Keeping Chickens For Dummies, UK Edition

Part I: Choosing Chickens 7

Chapter 1: Enjoying Chicken-Keeping 9

Chapter 2: Understanding Basic Chicken Biology and Behaviour 23

Chapter 3: Getting Familiar with Chicken Breeds 41

Chapter 4: Buying Chickens59

Part II: Housing Your Flock 79

Chapter 5: Going House Hunting for Your Chickens 81

Chapter 6: Designing and Constructing Chicken Housing 105

Chapter 7: Furnishing and Housekeeping 129

Part III: Caring for Your Flock: General Management 145

Chapter 8: Feeding Your Flock 147

Chapter 9: Controlling Pests and Predators 173

Chapter 10: Keeping Your Flock Happy and Healthy 189

Chapter 11: Handling Health Problems 209

Part IV: Breeding: The Chicken and the Egg 237

Chapter 12: Breeding Your Chickens 239

Chapter 13: Incubating Eggs and Hatching Chicks 259

Chapter 14: Raising Chicks 289

Part V: Considering Special Management Issues 313

Chapter 15: Looking After Layers and Collecting Eggs 315

Chapter 16: Managing Meat Birds 341

Chapter 17: Taking Meat Birds through D-Day 351

Part VI: The Part of Tens 379

Chapter 18: More than Ten Tips for Keeping Healthy, Stress-Free Chickens 381

Chapter 19: More than Ten Misconceptions about Chickens and Eggs 387

Index 393