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Raising Chickens For Dummies Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.comCopyright 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IndianaPublished simultaneously in CanadaNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior writtenpermission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to theCopyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600.Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley& Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for theRest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making EverythingEasier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/orits affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associatedwith any product or vendor mentioned in this book.LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NOREPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OFTHE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BECREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIESCONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THEUNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OROTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OFA COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THEAUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCEOF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSESTHE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS ITMAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THISWORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN ANDWHEN IT IS READ.For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer CareDepartment within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print maynot be available in electronic books.Library of Congress Control Number is available from the Publisher.ISBN: 978-0-470-46544-8Manufactured in the United States of America10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the AuthorsKimberly Willis: Kim Willis lives with her husband, Steve, on a small farmin the thumb area of Michigan. When not writing, she works at the MSUExtension office in Lapeer County, Michigan, as a horticulturist and doublesas the resident chicken expert. Kim has raised a number of breeds ofchickens and other types of poultry for over 30 years. She has shown poultrylocally. She is an advocate for eating locally and sells her fresh brown eggs tofriends and family. She is a proud member of www.backyardchickens.com.Kim is also a garden writer and has numerous articles in print and online.You can read her work at www.life123.com or www.squidoo.com/gardeninggranny or her blog at www.gardeninggranny.blogspot.com.Rob Ludlow: Rob Ludlow, his wife Emily, and their two beautiful daughters,Alana and April, are the perfect example of the suburban family with a smallflock of backyard chickens. Like countless others, what started out as a funhobby raising a few egg-laying hens has almost turned into an addiction.Originally, Rob started posting his experiences with chickens on his hobbyWeb site www.Nifty-Stuff.com, but after realizing how much hisobsession with chickens was growing, he decided to concentrate his effortson a site devoted completely to the subject. Now Rob owns and manageswww.backyardchickens.com (BYC), the largest and fastest-growingcommunity of chicken enthusiasts in the world.Rob hopes to work with BYC’s tens of thousands of members to promotea change of the old concept, “a chicken in every pot,” to a new version, theBYC vision: “A chicken in every yard!”

DedicationKimberly Willis: I would like to dedicate this book to my husband, Steve,who took over the cooking and dishes so I could concentrate on mylatest book.Rob Ludlow: To the three most important girls in my life — Emily, Alana,and April — who not only support but also contribute to my joy of raisingbackyard chickens.Authors’ AcknowledgmentsKimberly Willis: I would like to acknowledge all the help my project editor,Jennifer Connolly, has given me with my first Dummies book as well asacknowledge all the hard work that Christy Pingleton, copy editor, has doneon this book. I would also like to acknowledge the fun chicken Web site www.backyardchickens.com, which gave me much insight on the concernsnew chicken owners have.Rob Ludlow: Thanks to my brother Michael for getting me started withchickens, and to Mike Baker and Kristin DeMint for their help with theproject. Especially huge thanks to the incredibly smart, patient, and helpfulstaff at www.backyardchickens.com, and the thousands of friendly BYCcommunity members.

