No hobby farm is complete without critters!
- 7 common farm animals and how to keep them: cows, chickens, ducks, goats, pigs, rabbits, and sheep
- Detailed how-to on the care, handling, feeding, health, and safety of each animal, including breeding and the raising of young animals
- Breed profiles of the most popular varieties, from the Rhode Island Red chicken to the Kiko goat
- Troubleshooting potential problems and warding off diseases, parasites, and predators
- Tips for selling your bounty, with recommendations for eggs, milk, fiber, beef, lamb, pork, and more
Eggs, meat, milk, wool, fur, feathers, and some priceless bucolic bliss: What's a hobby farm without a small flock or herd (or several)? Inside this book, five experienced hobby farmers and writers share the wisdom and knowledge gained from years of animal keeping for pleasure and profit.
This information-packed 384-page volume contains everything a hobby farmer needs to know about farm animals, whether you want a small herd peppering the field or a microflock flapping around the hen house or pond! A comprehensive manual to selecting, caring for, and breeding livestock, this book brings forth the expertise of five hobby farmers, each of whom has real-life on-the-farm experience with the animals she discusses.
If you're contemplating adding a small herd of sheep or goats to your existing hobby farm, or you've always wondered about the benefits of raising angora rabbits or Muscovy ducks, then Hobby Farm Animals will provide the kind of guidance you need to begin a herd or flock and expand your pens and fencing.
With exhaustive detail, the authors offer complete coverage of chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, beef cattle, pigs, and rabbits, including the housing, health care, special needs, advantages, and challenges of each. You'll find extensive sections devoted to the seven major farm animals, including an overview of the animal's history and advice on selecting the right animals for your particular farm, lifestyle, and aspirations; the type of shelter, facilities, and amenities you'll need for your animals; how to feed balanced nutrition at all life stages; a look at typical behavior traits and how to best handle and work with your animals; a responsible raiser's healthcare plan, including vaccinations, health clearances, common illnesses, and first aid; discussions on breeding cycles and methods, caring for pregnant females, and caring for baby animals; strategies for marketing and selling your animals' meat, milk, eggs, fleece, or feathers; anecdotes, insight, and helpful hints from seasoned animal raisers.
Get the comprehensive guidance you need to welcome each type of livestock onto your farm and into your life, with Hobby Farm Animals!
Sue Weaver has written hundreds of articles and nine books about livestock and poultry. She is a contributing editor of Hobby Farms magazine and writes the Poultry Profiles column for Chickens magazine. She lives on a small farm in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, with her husband and a mixed herd of goats, horses, and donkeys. Ann Larkin Hansen has contributed articles to Mother Earth News and The Organic Broadcaster and authored The Organic Farming Manual as well as various books in the The Farm and the Farm Animals series published by Abdo and Daughters of Minneapolis. Cherie Langlois, a freelance writer and photographer who specializes in farm, pet, and travel titles, has published hundreds of articles and is a contributing editor for Hobby Farms magazine. She is a former zookeeper and veterinary assistant and has worked with sheep, goats, chickens, and a variety of waterfowl on her five-acre farm in Washington state. Arlie McFarlen, PhD, as the co-owner of Maveric Heritage Ranch Co. in South Dakota, works toward the saving and promoting of endangered livestock breeds. She is the author of several articles about these breeds featured in Hobby Farms magazine, Rare Breeds Journal, and Small Farm Journal. Chris McLaughlin, a freelance writer from Northern California, has raised rabbits for two decades, including breeding and showing American Fuzzy Lops. She founded a rabbit rescue in the Sierra Foothils and worked there rehabilitating wild rabbits. She is a contributor to Urban Farm magazine and lives on a hobby farm with various species of animals.
