Reddit reviews Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, 3rd Edition
We found 10 Reddit comments about Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, 3rd Edition. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Storey Publishing
If you move the decimal over. This is about 1,000 in books...
(If I had to pick a few for 100 bucks: encyclopedia of country living, survival medicine, wilderness medicine, ball preservation, art of fermentation, a few mushroom and foraging books.)
Medical:
Where there is no doctor
Where there is no dentist
Emergency War Surgery
The survival medicine handbook
Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine
Special Operations Medical Handbook
Food Production
Mini Farming
encyclopedia of country living
square foot gardening
Seed Saving
Storey’s Raising Rabbits
Meat Rabbits
Aquaponics Gardening: Step By Step
Storey’s Chicken Book
Storey Dairy Goat
Storey Meat Goat
Storey Ducks
Storey’s Bees
Beekeepers Bible
bio-integrated farm
soil and water engineering
Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation
Food Preservation and Cooking
Steve Rinella’s Large Game Processing
Steve Rinella’s Small Game
Ball Home Preservation
Charcuterie
Root Cellaring
Art of Natural Cheesemaking
Mastering Artesian Cheese Making
American Farmstead Cheesemaking
Joe Beef: Surviving Apocalypse
Wild Fermentation
Art of Fermentation
Nose to Tail
Artisan Sourdough
Designing Great Beers
The Joy of Home Distilling
Foraging
Southeast Foraging
Boletes
Mushrooms of Carolinas
Mushrooms of Southeastern United States
Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast
Tech
farm and workshop Welding
ultimate guide: plumbing
ultimate guide: wiring
ultimate guide: home repair
off grid solar
Woodworking
Timberframe Construction
Basic Lathework
How to Run A Lathe
Backyard Foundry
Sand Casting
Practical Casting
The Complete Metalsmith
Gears and Cutting Gears
Hardening Tempering and Heat Treatment
Machinery’s Handbook
How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic
Electronics For Inventors
Basic Science
Chemistry
Organic Chem
Understanding Basic Chemistry Through Problem Solving
Ham Radio
AARL Antenna Book
General Class Manual
Tech Class Manual
MISC
Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft
Contact!
Nuclear War Survival Skills
The Knowledge: How to rebuild civilization in the aftermath of a cataclysm
A great way to start is to grab a book. I read Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.
http://www.amazon.com/Storeys-Guide-Raising-Chickens-3rd/dp/1603424695?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Get this book. I picked it up before I got my first chick and it taught me everything I needed to know from egg to old hen.
My first chicken was a Speckled Sussex and she was the best girl I ever had, friendly, smart and not flighty at all. Other breeds that have been easy for me: Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Easter Eggers, Brahmas, Welsummers, and Barnevelders. Silkies are cute, but they are always the dumbest chickens of the flock it seems like. I would say the variation isn't so bad that you can't just get the breed of chicken you like best for whatever reason: egg color, egg production, feather pattern, etc.
Chickens can tolerate quite a bit of heat (with basic shade and lots of water), and quite a bit of cold (with shelter from the wind and friends to huddle next to). I would think you probably don't need anything special in SW Missouri, but if it looks like your mom's chickens are in extreme discomfort, there are ways to help them out then.
The most important thing is to make sure the coop is completely secure and protected against predators. The #1 cause of death for my chickens has been raccoons.
Good luck to your mom!
Well, this is a good book to start with and has a bunch of useful information in it. I would be willing to answer any specific questions you may come up with as well.
As far as coops, you need decent wire (chicken wire is too weak to keep some predators out) and at least one solid wall and a roof (I'm in Texas, so one wall to block wind is enough to keep them warm. The rest of the walls are just wire). You also need to sink the wire into the ground a few inches so animals can't dig under. I actually dug 6" trenches around mine and filled them with concrete.
For health concerns I recommend this book, it has a lot of good info in it and is not too technical.
The "bible" for raising chickens is Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow. I bet you could get a copy from the public library.
It is a little unusual for the whole flock to wait two weeks. But, Ive definitely had individual birds wait that long.
