Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens (108 page)

National Research Council Subcommittee on Poultry Nutrition.
Nutrient Requirements of Poultry
. 9th ed. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1994. Technical discussions and feed charts for formulating rations.

Salatin, Joel.
Pastured Poultry Profit$
. Swoope, VA: Polyface, Inc., 1996. A manual on commercial-scale free-range meat and egg production.

Schrider, Don and Jeannette Beranger.
Chicken Assessment for Improving Productivity
. Pittsboro, NC: American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, 2007. An outline for selecting desirable traits for meat qualities, egg production, and breeding stock; available in print or as a free download at
www.albc-usa.org/downloads.html
.

Schwartz, L. Dwight.
Poultry Health Handbook.
4th ed. University Park, PA: College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 1994. Guide to identifying and preventing diseases of chickens and other fowl.

Scott, George R.
The Art of Faking Exhibition Poultry
. 2nd ed. Totnes, UK: Beech Publishing House, 1996. Originally published in 1934 to describe methods, processes, and the detection of faking.

Skinner, John L., ed.
American Poultry History, 1974-1993. Volume II
. Mount Morris, IL: Watt Publishing Company, 1996. This second volume picks up where the first one left off.

Solomon, Steve.
Gardening When It Counts.
Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2006. Methods for growing a highly productive, but inexpensive vegetable garden.

U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Regulations Governing the Voluntary Grading of Poultry Products, and U.S. Classes, Standards, and Grading
. 7 CFR Part 70. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2008. Periodically updated regulations pertaining to standards for marketing dressed meat birds (may be available through your state poultry specialist or agricultural library).

U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service.
Agriculture Handbook #75: Egg-Grading Manual
. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service, 2000. Illustrated guide and color wall chart; accompanying film available through your county Extension agent or the film library at your state land-grant university.

National Organic Program.
National Organic Program
(NOP)
Standards & Guidelines
. Only available online:
www.ams.usda.gov/nop

Resources

Backyard Poultry
Countryside Publications, Ltd.
800-551-5691
www.backyardpoultrymag.com
A bimonthly magazine devoted to
topics related to raising poultry on a
small scale.

Feather Fancier Newspaper
519-542-6859
www.featherfancier.on.ca
Monthly paper covering Canadian exhibition
poultry.

Grit and Steel
864-489-2324
www.gritandsteel.us
Monthly magazine for devotees of sport game fowl.

American Bantam Association (ABA)
Augusta, New Jersey
973-383-8633
www.bantamclub.com

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
Pittsboro, North Carolina
919-542-5704
www.albc-usa.org

American Poultry Association
Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
724-729-3459
www.ampltya.com

National Organic Program
Washington, DC
202-720-3252
www.ams.usda.gov/nop
Organic egg production guidelines
established by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

National Sustainable Agriculture
Information Service
Appropriate Technology Transfer for
Rural Areas (ATTRA)
Fayetteville, Arkansas
800-346-9140
www.attra.org
Monitors organic production standards and translates them from governmentese into everyday language.

National Poultry Improvement Plan
(NPIP)
Conyers, Georgia
770-922-3496
www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/poultry

Rare Breeds Canada
Castleton, Ontario
905-344-7768
www.rarebreedscanada.ca

Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities
Middleburg, Pennsylvania
570-837-3157
www.feathersite.com/Poultry/SPPA/SPPA.html

Nite Guard LLC
Princeton, Minnesota
800-328-6647
www.niteguard.com
Carries a solar-powered blinking red light called Nite Guard.

Nichols Garden Nursery
Albany, Oregon
800-422-3985
www.nicholsgardennursery.com
Offers a Chicken Greens mix that regrows as a cut-and-cut-again crop.

Sand Hill Preservation Center
Calamus, Iowa
563-246-2299
www.sandhillpreservation.com
Offers two blends of Brooder Yard Greens, one for spring growth and the other for fall.

Infratherm Pet Heaters, Inc.
Sarona, Wisconsin
715-469-3280
www.sweeterheater.com
Offers a variety of heaters such as the infrared Infratherm heating panel.

Lehman’s
Kidron, Ohio
888-438-5346
www.lehmans.com
An Amish-made kerosene incubator is available for purchase here.

USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service
Poultry Grading Branch
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, D.C. 20250
202-720-3271.
The USDA official air-cell gauge may be obtained from this address.

Page references in
italics
indicate illustrations or photos; page numbers in
bold
indicate charts.

abnormal eggs,
223
–25

blood spots,
224

developing embryos,
224
–25

double or no yolk,
223

egg within an egg,
224

meat spots,
224

off-flavor eggs,
224

wormy eggs,
224

age determination,
26

albumen.
See
egg white

American Bantam Association (ABA),
1
,
341
,
360

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC),
16
,
247

American Poultry Association (APA),
1
,
341
,
360

American Standard of Perfection
,
1
,
261
,
338
,
340
,
343
,
355
–56

ammonia blindness,
140

anatomy.
See
parts of a chicken

Ancona breed,
10

apron.
See
jacket for mating hen

Araucana breed,
257
,
257

artificial incubation,
282
–95

airflow for,
285

humidity control,
289
–93

incubator units,
283
,
283

power outages and,
287

temperature control for,
285
–89

thermometers for,
286
,
288
,
288

turning device,
284
–85

artificial insemination,
270
–72

insemination,
271
,
272
,
272

semen collection,
270
–71

as-hatched chicks,
23

ATTRA sustainable agriculture organization,
383
,
384

baby chicks.
See also
chick care

purchasing,
23
–24

shipped by mail,
23

Backyard Poultry
,
27

bacteria,
414

Camplyobacter
,
375
,
414

meat storage safety and,
407

Salmonella
,
225
–26,
414

bantams,
17
,
17
–18

barbicels of feathers,
3
,
3

Barred Plymouth Rock breed,
12

beak trimming,
143
,
143
–44

bedding,
73
–74,
138
–40

biosecurity,
151
–54

day-to-day management,
151
–52

exposure reduction,
152
–53

minimization of harm,
153
–54

bird flu,
169
–70

bleaching sequence,
197
–98,
198
,
198

botulism,
174
–75,
412

breeders, feeding of,
261
–63

ration balancing,
261
–62

supplements,
262
–63

breeding methods,
248
–49,
252
–56

breeding bird ID,
252
–53

leg-band size by breed,
254
–
55

linebreeding,
249

progeny testing,
256

breeding plan,
243
–48

for broilers,
246
–47,
247

for layers,
245
–46

for recovery,
247
–48

for show,
244
–45

breeds, rise and fall of,
238
–43

form vs. function,
240
–42

genetic stocks,
239

vanishing gene pool,
242
–43

breed selection,
9
–21

bantams,
17
,
17
–18

broody breeds,
18

chickens as pets,
18
–20

dual-purpose breeds,
12
,
12
–13

endangered breeds,
15
–17,
16

for feathers,
20
–21

flying breeds,
21

layer breeds,
9
–11,
10

low maintenance and,
13
–14,
14

meat breeds,
11
,
11
–12

noisy breeds,
21

replacements vs. hatching,
20

breeds of chickens,
1
–8.
See also
meat breeds

classes and,
4

by comb style,
8
,
8

groupings of,
2

large breed groups,
2

large breeds,
6
–
7

most likely to brood,
279

shell color and,
187

strains and,
4
–5

varieties and,
4

weather preferences and,
136

broiler/fryer, components of,
402

broiler health issues,
276
–78

breast blister,
377
–78

heart failure,
378

lameness,
376
–78

broken bones

leg or foot,
179
–81,
181

toe,
179
,
181
,
181

bronchitis, infectious,
171

brooder features,
314
–21

brooder flooring,
317
–18

brooder heat,
314
–16,
316

brooder light,
317

brooding space,
318
–21,
320

broodiness, discouraging,
194

brooding.
See under
chick care

broody breeds,
18

brown-egg layers,
187

butchering

aging of meat and,
401

breast/breast bone and,
385
,
385

broiler/fryer components,
402

conformation (body shape) and,
386

conformation and,
386

cooling and,
401
–2

cutting up chickens,
402
–6

evisceration,
395
–401

killing chickens,
387
–90

picking,
390
–94

readiness for,
385
–86