor. He has contributed to numerous gardening magazines and is the author (or co-author) of more than 80 gardening and plant-related books. His books include four titles in the new Home Gardener's Specialist Guide series (Fox Chapel Publishing) plus The Scented Garden (Orion) which won the "Quill and Trowel Award" of the Garden Writers of America. David trained as a horticulturist at the Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and at the Royal Horticultural Society, where he was awarded the Wisley Diploma in Horticulture. He was awarded an N.K. Gould Memorial Prize for his collection of herbarium specimens of native British plants. In 2005, this collection of plants was accepted by the Booth Museum of Natural History to become library and museum exhibits. He has a passionate interest in the uses of native plants, whether for eating and survival, or for their historical roles in medicine, folklore, and customs.

Alan and Gill Bridgewater have gained an international reputation as producers of highly successful gardening and DIY books on a range of subjects, including garden design, ponds and patios, stone and brickwork, decks and decking, and household woodworking. They have also contributed to several international magazines. Alan and Gill live in Rye, East Sussex.