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Editorial Review Product Description
Starting a small scale farm is the dream of Americans young and old, from those who watched the majesty of the great western farm in films during their youth to those who spent their childhood actually working on a farm. However, for many of these individuals it is a matter of logistics and cost that keeps them from realizing their dreams. Raising beef cattle, ducks, rabbits, and any other small animals such as sheeps, goats, or chickens takes not only a decent amount of money to get started, but knowhow that doesn t come in textbooks while in school. This book was written with the intent of providing anyone who has ever wanted to start their own small scale farm the necessary resources and information needed to start raising small animals and cattle. You will learn everything you need to know to raise a wide variety of small animals. You will learn how to care for chickens, from choosing the right breed to raising them for egg production. You will learn how to handle geese and ducks, choosing the correct breeds, feeding, housing, breeding, and selecting the right ones for egg production. You will also learn about egg incubation, maintaining poultry health, and how raise them for meat. Other animals you will learn how to care for include rabbits, goats, sheep, dairy cows, and beef cattle. Small farmers and animal experts have been interviewed in detail and their responses added to this book to provide additional insight into every aspect of raising farm animals. This includes details about how to purchase, house, feed, breed, record, and butcher animals of all types as well as how to gather milk, use goats and cows for maintaining your fields, and even keeping records of births and selling babies. Everything you might need to know about raising small animals for your farm is included in this guide to provide you the first steps to raising domesticated poultry and livestock. ... Read more Customer Reviews (5) 
A well-rounded primer
The Complete Guide to Small-Scale Farming is a complete, no-nonsense, how-to guide to raising beef and dairy cattle, rabbits, ducks, chickens, goats and other small animals for personal or commercial consumption. (Only the raising of farm animals is covered; farming vegetables, grains, or other plants is left to other books). Chapters walk the reader through how to properly care for the different types of animals, preventative measures to ward off disease, what to do if disease or ill health breaks out, how to feed and care for animals, how to breed animals and how to humanely slaughter them when the time has come. Some black-and-white photographs and an index for quick reference round out this excellent starter guide, especially recommended for anyone contemplating raising animals as a well-rounded primer of precisely what one is getting into.
The Complete Guide to Small Scale Farming
Ever feel like time has passed by your far flung fantasies faster than the pitch you never threw in "The Bigs"?How 'bout that farmhouse on the hill crawling with critters, calves and cattle to raise, rear and reap rewards? Hold your horses cowfolk Miller warns, better be darn sure you know just what you are getting into. Like manure.Mucho manure.100 pounds a day for each cow.That's going to attract insects, pests, and flies if not cleaned right.But don't let your guard down.Here come the raccoons, skunks, deers and dogs.They can raid your feed, gobble seed and spread infectious diseases like rabies and scabies. Better start pricing out critter-proof containers.And don't throw out all that manure.If you know how to age and compost it, you won't throw out rich fertilizer.But fresh manure can also kill or as farmers say "burn" plants.Get it cowhand?Miller takes Frost's poetic advice literally:"good fences make good neighbors."But you might need that neighbor to hop the fence and show you the lay of the land.Make sure his crops and critters aren't bugged by yours.You might need a hand to help spread fertilizer so it doesn't leach into his field.There is much more to worry about but the message here is:Do your homework first.You can still make a living, eat your own homegrown, and even have a life.Vegetarians presumably are advised to grow veggies - with good neighborly fences.
Ever feel like time has passed by your far flung fantasies faster than the pitch you never threw in "The Bigs"?How 'bout that farmhouse on the hill crawling with critters, calves and cattle to raise, rear and reap rewards? Hold your horses cowfolk Miller warns, better be darn sure you know just what you are getting into. Like manure.Mucho manure.100 pounds a day for each cow.That's going to attract insects, pests, and flies if not cleaned right.But don't let your guard down.Here come the raccoons, skunks, deers and dogs.They can raid your feed, gobble seed and spread infectious diseases like rabies and scabies. Better start pricing out critter-proof containers.And don't throw out all that manure.If you know how to age and compost it, you won't throw out rich fertilizer.But fresh manure can also kill or as farmers say "burn" plants.Get it cowhand?Miller takes Frost's poetic advice literally:"good fences make good neighbors."But you might need that neighbor to hop the fence and show you the lay of the land.Make sure his crops and critters aren't bugged by yours.You might need a hand to help spread fertilizer so it doesn't leach into his field.There is much more to worry about but the message here is:Do your homework first.You can still make a living, eat your own homegrown, and even have a life.Vegetarians presumably are advised to grow veggies - with good neighborly fences.
