Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too broad a scope to be useful to anyone, January 26, 2009
This review is from: Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry: Breeds, Care, Health (Paperback)
I checked this book out from the library because I wanted more information on raising poultry other than ducks and chickens. I'd already read, and loved, both Gail Damerow's "Raising Chickens," and Dave Holderread's "Raising the Home Duck Flock." My intentions are to have a laying flock and raise enough broilers to feed just my family, and to do so with free-range, organic methods. I'm interested in trying to raise other types of poultry for meat as well. I left reading this book with the feeling that it was strongly geared towards someone who would like to raise hundreds of birds as a business and the author leaned strongly towards raising birds in confinement. In other words, with one book dedicated to ALL poultry, and the author biased towards rearing in confinement, there was little information I, personally, could use.
When I did come to the chapters on turkeys and game birds, the info was scarce. The game bird chapter is only 22 pages long, with four of those pages being devoted to listing the different breeds or varieties of Guineas, Pheasants, Partridges and Quail and 5 1/2 other pages devoted to line drawings of the birds, and housing ideas and an entire page describing step by step the process of building one of the pens! The chapters devoted to turkeys and waterfowl are much the same. He does make an important note at the beginning of the game bird chapter that anyone interested in raising game birds should do more "homework" before starting a flock. I will, in a book dedicated to a specific type of bird.
If you are that someone the book is geared toward as I described above, you still won't find enough information here. To all, don't waste your money buying this book. Check it out from the library if your really do want to take a look, but I think you'll find that if you're just starting out with poultry (like me) that you'll need an entire book, or more, dedicated to each type.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you only get ONE book for your poultry Library, THIS ONE, March 9, 2002
This review is from: Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry: Breeds, Care, Health (Paperback)
I picked this up at the public library to skim over and take back but after having it for just one week, I must have my own copy. The wonderful knowledge that is presented in easy to understand directions from all aspects of poultry. The nice part is they have instructions how to build most any poultry equipment you might need and this would be great for anyone, especially home schoolers. I am getting my copy.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The book is a no-nonsense, fact-filled resource., July 1, 2003
This review is from: Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry: Breeds, Care, Health (Paperback)
I have a homestead in Peru (near Cusco / Machu Picchu). I wanted to raise my own meat; thus I bought a dozen chicks. As life dictates they grew and the day came for eating. I gave the first chicken to my housekeeper to kill and clean. She smothered the poor bird by holding its beak closed and plugging the nostrils. The suffocation process took about two struggling minutes. Not a good way to kill a bird, I thought. The second chicken was given to my hired hand, and he killed the bird by stretching its neck three times. Yes, a better method, but really, what do the professionals recommend? Thus, I initially bought "Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry", to find the most humane way to kill poultry. The book is a no-nonsense, fact-filled resource. Written for those who are serious about raising poultry (chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, game birds and other poultry). Written by a professional poultryman, the book covers nutrition, disease, immunity, housing, breeding and management in a comprehensive manner. The writing is clear, terse and complete. The diagrams and drawings are good. The book has a superb index, along with a good glossary, a list of associations, an appendix that gives you sources of supplies and equipment, and much more. The descriptions of the breeds of poultry could be better. The one paragraph given to various breeds is inadequate for those who are unfamiliar with breeds (Wyandottes, Australorps, Araucans etc.). The feed section is bias towards commercially packaged feeds, and gives little to no information on homemade mashes. In Peru, we must make our own mash, or go without. All-in-all, Storey's Guide it is a lot more book than I initially needed. But, after reading through the book, I was both impressed and intrigued enough to consider raising other types of poultry. Hum, maybe turkeys are next. I did use Mercia's recommended method for killing chickens (sever the jugular and insert knife for debraining) and must confess that killing a chicken, regardless of the methodology, is not my preferred hobby. Strongly Recommended
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
