The Homesteader's Handbook to Raising Small Livestock: Goats, Chickens, Sheep, Geese, Rabbits, Hogs, Turkeys, Guinea Fowl, Ducks, Pigeons [Hardcover]

Jerome D. Belanger (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Press; 3rd printing edition (April 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878570756
• ISBN-13: 978-0878570751
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,022,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In addition to writing books, Jerome (Jd, Jerry) Belanger founded and published Countryside & Small Stock Journal (1969), sheep! magazine, the original (1979) Backyard Poultry, as well as Dairy Goat Guide and Rabbit World. He was an organic farmer for several years, and a homesteader for most of his life. Today his twin passions are gardening and cooking. Now retired in northern Wisconsin, he is known locally for his 30,000 spring bulbs and extensive collection of rare and unusual conifers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raising Small Livestock, August 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Homesteader's Handbook to Raising Small Livestock: Goats, Chickens, Sheep, Geese, Rabbits, Hogs, Turkeys, Guinea Fowl, Ducks, Pigeons (Hardcover)

The ideal handbook for those looking for information in a simple format that is complete in detail and content. It is apparent the author has written from first-hand experience on everything from birds to turkeys. A great reference book to have on the shelf when your daughter wants a cage or hutch for her new pet rabbit or you want to know how to tan that hide from your most recent hunting expedition. Want to try your hand at a small farm? This book is a must first.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mine is all worn out - I need a new copy!, March 30, 2009

By 

TimeFerChange (Upstate NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Homesteader's Handbook to Raising Small Livestock: Goats, Chickens, Sheep, Geese, Rabbits, Hogs, Turkeys, Guinea Fowl, Ducks, Pigeons (Hardcover)

I read this book as a 4-H for my farm projects. It gives good details on multiple small farm subjects. It is a little dated but animal husbandry has not changed all that much in the last 30 years. Now that I have my own house and some land I need a new copy. Goats, chickens, pigs and Guinea fowl are in my future and this book gives details on housing, care and feeding. A good basic primer in a day and age of where it will be cheaper to raise a feeder pig than to buy roasts! (And I will know that mine are not contaminated with who knows what.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Homesteader's Handbook to Raising Small Livestock: Goats, Chickens, Sheep, Geese, Rabbits, Hogs, Turkeys, Guinea Fowl, Ducks, April 7, 2011

By 

Naive-1st-Timer (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Homesteader's Handbook to Raising Small Livestock: Goats, Chickens, Sheep, Geese, Rabbits, Hogs, Turkeys, Guinea Fowl, Ducks, Pigeons (Hardcover)

VERY DATED. I am glad I did not pay a lot for this book; not enough to send it back, anyway. I expected a 5-Star rating to be.....well, pretty good. Only the most novice of readers would find this book useful. If you were in 4-H or FFA, don't even bother, you will be grossly disappointed. Okay on rabbits for the novice, next on goats, then hogs, and then you mught as well look in an encyclopedia or Websters; VERY GENERAL information on everything else (Chickens,Sheep,Geese,Turkeys,Guineas,Ducks,and Pigeons). I did find some useful tables (3) of information in the Appendix; however, giving this book 5-Stars is a disservice and misrepresentation of fact to Amazon buyers. Check out Amazon's library of the Storey's Series of agriculture and animal husbandry selections.