The American tradition of the independent livestock farmer has somehow survived centuries of political, economic and environmental upheaval.A smart indie farm hand saves big bucks and small trucks by letting livestock mow the grass for munchies. Think small at first, maybe a few chickens.Despite corporate commercial takeovers, don't chicken out. A modest chicken farm can churn out those nutritious brown and off-white eggs that the fat cats - rather agri-businesses cannot. Miller makes a strong case for knowing each critter up close and personal.Pigs, poultry, rabbits, sheep and goats all require Special Ed.This wise farmer urges you to know their personalities.
Case studies of real live farm folks are scatteredlike seeds in soil. They grow into lively quotes like Minnesota game farmer Jim Meyer, who started with only 50 day-old pheasant chicks. He now takes care of 125,000 as well as 20,000 partridges, 20 workers and a 24/7 crew just for the birds. His gang markets almost a half-million chicks a year. As Miller sees it "raising pheasants is not for the weak of heart, birds retain much of their wildness." That can work for or against you. "When pheasants get loose - and they will- they fly away. He says it's like watching all your sweat equity,money, and profits fly into the sunset. Predators get intopens "and kill many, many birds in a single night and will return again and again." This game guy got game and guts. He has seen his pens collapse under the pressure of ice, snow and unforgiving winds. The birds fly free or get killed. The details are daunting but the writing is tight, well-researched and realistic.No mumbo jumbo meteorologist here, just sound advice on dealing with the weather, which plays a big role making game farms of dreams real.
For the novice and experienced
Three years ago, I went from being a girl living in a suburban neighborhood with all the modern luxuries available to a woman to living on a dairy farm with no air conditioning and a rooster for an alarm clock. When I started dating a farmer, I was anxious to learn more about the industry, and I am always trying to understand the foreign practices that my guy tries to explain to me. Since making the lifestyle change, I have gained a greater appreciation for the environment and have become more health conscious. I prefer home-raised eggs and fresh produce to manufactured "food," but many people are unaware of the pleasures that a rural lifestyle can offer.
The Complete Guide to Small Scale Farming is an informative resource for both the novice and experienced farmer, as well as those who are just interested in learning more about the culture. The book covers every crevice of livestock farming such as chickens, beef and dairy cattle, waterfowl, rabbits, goats, sheep, and pigs. This realistic guide provides information on breeding, housing, and feeding the various animals as well as health concerns and butchering. The guide goes one step further and offers a list of valuable resources and an appendix explaining how to make butter and cheese. As a fan of homemade cooking, I can not wait to make my own cheese and butter. It may seem old fashioned, but at least, I know exactly what is going into my body, and cooking is a wonderful way to bond with the family. After reading The Complete Guide to Small Scale Farming, I am able to understand more conversations with my handsome farmer, appreciate therural community around me, and am able add a few delicious recipes to my ever-growing cook book. Whether you are an experienced farmer, a newbie to the industry, or a curious soul looking for a glimpse into a different lifestyle, The Complete Guide to Small Scale Farming is a valuable resource for any one slightly interested in the world of small scale farming.
Old MacDonald Would Like This Book!
The Complete Guide to Small-Scale Farming: Everything You Need to Know About Raising Beef and Dairy Cattle, Rabbits, Ducks and Other Small Animals is one book literally summed up by its title. Therefore, should come as no surprise that this detailed how-to covers everything from selecting the best kind of animals, the care, equipment and cost (which can quickly add up), to butchering livestock and making cheese and butter from the milk produced by cows and goats.
Nelson, a veterinarian, has written an outstanding primer, that not only covers animal behavior and care needs, but such practical information on how to build a pig pen, resources for butchering supplies, different breed of cows (complete with photos) and vaccinations. Mason also provides a full discussion of diseases which can affect the various animals and several case studies show the challenges faced by several small-scale farmers.
While written for a very specific audience--people looking to raise animals on a small scale--this book is interesting and can hold the attention of anyone wondering where some of their food comes from.
Grow your own meat!
It is never too early start to planning how you are going to distribute your assets after you are no longer around. This book will hold your hand as you begin the legal preparations for your family's future. Every state regulates how wills are done differently and this book makes sure that you know what this means for you.
The first thing I liked about it was how well organized it is. If you only have questions about how to prepare a living will, you can get everything you need to know from one chapter. On that note, this book goes into great detail what you can do while alive to maximize your return to your descendants. It weighs the details of giving someone their inheritance early against waiting until death for it.
Although its always suggested to get a professional to attend to your legal needs, this book is about as informative and exhaustive as it gets. The information is well organized, and you don't need to read through the whole thing if you just want make a living will or understand how to pass on your house. It has many forms in the back of the book that help you make sense of your assets and will let you develop a coherent plan. If you are going to meet with a legal advisor, you will be well served to fill out all the information.
If you are planning your estate in Georgia, you would be well served to pick this book up. The information contained within is a great investment, and will save you costly time in legal council.
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