With the rain it sounds like they just arent getting enough sunlight. Like others have suggested you can put a light in and keep it on for 14 hours a stretch. I would leave the tarp up. Im in Texas so we dont get as much rain but even here if it rains it makes the hens....pissy...and they dont lay for me either those days :P To be honest unless you need the eggs right now I would just wait for the rain to pass and let them get used to the weather where they live.
But you know this is where animal husbandry kinda gets more into the art instead of the science. Everybody has to decide whats the best for their chickens in their yard given the information. Like, these are things that work for me but see in Florida you may never get a time when the rain lets up and so it would make sense to have a light in the coop. You can always try it. (of course be careful with electricity and rain)
If youre letting them into your yard, on top of feeding them chicken feed, they are most likely getting all the nutrients they need.
Yeah I would put some boxes in their coop. Ideally you want them so you can access them from the outside. The first coop I built I didnt do that and most of the hens figured out on like the second day where to lay so I had to crawl in to get the eggs.
It sounds like youre taking really good care of your chickens. Really I wouldnt worry too much right now.
One of the books that I got when I first got started is this one. It was just technical enough and just common sense enough to get me going. Of course this is a really good subreddit too!
You will never regret buying this book. Your library may have it also.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1603424695?pc_redir=1398414170&robot_redir=1
Sounds like you're well along the path to becoming a crazy chicken lady--welcome aboard :)
Honestly, you don't need most of the stuff on your list. Chickens need an off-the-ground roost in a predator-proof space to sleep, access to water and food, a safe place to lay eggs, and that's about it. Feel free to go crazy with extra perches in the run, toys, mirrors, swings, etc. but don't feel like they are necessary. My chickens have far more fun digging through a big leaf pile than any other amusement I've devised.
Your chickens may have issues learning to use the treadle feeder. Mine have yet to manage it, so I changed to using a hanging feeder for the rodent resistance.
Sand as litter is controversial, with some bloggers claiming it's the best and easiest and others claiming it's unhealthful. You probably want to switch to what's sold in the USA as "builder's sand" rather than "play sand". It's coarser and much cheaper, and less likely to cause respiratory distress.
On constructing a dust bath: I'd only recommend this if they don't have access to dirt in their run. I meticulously created a beautiful dust bath in a sawed-off wine barrel, with the so-called perfect mix of sand and dirt, but my hens literally never used it. They preferred to dig their own dust baths in their run's litter or in my yard.
One optional addition is Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens; I'm not sure how much overlap there is with the book you already have, but Storey's is excellent.
I'd also consider buying nest pads, though you can just use wood shavings.
I personally find sweet PDZ to be helpful, and if you're using sand as litter (I use deep litter) you'll probably find it even more so. It absorbs ammonia, odors, and moisture.
Hit the public library and get a book. They'll no doubt have a bunch, especially if you live in a hipster backyard chicken area. Once you go through several, purchase the one you like best. Storey's is excellent, IMHO, as it is more "realistic" and less hobbyist. http://www.amazon.com/Storeys-Guide-Raising-Chickens-Edition/dp/1603424695
Over a website or blog, you might find a hard copy more convenient, as you can put post-its in it, take it to the store more easily, bring it out into the yard while working on the coop, etc.
I have read so many books but I got most of them from the library years ago and they are probably all out of fashion. I think this one from Amazon is good despite the fact it's geared towards larger flocks. The length is right for a comprehensive guide (400+ pgs) and cage design and development is discussed.
One of the reviews links to a book geared towards smaller flocks which only gives one cage design and skips over things like slaughter. That's not necessarily bad but I have always found more information to be better, which is why the library is awesome.
The tone is more lightweight in backyard or urban chicken books. Which can be good depending on the audience. Again, my only complaint is that this tends to lead to skipping information which may be valuable. I have no problem with people keeping their chickens as pets but I am not a fan of books which skip over the less pleasant details to appeal to that audience. While they may sell like hotcakes, the readers are just sticking their heads in the sand because they find certain authors distasteful.
No matter what design you choose here are some ways to keep your flock safe:
I hope that helps :)