Publisher’s AcknowledgmentsWe’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registrationform located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our CustomerCare Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:Acquisitions, Editorial, andMedia DevelopmentProject Editors: Jennifer Connolly,Kristin DeMintAcquisitions Editor: Mike BakerCopy Editor: Christine PingletonAssistant Editor: Erin Calligan MooneyComposition ServicesProject Coordinator: Sheree MontgomeryLayout and Graphics: Carl Byers,Reuben W. DavisProofreader: Toni SettleIndexer: Potomac Indexing, LLCEditorial Program Coordinator: Joe NiesenTechnical Editor: Paul WylieEditorial Managers: Jennifer Ehrlich,Michelle HackerEditorial Supervisor: Carmen KrikorianEditorial Assistants: Jennette ElNaggar,David LuttonIllustrator: Barbara FrakeArt Coordinator: Alicia B. SouthCover Photos: Organics image library/AlamyCartoons: Rich Tennant(www.the5thwave.com)Publishing and Editorial for Consumer DummiesDiane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer DummiesKristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer DummiesEnsley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, TravelKelly Regan, Editorial Director, TravelPublishing for Technology DummiesAndy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General UserComposition ServicesDebbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents at a GlanceIntroduction . 1Part I: Choosing Chickens . 7Chapter 1: The Joy of Chickens. 9Chapter 2: Basic Chicken Biology and Behavior. 21Chapter 3: A Chicken Isn’t Just a Chicken:Your Guide to Breeds. 39Chapter 4: Buying Chickens. 55Part II: Housing Your Flock . 73Chapter 5: Choosing Your Housing Type . 75Chapter 6: Designing and Constructing a Coop . 99Chapter 7: Coop, Sweet Coop: Furnishing and Housekeeping . 123Part III: Caring for Your Flock:General Management . 139Chapter 8: Feeding Your Flock . 141Chapter 9: Controlling Pests and Predators . 165Chapter 10: Keeping Your Flock Happy and Healthy . 181Chapter 11: Handling Health Problems . 199Part IV: Breeding: From Chickento Egg and Back Again . 221Chapter 12: Mating Your Chickens . 223Chapter 13: Incubating Eggs and Hatching Chicks . 243Chapter 14: Raising Chicks . 273Part V: Special Management Considerations . 297Chapter 15: Managing Layers and Collecting Eggs . 299Chapter 16: Raising and Butchering Meat Birds . 323Part VI: The Part of Tens . 357Chapter 17: More than Ten Tips for Keeping Healthy, Stress-Free Chickens . 359Chapter 18: More than Ten Misconceptions about Chickens, Eggs, and So On . 365Index . 371

Table of ContentsIntroduction . 1About This Book . 1Conventions Used in This Book . 2What You’re Not to Read . 2Foolish Assumptions . 2How This Book Is Organized . 3Part I: Choosing Chickens . 3Part II: Housing Your Flock . 3Part III: Caring For Your Flock: General Management . 4Part IV: Breeding: From Chicken to Egg and Back Again . 4Part V: Special Management Considerations . 4Part V: The Part of Tens . 4Icons Used in This Book . 5Where to Go from Here . 5Part I: Choosing Chickens . 7Chapter 1: The Joy of Chickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9First Things First: Dealing with the Legal Issues . 9Knowing what info you need . 10Finding the info . 11Confronting restrictions. 12Assessing Your Capabilities: Basic Chicken Care and Requirements . 13Time . 13Space . 14Money . 14Focusing Your Intentions: Specific Considerations . 15Want eggs (and, therefore, layers)? . 15Thinking about home-grown meat? . 16Enticed by fun and games or 4-H and FFA? . 18Considering Neighbors . 18Chapter 2: Basic Chicken Biology and Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Familiarizing Yourself with a Chicken’s Physique. 21Labeling a Chicken’s Many Parts . 23Checking out the differences . 23Honing in on the head and neck . 24Checking out the bulk of the body . 27

xRaising Chickens For DummiesLooking at the legs and feet . 27Checking out chicken skin . 27Finding out about feathers . 28A Picture of Health . 30On Chicken Behavior . 31Processing information . 32Communication . 32Table manners. 33Sleeping . 34Socializing . 35Romance . 36The celibate hen — living without a rooster . 36New life . 37Bath time . 38Chapter 3: A Chicken Isn’t Just a Chicken:Your Guide to Breeds. . . .39What You Need to Know: A Brief Synopsis . 40Common breed terminology . 40How breeds are categorized . 42For Those Who Want It All: Dual-Purpose Breeds. 43For Egg-Lovers: Laying Breeds. 44White-egg layers . 44Brown-egg layers. 46Colored-egg layers . 48Best Breeds for the Table . 49Show Breeds . 51Perfect for Pets: Bantam Breeds . 52Heritage and Rare Breeds . 53Chapter 4: Buying Chickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55Planning Your Flock . 55Deciding what you’ll start with: Eggs, chicks, or adults . 56Choosing the gender . 58Getting the right number of chickens . 59Counting the Costs . 60Starting with Chicks . 61Where to get chicks . 61When to buy chicks . 65What to look for . 65Handling chicks . 68Starting with Adults. 69Where to buy adult chickens. 69What to look for . 69Transporting your birds safely . 71