This inspiring introductory guide provides all the information beginners need to raise ducks successfully in the yard or on a small homestead or farm. Ducks are quickly gaining on chickens as popular animals for the backyard homestead or small farm. They are friendly, productive, good at eating pests, remarkably healthy, and easier to raise than chickens in many ways. Plus, they are exceptionally adorable! This accessible introductory guide features original photography tracking the growth and care of a small flock of backyard ducks, and addresses everything the beginner duck keeper needs to know to be successful, including breed selection, housing, feeding, health care, understanding behavior, and egg and meat production.

As textbooks go, this is one of the few that I may actually choose to read in a spare moment, not just when madly researching what could possibly be the problem when I get called to a goat farm. It contains interesting information on the background of goat farming, goat behaviour, nutrition and husbandry in the introductory section... This hardback, logically presented book will live on a handy shelf to be used on a regular basis. - Pam Brown, mixed practice vet at Alnorthumbria Vets, Wooler, in Veterinary Record, 27 April 2019 Key features: Covers both goat medicine and surgery Covers basic anatomy, commons breeds and husbandry Includes new and emerging diseases Goats are one of the most widely kept domestic animals globally, mainly as a result of the relative ease with which they can be kept and the obvious benefits provided to those who keep them. Goat Medicine and Surgery describes the key diseases that can have an impact on goat health and welfare worldwide, providing information on diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, management and control. Covers basic anatomy, common breeds and husbandry. Divided into chapters covering each body system Offers the common differential diagnoses, followed by the specific diagnosis and recommended treatments Covers a wide range of disorders, including new and emerging diseases Modern goat keeping gives us a full spectrum of activity from nomadic tribes moving with their animals, to the range-keeping in Australia, to units fattening goat kids for meat and to intensive goat dairy production systems. Alongside these production systems are those in which goats are kept in small numbers as a hobby, as pets and at public attractions. This book deals with the diseases and challenges impacting all kinds of goats and their owners. It will be invaluable to veterinarians in practice and training, animal scientists and agricultural advisors, as well as scientists interested in animal welfare.

Aquaculture now supplies half of the seafood and fisheries products consumed worldwide and is gaining international significance as a source of food and income. Future demands for seafood and fisheries products can only be met by expanded aquaculture production. Such production will likely become more intensive and will depend increasingly on nutritious and efficient aquaculture feeds containing ingredients from sustainable sources.
To meet this challenge, Nutrient Requirements of Fish and Shrimp provides a comprehensive summary of current knowledge about nutrient requirements of fish and shrimp and supporting nutritional science. This edition incorporates new material and significant updates to information in the 1993 edition. It also examines the practical aspects of feeding of fish and shrimp.
Nutrient Requirements of Fish and Shrimp will be a key resource for everyone involved in aquaculture and for others responsible for the feeding and care of fish and shrimp. It will also aid scientists in developing new and improved approaches to satisfy the demands of the growing aquaculture industry.

Examines how the lives of pastoralists in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia are deeply affected by the creation of mutually exclusive ethnic territories and proposes ways to reverse this trend. This study, based on anthropological field research over a period of thirty-four years, focuses on pastoralism, politics, policies and development in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. The authors present a detailed ethnographic view of recent events of ethnic violence in Kenya and analyse how local patterns of conflict among pastoralists were influenced by both national and regional politics, which have encouraged an increased tendency of territorialized ethnicity. They propose ways of getting out of the ethnic trap and revitalizing a mobile livestock economy in a region where other forms of land use are impossible or much less effective. A companion volume to Islam andEthnicity in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia, it will be of particular interest to political anthropologists, students of nomadism, pastoral economy ecology, and globalization. Gunther Schlee is director of the Department of 'Integration and Conflict', Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, Germany; Abdullahi Shongolo is an independent scholar based in Kenya.

The health and profitability of grass-based livestock begins with the food they eat. In Managing Pasture, author Dale Strickler guides farmers and ranchers through the practical and ideological considerations behind caring for the land as a key part of running a successful grass-based operation, from the profitability of replacing expensive grain feed with nutrient-rich native grasses to the benefits of ecologically-minded land management. In-depth examinations of the biology and benefits of grazing plants and different grazing strategies accompany detailed plans for paddock and fencing set-ups, livestock watering, and effective methods for dealing with common pasture problems throughout the seasons, from mud to drought. For readers invested in pasture improvement strategies that offer environmental benefits beyond better meat and dairy, including carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, increased pollinator resources and wildlife habitat, and improved water quality, Managing Pasture is an approachable, accessible guide to creating and caring for the grassland that feeds animals and future generations.

