Fresh-Air Poultry Houses: The Classic Guide to Open-Front Chicken Coops For Healthier Poultry by Prince T. Woods, M.D.
Introduction and Sample Chapter
Publisher’s Introduction
To stay healthy, your chickens need plenty of ventilation–probably more than they’re getting today. This was discovered over 100 years ago, but has been largely forgotten. Today’s small-flock housing tends to be dank, dark, and smelly. Chickens, like miners’ canaries, are easily harmed by poor air quality. Wet litter breeds disease. Darkness forces chickens, like parrots, to be artificially inactive. “Dank, dark, and smelly” is a deadly combination!
A closed chicken house converted to an open-front coop by knocking out the south wall and covering it only with chicken wire.
Closed chicken houses are so harmful that knocking out a wall can cause an immediate improvement, even in winter. Chickens, after all, have a thick coat of feathers to keep them warm, but are vulnerable to poor air quality and pathogens in the litter; and their unwillingness to eat in the dark means they can starve in the midst of plenty. Fresh-Air Poultry Houses was written by Dr. Prince T. Woods, a noted poultry health expert. Dr. Woods describes not only his own poultry houses, but those of many of his clients, giving the book a breadth of experience that makes it a unique resource.… Read more ...
Sixth Edition
by J. Holmes Martin and Stanley J. Marsden. Illustrated. 1008 pages. ISBN 1938099052.
Marsden and Martin’s massive Turkey Management was an instant hit when it first came out, and it rapidly went through six editions. The sixth edition is the one we’ve reprinted.
This Sixth Edition of Turkey Management is by far the most detailed and practical book on turkeys ever written. Weighing in at 1,008 pages and containing hundreds of tables, photos, and illustrations, it has everything you need. It’s written with the full range of turkey raisers in mind.
This book is from the Golden Age of American poultrykeeping (roughly 1910-1960), when there were millions of family farms and practically all of them raised poultry, using simple, effective methods.
This was also the Golden Age of American Poultry Science, with close cooperation between farmers, fanciers, and scientists. One happy result of this is that many books written by eminent poultry researchers could be understood by ordinary farmers, fanciers, backyarders, or 4-H’ers.
Though published in 1955, the fundamentals haven’t changed. The biggest change is the amazing increase in the rate of growth of modern hybrid turkeys. The other breeds are much the same as ever.… Read more ...
416 pages.Suggested retail price, $34.95. ISBN 1938099036.
The Origin of the 300-Egg Hen
Where other chicken breeders failed, Professor James Dryden in Oregon succeeded, when “Lady MacDuff” laid 303 eggs in 365 days in 1912-1913.
How did he do it? Through the methods described in this book, which can be divided into two parts: his successful breeding techniques and his simple yet effective management techniques.
Dryden’s breeding techniques were so successful that he created not one, but three record-breaking strains of chicken at the same time. This book describes these efforts in detail.
Dryden’s management techniques were equally successful and endeared him to farmers across the country.
Poultry Breeding and Management, first published a century ago, was an immediate hit with farmers and breeders alike, and remained in print for nearly thirty years. It was the best, most popular, and most influential poultry book of its time, and remains well worth reading today.
414 pages.198 illustrations. Suggested retail price, $34.95. ISBN 1938099028.
Scientifically based books for raising modest numbers of chickens became as rare as hen’s teeth. There are plenty of rule-of-thumb books for backyarders and massive tomes for poultry scientists, but little in the way of sound, reliable works for serious poultrykeepers. Fortunately, we can find what we need by turning back the clock a bit.
This book, the 9th edition of Poultry Production, is just what we need.It’s from 1961: new enough that all the basic scientific principles had been discovered, but old enough that small- and medium-sized flocks have not been forgotten. Leslie Card’s application of carefully tested methods to practical poultrykeeping problems allows you to move forward with your own flock.
Poultry Production is lavishly illustrated, with 55 tables and nearly 200 photographs, drawing, charts, and graphs to clarify the details of every aspect of keeping chickens successfully. (For example, a graph showing how a concrete floor affects the air temperature at floor level, warming it by more than 5 °F in cold weather and cooling it by more than 15 °F in hot weather).… Read more ...
by Robert Plamondon Norton Creek Press ISBN 0972177000. 155 pages.
