Poultry gives pleasure to thousands of breeders throughout the world. They provide relaxation for tired workers, help educate children in the pleasures and disciplines of livestock keeping, provide companionship for gardeners, and produce food for the owners in many a household where fresh eggs would otherwise be unknown. The smallest of poultry keepers with only a back garden can become a leading breeder. Whatever your reasons for keeping poultry, there are some basic principles to observe.

Choosing a breed Choosing which breed of poultry can be rather difficult because there are so many different breeds, colours, and varieties. Here you will find some helpful advice about how you go about this important task.

Poultry Handling and Welfare A brief guide to handling, feeding, detecting a healthy bird, and parasites along with how to get rid of and prevent them.

Selection for Breeding and Exhibiting Selecting parent stock for breeding needs to be done very carefully to ensure standards in breed conformation and utility attributes remain high. Here is a guide for how to go about this task, how to put breeding pens together, and when you can expect eggs to be fertile.

Preparing for Show A brief guide to how to prepare your birds for showing. This can start months before the show because birds need to be presented in tip-top condition - fitness is the framework upon which all the superficial items such as feathers are built.

Hatching, Rearing, and Care of Young Poultry A guide to hatching, rearing, and care of young poultry from chick to grower stage.

Poultry Housing Poultry housing can take various forms according to why the birds are kept and space available for housing them. It is important to remember various key principles when selecting housing and the welfare of the birds should always be given top priority.

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