This groundbreaking volume presents a comprehensive view of the many concerns of those involved with livestock and meat marketing. During the 1980s, livestock production faced some critical changes. Product and feed prices became less stable, cycles lost their century-old patterns, both competition and trade barriers seemed to rise, and market outlets shrank in number and ownership diversity. At the same time, the United States demography became increasingly older, while new and confusing health concerns about red meat arose rapidly. This practical book introduces the reader to a range of issues of the livestock marketing system and looks ahead to such future issues as biotechnology, human health, and food safety. Considerable interest is given to international trade, an increasingly important sector in the market.Marketing Livestock and Meat is a concise and convenient compendium of diverse information. It provides functionaries in the system with an overall concept of how the market functions as a whole to promote better skills and strategies for marketing of red meats. The author describes specific applications vital to successful operation of the complex and far-reaching marketing system of meat and livestock, including international trade, grades and grading, health matters, demand for meat, price reporting and electronic markets, costs and benefits, and their combination into marketing strategies for producers. To supplement the research, theories, and strategies presented in this important book, there are many charts, graphs, and photographs. All persons connected to the marketing of meat and livestock--undergraduate students in North America, foreign students interested in exporting meat to the U. S., and most segments of the livestock sector, including supply and processing firms and retailers--will benefit from this important book.

With delightful photographs, Jenna Woginrich chronicles the life journey of three chickens (Amelia, Honey, and Tilda) from fluffy, newly hatched bundles to grown hens laying eggs of their own. Following their progress from day to day and week to week, you'll learn everything you need to know to be successful in raising and keeping a happy, healthy flock. Topics covered include understanding chicken behavior; housing and feeding requirements; hygiene and basic health care. Both entertaining and educational, this highly accessible book provides just the right amount of information to get started and enjoy the pleasures of keeping backyard chickens.

'Axel Linden is a shepherd-philosopher with James Herriot's knack for mishap and an almost Chekhovian deadpan humour.' Observer 'Endearing and liberating.' Idler Magazine 'A sublime little book.' Cotswold Life _______ Why do we keep sheep? Alex Linden ruminates as he watches his sheep ruminating. Naive and inexperienced, he has ditched his doctoral studies in order to move to a fully working farm in the country with his family, where he is tasked with the responsibility of caring for a herd of sheep. Linden records his new life in his diary, as he tries to manage life on the farm, the ever-escaping sheep and the trials and tribulations that come with being a shepherd - shearing, lambing and confronting the slaughterhouse. As time passes and he gradually settles into the rhythm of shepherding, his naivete fades away and is replaced with stark realisations about what is now his everyday life. He finds himself applying his experiences of animal husbandry to consider our place - as individuals and as a collective organism - in the universe. Is he really the one caring for the sheep, or are they the ones keeping him? Linden finds both companionship in his flock and a sound, if complex, moral framework for examining the lives we lead. The result is a sensitive and entertaining meditation on the small wonders in our world.

With coverage of basic animal science and livestock industry information as well as current issues in animal agriculture, the Ninth Edition of MODERN LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY PRODUCTION covers everything readers need to know about all phases and types of livestock production. Through updated visual aids, real-world applications, and comprehensive study tools, this engaging book provides readers with a solid understand of the anatomy, physiology, nutrition, feeding, and reproduction of multiple livestock and poultry breeds.

This technical handbook offers a clear and detailed introduction to the field of sericulture (the cultivation of silkworms) and silk production for small, rural communities in tropical and temperate climates. Each chapter deals with a specific stage in the production process, from the cultivation of mulberry bushes to the grading of silk, including a chapter on sources of further information. With its clear illustrations and charts, it is the ideal reference book for rural communities considering starting silk production.;The handbook is the latest addition to the "Small-scale Textiles", series which aims to present basic information about all aspects of small-scale textile manufacture from raw materials to finished products, and will be of use to fieldworkers, development agencies, and those starting small-scale manufacture or attempting to improve or extend manufacture.

There is increasing interest in the biology of domestic animals ranging from genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, nutritional physiology, and systems biology. This book touches on all of these, with a particular focus on topics such as domestic animals as comparative models to humans, molecular regulation of growth, metabolic efficiency, reproduction, and the impact of stress on growth and development. The book concludes with a discussion on the current and future directions for researchers.