Available in paperback and Kindle formats.
Your Baby Chicks are Helpless—But You Aren’t!
For any creature, the first few days and weeks of life are crucial. Give your chicks the care they deserve by reading the only book devoted solely to baby chicks. Other books cover the brooding period in just a few pages, but it is too important for that. Both your enjoyment and the welfare of your baby chicks depend on brooding them successfully, every time.
In Success With Baby Chicks, I cover everything you need to know about nurturing your baby chicks through the all-important brooding period, which starts when they hatch and ends, weeks later, when they no longer need supplemental heat. You will learn how to select a hatchery, choose a breed, set up the brooder area, and care for your adorable, helpless, fluffy little baby chicks. All this and more are covered in this easy-to-follow book.
A Testimonial
Since I got your book “Success with Baby Chicks” my mortality rate in brooding has improved dramatically.
by Robert Plamondon Norton Creek Press ISBN 0972177000. 155 pages.
Available in paperback and Kindle formats.
Your Baby Chicks are Helpless—But You Aren’t!
For any creature, the first few days and weeks of life are crucial. Give your chicks the care they deserve by reading the only book devoted solely to baby chicks. Other books cover the brooding period in just a few pages, but it is too important for that. Both your enjoyment and the welfare of your baby chicks depend on brooding them successfully, every time.
In Success With Baby Chicks, I cover everything you need to know about nurturing your baby chicks through the all-important brooding period, which starts when they hatch and ends, weeks later, when they no longer need supplemental heat. You will learn how to select a hatchery, choose a breed, set up the brooder area, and care for your adorable, helpless, fluffy little baby chicks. All this and more are covered in this easy-to-follow book.
A Testimonial
Since I got your book “Success with Baby Chicks” my mortality rate in brooding has improved dramatically.
by Milo Hastings, Edited by Robert Plamondon.
250 pages. ISBN 0972177019.
Robert Plamondon says: The Dollar Hen changed my life. It set me on the road to successful free-range egg farming, and helped me understand all aspects of the poultry industry. Not bad for a book written in 1909! Milo Hastings was a remarkable man. He was a poultry scientist, the author of a classic work of science fiction (City of Endless Night, 1919), an early health-food advocate, and the author of one of the first books on the danger of high blood pressure.
The Dollar Hen describes the overriding concerns of being in the egg business. His method of free-range egg farming extracts a maximum amount of synergy between soil, crops, hens, farmer, climate, and invested capital. His goal is to make the farmer money — enough money to pay off the mortgage, put the kids through school, and retire. His methods are simple, and the equipment he recommends is even more so. For example, his preferred watering system is a brook. More than any other poultry writer, he emphasizes the value of a farmer’s time and deplores wasting it on unnecessary chores.… Read more ...
The Classic Guide to American Free-Range Egg Farming
by Milo Hastings, Edited by Robert Plamondon.
250 pages. ISBN 0972177019.
Robert Plamondon says: The Dollar Hen changed my life. It set me on the road to successful free-range egg farming, and helped me understand all aspects of the poultry industry. Not bad for a book written in 1909! Milo Hastings was a remarkable man. He was a poultry scientist, the author of a classic work of science fiction (City of Endless Night, 1919), an early health-food advocate, and the author of one of the first books on the danger of high blood pressure.
The Dollar Hen describes the overriding concerns of being in the egg business. His method of free-range egg farming extracts a maximum amount of synergy between soil, crops, hens, farmer, climate, and invested capital. His goal is to make the farmer money — enough money to pay off the mortgage, put the kids through school, and retire. His methods are simple, and the equipment he recommends is even more so. For example, his preferred watering system is a brook. More than any other poultry writer, he emphasizes the value of a farmer’s time and deplores wasting it on unnecessary chores.… Read more ...
Are you still wasting money on the wrong kinds of poultry feed? Your poultry depend on you to make sound decisions about their health, but the feed industry and poultry nutrition are mysterious subjects. Let Feeding Poultry be your guide!
