Product Description

Farmers and fanciers keep an astonishing variety of poultry breeds in North America. These birds provide meat and eggs to nourish us and feathers to keep us warm. Their quirky personalities and charming good looks make them barnyard favorites. They inspire passionate devotion from show breeders and provide a living for farmers.

Presented here, breed by breed, are more than 120 barnyard fowl — from chickens and turkeys to emus and pheasants. For each animal, readers will find stunning color photography, a brief history, and a detailed description. The identifying characteristics included for each breed are: class (standard and bantam); size (for cocks and hens); appearance of comb, wattles, and earlobes; color (everything from black-breasted red to silver laced); place of origin; conservation status; and special qualities (including longevity, size and quantity of eggs, quality of meat, and other relevant uses). Author Carol Ekarius provides enough information to satisfy both the dedicated browser and the serious farmer weighing the pros and cons of multiple breeds.

In 2005, Storey's Illustrated Guide to 96 Horse Breeds of North America celebrated horses in a coffee-table reference that captivated enthusiasts of all ages. Now farmers, breeders, backyard chicken keepers, and unabashed poultry fanatics will have a definitive guide of their own. If it's poultry — fair or fowl — it's in this book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16602 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781580176675
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Booklist
Although most people think the term poultry refers to chickens, it also includes other domesticated farm birds, such as ducks, geese, and turkeys. Livestock breeder Ekarius covers all these birds and more in her colorful guide to poultry varieties. After an introductory chapter on poultry genetics and breeding, the author begins with the most numerous of poultry, the chickens. She takes a breed-by-breed look at each type, divided into the laying breeds, the meat breeds, and the ornamental breeds. A short write-up describes the breed, giving a little of its history and development. Boxed facts list the poultry show class, the size, details of the feather color, comb and wattles, place of origin, conservation status (many breeds are rare or endangered), and any special qualities. Waterfowl, turkeys, and other birds, such as guinea fowl, ostriches, and pigeons, each receive similar treatment. Beautiful photographs illustrate each breed. An extensive glossary, a list of resources (including breed clubs, other organizations, and hatcheries), and a bibliography complete a nice all-in-one introduction. Bent, Nancy
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Back Cover
More than 128 birds strut their stuff across the pages of Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, the ultimate primer for farmers and fancies alike. Admire the handsome black and white plumage of Lakenvelder roosters, read the fascinating history of the Blue Hens of Delaware, and marvel at the petite size and toylike appearance of Call ducks. And if you're curious to know which heritage turkeys are making a comeback, look no further.

This definitive guide to North American barnyard and wild fowl includes a brief history of each breed, detailed descriptions of identifying characteristics, and colorful photography that celebrates the birds' quirky personalities and charming good looks. If it's fowl facts and photos you want, you'll find them all here.

About the Author
Carol Ekarius is the author of Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, Pocketful of Poultry, and several books on small-scale farming. Carol and her husband live with their many critters in Hartsel, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

A must have for every poultry lover! 4.5 stars!
It's about time that a nice & complete book like this on 99.9% of poultry breeds (that even I can afford!) has came out. As an avid chicken lady I used to long for a complete guide with color photos on Chicken and Duck breeds. Finally, Carol Ekarius has gave the "poultry addicted" a book dedicated to the characteristics of each poultry breed.

This book has really nice real photos (not drawings!) of all the included breeds. Also included by the photo's are details of the breeds' personality, the various color combinations, standards of the breed, place and history of orgin, conservation status and any special qualities that the featured breed might have. In most cases the males AND females of each breed are pictured. Other pluses the author includes are: Natural Chicken history, a wonderful glossary of 'poultry jargon', color photos of the various feather patterns- along with a worded definitions. Last but, not least Ms. Ekarius included a very well researched Resource index. If you buy this book (which I suggest) you will find 278 pages printed on nice glossy, flexible paper stock. This isn't the usual small black & white Storey's guide book!

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because quite a few photos of the chicken breeds were only represented by the bantam versions of the breed. I just feel that being the history of the breeds was being represented the standard size chickens should've been used. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone!

Carol Ekarius besides being a wonderful writer is also donating a portion of her proceeds from this book to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy!

Choose the right breed for your family ------ great photos !
What a bargain this big, beautiful book is is! Nice photos and one or two page descriptions of just about all the common US standard bred chickens, plus ducks and geese. Great for the person considering a new breed.

This book can help you determine which breeds are:
-gentle/docile versus aggressive
-calm or "flighty"
-quiet or noisy
-cold-hardy or cold-intolerant
-good layers or poor layers
-brown, white, or tinted egg layers
-largest and smallest
-easy keepers or in need of special husbandry
-plain or fancy-looking!

I've spent hours reading and re-reading this book. :) If you are new to chickens (or ducks or geese) this is a handy and beautiful book which can help you avoid making a mistake that could sour you on chickens. Don't end up with an aggressive flighty bird if you are looking for a cuddly family pet-- check out this book and another great one (which has slightly different kinds of information) entitled "Choosing and Keeping Chickens".

Poultry Perfection in Print!
We are hobby farm enthusiasts with a flock of poultry, and bought the book for the illustrations! Comparable to the Standard of Perfection for Poultry, the photographs of rare breed poulty, ducks, geese and turkeys are thoroughly captivating! With detailed information about the genetics and science of the origin and genesis of the species, this book will be treasured by our family for years to come! Recommended!