Eggs, meat, milk, wool, fur, feathers, and some priceless bucolic bliss. No hobby farm is complete without critters…possibly a small herd peppering the field or a microflock flapping around the hen house or pond. A single information-packed volume with everything a hobby farmer needs to know about farm animals, this new comprehensive manual to selecting, caring for, and breeding livestock brings forth the expertise of five hobby farmers, each of whom has real-life on-the-farm experience with the animals she discusses. Whether 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, Livestock for Your Hobby Farm provides 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, cattle, pigs, and rabbits, including the housing, health-care, special needs, advantages and challenges of each.-Extensive sections devoted to the seven major farm animals, including profiles of the most popular breeds and varieties-Detailed how-to chapters on the care, handling, feeding, health, and safety of each animal-Special chapters devoted to the breeding and raising of young animals-Recommendations for ways of capitalizing on your livestock’s output, from selling eggs, milk, fiber, and so forth-Tips for troubleshooting potential problems and warding off diseases, parasites, and predators
Om författaren
Chris Mc Laughlin is a master gardener with specialty certificates in wildlife, children's, and vegetable gardening. She is the author of six gardening books and one livestock book. Her work can be found in Fine Gardening Magazine, Hobby Farm Home Magazine, Urban Farm Magazine, The Heirloom Gardener Magazine, and Mother Earth Living. Online, she's a staff blogger for Finegardening.com and has written for a variety of sites including Vegetable Gardener.com, About.com, Fix.com, and From Scratch Magazine. Chris and her family live on a flower and fiber farm in the Northern California foothills where they grow flowers, food, and Angora goats.