Pioneering poultry scientist G. F. Heuser of Cornell University wrote Feeding Poultry at just the right time: after poultry nutrition was thoroughly understood, but before small farm flocks were replaced by factory farms. It may not be the newest book available, but it’s the only one with a whole chapter devoted to free range and green feed, that’s focused on traditional poultrykeeping, and written for the intelligent layman rather than graduate students.
Feeding Poultry is the ideal reference for small farmers and serious hobbyists like you, covering chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, gamebirds, and pigeons.
As you read this book, you will see opportunities open up before you. You’ll learn the uses and quality standards of different ingredients, the value of free range and green feed, how poultry rations are formulated, how to use natural sources for all nutrients, the many different feeding strategies, and much more.… Read more ...
We’ve written, edited, and republished our favorite chicken books. Our theme? Practical knowledge and techniques used by old-time farmers.
Our first foray into the chicken-book field was Success With Baby Chicks. Robert Plamondon wrote this book after realizing that people like you are having heartbreaking failures with baby chicks; problems we learned how to deal with by trial and error and extensive reading. Like us, you can have success every time! The book has received warm praise from farmers who tell us that it has made a big difference with their chick rearing and many favorable reviews on Amazon.com.
Our most popular poultry book isFresh-Air Poultry Housesby Dr. Prince T. Woods. Keep your chickens healthy year-round! This book is the bible of the open-front poultry movement, an idea so old it’s new again. Most chicken coops are inadequately ventilated, making them dark, dank and smelly. Chickens, like miners’ canaries, are tough in most ways, but have weak lungs. They can take a lot of cold, but get sick if the air quality is poor! This 1924 book is a great classic, well worth reading.
We have also reissued five additional poultry classics:
by Prince T. Woods, M.D. Norton Creek Press. 190 pages. ISBN 097217706X.
Open-Front Chicken Coops Are Healthier, Summer and Winter
To stay healthy, your chickens need plenty of ventilation–probably more than they’re getting today. This was discovered over 100 years ago, but has been largely forgotten. Today’s small-flock chicken coops tends to be dank, dark, and smelly. Chickens, like miners’ canaries, are easily harmed by poor air quality. Wet litter breeds disease. Darkness forces chickens, like parrots, to be artificially inactive. “Dank, dark, and smelly” is a deadly combination!
An open-front coop during a Canadian winter. Note the snow on the ground!
Closed chicken houses are so harmful that knocking out a wall can cause an immediate improvement, even in winter (there’s an interesting case study of this in Chapter 2). Chickens, after all, have a thick coat of feathers to keep them warm, but are vulnerable to poor air quality and pathogens in the litter; and their unwillingness to eat in the dark means they can starve in the midst of plenty.
And in summer! Poor air circulation and a thick coat of feathers is hard on the chickens.… Read more ...
by F. B. Hutt Norton Creek Press, 590 pages. ISBN 0972177035.
Genetics of the Fowl has been the constant companion of chicken breeders since it was first published in 1949. Chapters include the genetics of plumage, egg production, body size, disease resistance, and much more. The readable style of the book is a refreshing change from modern tomes written for an audience of researchers. Genetics of the Fowl makes fascinating and thought-provoking reading even for people who are not serious poultry breeders. For serious breeders, it’s indispensable.
Greatly prized but long out of print, used copies of the original 1949 printing routinely sell for over $100. (Wise breeders know that this book gives them an advantage!) But our suggested list price is less than half of this.
This book has been brought back by Norton Creek Press as part of its Norton Creek Classics line.
The late F. B. Hutt was Professor of Animal Genetics at Cornell University.
What’s So Great About this Book?
Hutt was quite a writer. In addition to discussing the nuts and bolts of how the individual genes work, such as the mechanism of rose comb vs.… Read more ...
In Success With Baby Chicks, I cover everything you need to know about nurturing your baby chicks through the all-important brooding period, which starts when they hatch and ends, weeks later, when they no longer need supplemental heat. You will learn how to select a hatchery, choose a breed, set up the brooder area, and care for your adorable, helpless, fluffy little baby chicks. All this and more are covered in this easy-to-follow book.
Our first foray into the chicken-book field was 
