Learn how to successfully raise your own pigs. Stressing the importance of sustainable and environmentally friendly farming practices, Kelly Klober provides expert tips on making your hog operation more efficient and profitable. Storey’s Guide to Raising Pigs will give beginners the confidence they need to succeed, while inspiring experienced farmers to try new techniques and experiment with new breeds.
From choosing a breed to bringing home the bacon, this approachable, authoritative guide covers every facet of raising pigs--breeding, housing, feeding, healthcare, showing, and marketing.
Stressing the importance of sustainable and environmentally friendly farming practices, farmer Kelly Klober provides expert advice on making any size hog operation more efficient and profitable in Storey’s Guide to Raising Pigs. The most comprehensive book available on the topic, this fourth edition features the most up-to-date practices, illustrated with color photography. Both beginners and experienced farmers will find all the information they need to select, house, care for, breed, and butcher pigs, along with marketing advice.
Turkeys are an excellent source of succulent meat, rich eggs, and nutrient-dense manure, and raising them is a rewarding and profitable activity for many farmers. With helpful tips on acquiring organic certification, processing both meat and eggs, and marketing your products, you’ll have all the information you need to successfully raise your own healthy and productive turkeys.
Raise a gaggle of geese, the unsung heroes of the small farm While chickens preen in the spotlight, geese are the historic unsung heroes of small farms and homesteads. Providing weed control, large eggs, and entertainment, and acting as "security" over other animals, geese are the ultimate modern homesteading companion. The Modern Homesteader's Guide to Keeping Geese covers everything you need to know to raise geese, including: Profiles of breeds and how to select the best one for your needs How to "imprint" goslings on a person Feeding, housing, animal health, and cold weather care Using geese for weed control, soil improvement, and as "watch-geese" Cooking with goose eggs and meat Additional coverage includes a look at the rich history of geese on farms in North America and Europe that will enhance any goose keeper's enjoyment of these intelligent and unique birds. This practical guide is a must-have essential for the kitchen table of homesteaders, small farmers, permaculturists, and professional farmers looking to add the power of geese to their land.
Do you dream of raising a feeder animal but have limited land, time, and money? Dirk van Loon has a solution for you! Covering everything from buying your pig to smoking your own bacon, "Small-Scale Pig Raising" will show you how to produce the most meat for the smallest investment of time and money in a healthy and stress-free environment. This volume covers the essentials, including: Housing & equipment Penning & handling Commercial feeds Alternative feeds Pig digestion & physiology Breeding & farrowing Management techniques Butchering "Small-Scale Pig Raising" includes in-depth detail on home butchering with step-by-step instructions and photos that break down the entire process from slaughtering to portioning meat for the freezer. This book covers everything a beginner needs to know.
Raising a pig for meat is easy to do, even in a small space like a suburban backyard. In just five months, a 30-pound shoat will become a 250-pound hog and provide you with more than 100 pounds of pork, including tenderloin, ham, ribs, bacon, sausage, and more. Homegrown Pork covers everything you need to know to raise your own pig, from selecting a breed to feeding, housing, fencing, health care, and humane processing. Invite all your friends over for a healthy and succulent pork dinner!
Now with full-color photography and illustrations throughout, the completely updated third edition of Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses is the most comprehensive horse husbandry handbook available, whether you’re a first-time owner or an experienced horse handler. Covering everything you need to know about facilities, breeding, and health care, this new edition features a photographic gallery of many types of horses; expanded material on recognizing, preventing, and treating a wide range of health issues, including insulin resistance, skin conditions, and digestive disorders; new vaccination protocols, including vaccinating for West Nile Virus; and updated information on breeding methods, foaling problems, and the care of broodmares and new foals.
"In today's market, range-rearing of swine can provide the family farm with a key venture for diversification and provide a good cash flow-- perhaps no other large animal enterprise offers as fast a turnaround on investment. With the informed consumer expressing concerns about the issues with factory farming and willing to pay a premium to get a healthy, quality alternative-- range-produced pork is more and more the right answer. This comprehensive book on raising hogs the natural way includes sections on housing, fencing, selection, breeding, herd maintenance, feeds, marketing and more."--