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 4th edition features the most up-to-date practices, illustrated with colour 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.

This book is an essential, thorough, very practical guide to understanding and caring for your rabbit. By following the advice in this book, both rabbit owners and veterinary health professionals report healthier and more content rabbits. Developed from the successful Norwegian text Den Store Kaninboka by the award-winning author Marit Emilie Buseth, Rabbit Behaviour, Health and Care will help you: - develop an understanding of the rabbit's nature, which will help you to spot normal and abnormal behaviour; - learn about the correct living conditions in which to keep domestic rabbits, in terms of their behavioural, physical and social needs; - acquire essential knowledge about rabbit nutrition, dentistry and disease; - discover a new and improved approach to rabbit-keeping through stories and case examples of real rabbits; - gain a rewarding owner-pet relationship. Rabbits are extremely popular pets, but misconceptions about their care and behaviour are widespread. Most illnesses or behaviour problems are a direct or indirect result of poor nutrition and care. This book helps veterinarians and rabbit owners to overcome these challenges by understanding the rabbit's nature and needs.

Animal behavior and welfare is an increasingly complex area of study, with the diversity of the animal kingdom ensuring there is no one, easy answer. Instead, it requires us to take a holistic approach combining scientific principles with both philosophical and ethical considerations to develop all-inclusive policies and legislation that decide how society should interact with domestic, farm, and native animals. With a focus on domestic animals, but with references to wild species to reinforce the arguments made, this book: considers the concept of consciousness, how it can be assessed, and how it relates to suffering and animal welfare more widely; emphasizes the need to better understand how animals behave both in relation to and outside of human influence, considering the diversity of behavior and sensorial capacities across species; includes author expertise across a wide range of animal species, from primates to domestic farm animals, and across living situations from intensive to free-ranging. We are far from having all the answers, so this book also raises areas that require further research and focus, such as the way animals are likely to act based on recent and life-long experiences. Still, this review of the topic, an updated translation of the French language work Vivre parmi les animaux, mieux les comprendre, provides an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in animal behavior and welfare.

Building Chicken Coops For Dummies (9781119543923) was previously published as Building Chicken Coops For Dummies (9780470598962). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product. As the popularity of urban homesteading and sustainable living increases, it's no wonder you're in need of trusted, practical guidance on how to properly house the chickens you're planning (or have already begun) to keep. Building Chicken Coops For Dummies gives you the information you need to build the most cost-efficient, safe, and easy-on-the-eye enclosures for your backyard flock. This practical guide gives you easy-to-follow and customizable plans for building the backyard chicken coop that works best for you. You'll get the basic construction know-how and key information you need to design and build a coop tailored to your flock, whether you live in a small city loft, a suburban backyard, or a small rural farm. Includes detailed material lists, instructions, and schematic plans for building a host of different chicken coops Step-by-step guidance on how to build a coop--or design your own Accessible for every level of reader Whether you're just beginning to gain an interest in a back-to-basics lifestyle or looking to add more attractive and efficient coops to your current flock's digs, Building Chicken Coops For Dummies gives you everything you need to build a winning coop!

Your hands-on guide to modern chicken-raising methods Thinking about raising chickens? You've come to the right place! This new edition of Raising Chickens For Dummies provides the most up-to-date, thorough information on the many aspects of keeping chickens in your backyard. Inside, you'll find hands-on, easy-to-follow instructions on choosing and purchasing chickens, constructing housing for your birds, feeding your chickens for optimal health, combating laying issues, controlling pests and predators, optimizing egg production, and much more. Raising chickens on a small scale is a popular--and growing--pastime. If you're interested in keeping chickens as pets or as a source for eggs, Raising Chickens For Dummies gives you plain-English explanations of everything you need to know to about caring for chickens. Inside, you'll learn about basic chicken biology, breeds, and behavior, which chicken breed is best for you, how many you need, ways to spot healthy chickens, how to build a chicken coop, best practices for mating your chickens, how to incubate eggs, how to hatch and nurture chicks, manage laying hens, collect and store eggs, and butcher meat birds. Offers practical advice on choosing and purchasing chickens Helps you construct the right housing for your chickens Provides tips on feeding and caring for your chickens Includes top tips for raising healthy chickens Whether you're a first-time poulterer or you've been raising chickens for years, this comprehensive guide provides practical how-to advice for keeping chickens in virtually any backyard. Raising Chickens For Dummies (9781119675921) was previously published as Raising Chickens For Dummies (9781118982785). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.

