Honey bee hives now grace the White House Lawn, the roof of Chicago City Hall, the National Arboretum, and the top of the Fairmont Hotel. Even Hagen-Daazs has gotten into the act with its well-funded campaign, Help the Honey Bees.Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees, the newest addition to the best-selling series, will be the single resource sought by beekeepers in all settings. Malcolm T. Sanford presents a thorough overview of these industrious and critically important insects. With this book as their guide, beekeepers will understand how to plan a hive, acquire bees, install a colony, keep bees healthy, maintain a healthy hive, understand and prevent new diseases, and harvest honey crops.The book also provides an overview of the honey bee nest and colony life, insights into honey bee anatomy and behavior, an exploration of apiary equipment and tools, season-by-season beekeeper responsibilities, instructions for harvesting honey, and detailed, up-to-date information about diseases and other potential risks to bees.This comprehensive reference will appeal to both the experienced beekeeper who seeks help with specific issues and the novice eager to get started.

    With advice on everything from selecting a breed and choosing the best incubator to feeding and caring for newborn chicks in a brooder, this comprehensive guide also covers issues like embryo development, panting chicks, and a variety of common birth defects. Whether you want to hatch three eggs or one hundred, you’ll find all the information you need to make your poultry-raising operation a success.

    Building Chicken Coops For Dummies gives you the information you need to build the most cost-efficient, safe, and easy-on-the-eye enclosures for your backyard flock. This practical guide gives you easy-to-follow and customizable plans for building the backyard chicken coop that works best for you. You'll get the basic construction know-how and key information you need to design and build a coop tailored to your flock, whether you live in a small city loft, a suburban backyard, or a small rural farm.Includes detailed material lists, instructions, and schematic plans for building a host of different chicken coops Step-by-step guidance on how to build a coop--or design your own Accessible for every level of reader Whether you're just beginning to gain an interest in a back-to-basics lifestyle or looking to add more attractive and efficient coops to your current flock's digs, Building Chicken Coops For Dummies gives you everything you need to build a winning coop!

    There’s nothing more local than an egg freshly laid right in your own yard. But what should you expect when you’re adopting a couple of day-old chicks? In Chick Days, Jenna Woginrich, award-winning author of Made from Scratch, the homesteading memoir for the twenty-something generation, offers a highly entertaining and informative photographic guide for today’s fledgling chick parent. Fun for the complete newbie and for families with young children, Chick Days chronicles the journey of three chickens from newly hatched fluffy butterballs to grown hens laying eggs. Day by day and week by week, readers watch the three starring chickens grow and change, learning about chicken behavior, feeding requirements, housing, hygiene, and health-care essentials, and fun facts on all things poultry. As Jenna herself says, “Chickens are more than 12-piece buckets, country diner kitsch, and egg whites. They’re your backyard ambassadors to healthier eating and basic husbandry. Keeping chickens is a crash course in local eating. When you start collecting eggs you’ll be eating so local you’ll know the amount of cracked corn in the feeder at ground zero of your breakfast . . . ” Jenna’s witty commentary is accompanied by the photography of Mars Vilaubi, who raised the three chickens himself, along with his wife and son. Their accompanying “chick diary” notes particular things this family learned and did along the way to make chicken raising fun. Presenting just the essential information in a highly visual and inviting format, Chick Days makes every stage of chicken life fun, entertaining, and, most of all, doable. It’s sure to give any chicken lover or wannabe owner the confidence and enthusiasm to join the flock!

    Readers will learn about non-toxic methos of controlling mites, breeding strategies, and many other tips and techniques for maintaining healthy hives.

    Drawing from years of hands-on experience, Paula Simmons and Carol Ekarius provide expert advice on breed selection, lambing, feeding, housing, pasture maintenance, and medical care. You’ll also find tips on profitably marketing your meat and fiber products, as well as information on obtaining organic certifications.

    With easy-to-follow instructions on canning, drying, and pickling, you’ll enjoy your backyard bounty all winter long. Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How.

    From the Manx Rumpy to the Redcap and the Ancona duck to his Aylesbury cousin, each breed is profiled with a brief history, detailed descriptions of identifying characteristics, and colorful photography. Comprehensive and fun, Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds celebrates the personalities and charming good looks of North America’s quirkiest barnyard birds and waterfowl.

    A unique guide to sheep, for would-be farmers and people who simply love animals and the outdoors.

    Even if you have never been a farmer or a gardener, this book covers everything you need to know to get started: buying and saving seeds, starting seedlings, establishing raised beds, soil fertility practices, composting, dealing with pest and disease problems, crop rotation, farm planning, and much more. Because self-suf?ciency is the objective, subjects such as raising backyard chickens and home canning are also covered along with numerous methods for keeping costs down and production high. Materials, tools, and techniques are detailed with photographs, tables, diagrams, and illustrations.

    Breed selection, year-round care and feeding, safe housing, humane handling, and disease prevention and treatment are all addressed.This is the classic, comprehensive, essential reference for all rabbit raisers.

    Our Modern Way series of six books has sold more than 1,000,000 copies. In an effort to provide readers with the best how-to animal books on the market we are completely updating all six Modern Way titles and reintroducing them as part of our Guide to Raising series. Written by experts, these guides give novice and experienced livestock farmers all they need to know to successfully keep and profit from animals. Each book includes information on selection, housing, space requirements, breeding and birthing techniques, feeding, behavior, and health concerns and remedies for illness. The books also address the business of raising animals -- processing meat, milk, eggs, and more. The authors were chosen not only for their expertise but also for their ability to explain the ins and outs of animal husbandry in an inviting and authoritative manner.Whether readers are ready to start an entire herd or flock or are considering purchasing their first animal, Storey's Guide to Raising series offers vital information; each book is an indispensable reference.

    Two dozen new photos and illustrations make this new edition even richer with information. Its convenient paperback format makes it easy to carry and access, whether you are in or out of the garden. An essential overview of the science behind plants for beginning and advanced gardeners alike.

    Heather Smith Thomas stresses the importance of understanding bovine behavior while covering breed selection, calving, feeding, housing, medical care, and humane slaughter practices. Along with in-depth information on raising grass-fed animals and dealing with toxic pasture plants, you’ll also find advice on creating a viable business plan and identifying niche markets for your beef.

    Let the Chicken Whisperer (poultry personality Andy Schneider) teach you everything he knows…and everything you need to know…about raising a backyard flock! Ditch the super-technical manuals and enjoy Andy's unique, common-sense perspective in The Chicken Whisperer's Guide to Keeping Chickens. This fun, comprehensive guide is a perfect fit for your busy lifestyle.Inside, you’ll learn:—The Benefits of a Backyard Chicken Flock—So You're Eggspecting: The Art of Incubation— The Art of Brooding—Home Sweet Home: Coops & Runs—Nutrition, Health, and Wellness…and much more!