The complete guide to small-scale farming : everything you need to know about raising beef and dairy cattle, rabbits, ducks, and other small animals
Title:
The complete guide to small-scale farming : everything you need to know about raising beef and dairy cattle, rabbits, ducks, and other small animals
Author:
Nelson, Melissa G. (Melissa Gwyn), 1969-
ISBN:
9781601383754
Personal Author:
Publication Information:
Ocala, Fla. : Atlantic Pub. Group, c2010.
Physical Description:
288 p.[pap]: ill. ; 23 cm.
Series:
Back to basics farming
Back to basics farming.
Contents:
Introduction -- Chapter 1: Down On The Farm -- Outside help -- Keeping your costs down -- Pitfalls and benefits of raising livestock -- Tips for new livestock owners -- Chapter 2: Starting Small With Chickens -- Chicken breeds -- Preparing for your baby chicks -- Setting up the pen -- Incubating eggs -- Feeding and equipment -- Health concerns -- Behavioral problems -- Nutritional deficiencies -- Parasitic infections -- Infectious diseases -- Putting your investment to work -- Breeding -- Management of layers -- Candling eggs -- Chapter 3: World Of Waterfowl -- Duck breeds -- Geese breeds -- Starting out on the right foot -- Preparing for your new arrivals -- Feeding -- Health concerns -- Handling aggressive ganders -- Breeding -- Using waterfowl for weed control, insect control, and as alarms -- Chapter 4: Keeping Turkeys And Game Birds -- Modern turkey -- Guineas -- Turkey breeds -- Guinea breeds -- Housing -- Confinement -- Turkeys on range -- Partridge, pheasants, and quail -- Incubating eggs -- Housing -- Feeding -- Turkey health -- Other turkey diseases -- Guinea fowl health -- Game bird health -- Chapter 5: Rearing Rabbits -- Breeds -- Housing -- Handling -- Sexing -- Feeding -- Reproduction -- Nest boxes -- Kindling -- Health -- Pregnancy-related problems -- Chapter 6: Curious Goat -- Breeds -- Housing -- Feeding -- Forage -- Grain -- Water -- Supplements -- Using goats for weed control -- Reproduction -- Kidding -- Newborn -- Health -- Other diseases -- Chapter 7: Serene Sheep -- Breeds -- Meat breeds -- Fine-wood breeds -- Long-wood breeds -- Dual-purpose breeds -- Other sheep breeds -- Husbandry -- Reproduction -- Lambing -- Orphan lambs -- Health -- Lamb care -- Ewe health -- Other diseases affecting sheep -- Chapter 8: Pigs: The Mortgage Lifters -- Breeds -- Housing and equipment -- Feeding -- Pigs on pasture -- Reproduction -- Farrowing -- Health -- Diseases -- Parasites -- Chapter 9: Your Beef Cattle Operation -- Breeds -- Housing -- Housing very young calves -- Castration -- Dehorning -- Weaning -- Handling -- Pasturing -- Feeding -- Digestive tract anatomy -- Grain -- Hay -- Other food sources -- Reproduction -- Bull reproduction -- Health -- Vaccinations -- Leptospirosis -- Eye diseases -- Neurological diseases -- Diarrhea-causing diseases -- Chapter 10: Caring For Dairy Cattle -- Breeds -- Housing -- Handling and feeding -- Reproduction -- Dry period -- Calving -- Problems associated with calving -- Health -- Udder anatomy -- Hoof health -- Mastitis -- Preventing and controlling mastitis -- Treating mastitis -- Chapter 11: Medicating Your Livestock -- Administrating the medication -- Injections -- Chapter 12: Butchering Livestock -- Harvesting chickens -- Game birds and waterfowl -- Harvesting rabbits -- Meat -- Pelts -- How to butcher a sheep, goat, pig, or steer -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: -- How to make butter -- How to make cheese -- Resources -- General -- Supplies -- Pen design -- Poultry -- Rabbits -- Goats -- Sheep -- Pigs -- Cattle -- Small farm marketing and finance -- Cheese making and butchering supplies -- Bibliography -- Author biography -- Index.
Abstract:
Overview: Starting a small scale farm is the dream of Americans young and old, from those who watched the majesty of the great western farm in films during their youth to those who spent their childhood actually working on a farm. However, for many of these individuals it is a matter of logistics and cost that keeps them from realizing their dreams. Raising beef cattle, ducks, rabbits, and any other small animals such as sheeps, goats, or chickens takes not only a decent amount of money to get started, but knowhow that doesn't come in textbooks while in school. This book was written with the intent of providing anyone who has ever wanted to start their own small scale farm the necessary resources and information needed to start raising small animals and cattle. You will learn everything you need to know to raise a wide variety of small animals. You will learn how to care for chickens, from choosing the right breed to raising them for egg production. You will learn how to handle geese and ducks, choosing the correct breeds, feeding, housing, breeding, and selecting the right ones for egg production. You will also learn about egg incubation, maintaining poultry health, and how raise them for meat. Other animals you will learn how to care for include rabbits, goats, sheep, dairy cows, and beef cattle. Small farmers and animal experts have been interviewed in detail and their responses added to this book to provide additional insight into every aspect of raising farm animals. This includes details about how to purchase, house, feed, breed, record, and butcher animals of all types as well as how to gather milk, use goats and cows for maintaining your fields, and even keeping records of births and selling babies. Everything you might need to know about raising small animals for your farm is included in this guide to provide you the first steps to raising domesticated poultry and livestock.