For much of human history, most of the population lived and worked on farms but today, information about livestock is more likely to come from children's books than hands-on experience. When romanticized notions of an agrarian lifestyle meet with the realities of the modern industrial farm, the result is often a plea for a return to antiquated production methods. The result is a brewing controversy between animal activist groups, farmers, and consumers that is currently being played out in ballot boxes, courtrooms, and in the grocery store. Where is one to turn for advice when deciding whether to pay double the price for cage-free eggs, or in determining how to vote on ballot initiates seeking to ban practices such as the use of gestation crates in pork production or battery cage egg production? At present, there is no clear answer. What is missing from the animal welfare debate is an objective approach that can integrate the writings of biologists and philosophers, while providing a sound and logical basis for determining the consequences of farm animal welfare policies. What is missing in the debate? Economics.
This book journeys from the earliest days of animal domestication to modern industrial farms. Delving into questions of ethics and animal sentience, the authors use data from ingenious consumers' experiments conducted with real food, real money, and real animals to compare the costs and benefits of improving animal care. They show how the economic approach to animal welfare raises new questions and ethical conundrums, as well as providing unique and counter-intuitive results.

A comprehensive forage-to-fork book on beef farming that delivers veterinary level information to farmers and farm-related information to vets. The Veterinary Book for Beef Farmers is a complete guide to farming cattle for protein emphasising good practice, herd health management and disease prevention. The book begins with an introduction to the beef industry, moving on to health management through cattle life stages - neonatal health, weaned calf health etc. The next section covers disease and production problems through the same life stage format - disease problems in the breeding bull for example. Section 4 covers the monitoring and measurement of disease on the farm and the final section presents the business management of beef farming employing the balanced scorecard method as a management measurement tool. The emphasis throughout is on health maintenance and long term sustainable farming.

Companion Animal Care and Welfare: The UFAW Companion Animal Handbook presents a comprehensive, accessible and practical reference for all parties seeking information about the proper care of companion animals. Identifies the needs of companion animals, explains how we know these needs, and gives scientifically-backed advice on how to meet these needs Promotes the most humane treatment and best possible care of our companion animals Addresses controversial issues such as selective breeding, companion animal showing, the keeping of exotic species, and the international pet trade Covers the husbandry and care of all major companion animal species, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians

A respected equine vet and farrier have joined forces to produce this manual for trainee and working farriers. This fully updated new edition for 2022, starts with a brief history of farriery, then looks at the legalities of the job and how to control equines for trimming and shoeing. The authors describe the care and maintenance of the forge and farriery tools, as well as the anatomy and function of the horse, especially the lower limbs, the principles of foot balance, and the practice of shoeing. Shoe making, surgical shoes, lameness and shoeing are dealt with in detail, and the book is embellished with hundreds of specially taken photos, and explanatory line drawings.

In the ongoing effort to combat global climate catastrophe, animal agriculture has long been a subject of contention. On the one hand, most agree that across the world increasing meat and dairy consumption are accelerating anthropogenic climate change. On the other hand, proponents of the livestock industry argue that modern advancements reduce greenhouse gas emissions from efficient livestock production to negligible quantities. Some even maintain that grass-based livestock production has a net positive impact on the environment, due to the carbon sequestration caused by grazing. Whom are we to believe? This book shows us that the answer is not so clear-cut. Beginning with the implications of the UN's Livestock's Long Shadow report, it breaks down the blind spots and highlights the insights of the most prominent pro-meat arguments, as well as of the push for a global switch to vegetarianism. While advances in efficiency might reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of meat or milk produced, attendant decreases in cost can enable overconsumption and thus produce more waste. And while carbon sequestration is beneficial, it is not a reliable cure-all for the industry. Due to the economics of farming, however, eliminating meat consumption may not even reduce emissions at all. The truth about livestock production is much more nuanced but, luckily, also far more holistic. The future of agricultural policy will have to take into consideration factors such as human health and economics, as well as climate. Eschewing ideology for empirical rigor, this book paves an actionable path forward for both consumers and producers, offering unique solutions for each livestock system and simple, everyday adjustments for the average omnivore.