Pure Poultry: Living Well with Heritage Chickens, Turkeys and Ducks
About this ebook
Houdan. Nankin. Indian Runner. Narragansett. These may sound like exotic place names or unusual varieties of produce, but each actually refers to one of the many hundreds of lesser-known poultry breeds which tempt the livestock owner who's prepared to venture into less familiar territory. Providing an alternative to commercial breeds and hybrids, heritage breeds each boast their own unique characteristics and personality traits, and are a valuable (and entertaining) addition to a sustainable food system.
Pure Poultry is the first book in nearly a hundred years to focus specifically on heritage breeds of chickens, turkeys and ducks and their role in a self-reliant lifestyle. This timely, beautifully illustrated resource includes:
- Detailed guidelines on everything from housing, breeding and day-to-day care, to processing, cooking and preserving
- Much-needed information on using heritage breeds for egg and meat production
- Tips, inspiration, recommended reading, and additional resources
- A unique planning worksheet that simplifies the process of starting out with poultry.
Brimming with quiet humor, Pure Poultry is an immensely readable "how-to and why-to" based entirely on personal experience-including plenty of lessons learned the hard way. Pure Poultry shows how heritage-breed poultry can enhance and deepen anyone's quality of life, whether you have a farm, a small backyard, or a neighbor with space to share.
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About the author
Victoria Redhed Miller grew up in Seattle, in a family of eight children. She married her husband David in 2000, and in 2006, they moved to their off-grid homestead in the foothills of Washington State's Olympic Mountains. The property had been bought by David's grandparents in 1936, and moving there to live fulfilled one of his childhood dreams.
In 2007, they began raising heritagebreed chickens, joined in 2008 by turkeys and ducks. Within a year, they obtained an egg dealer's license and have been selling chicken and duck eggs to a local restaurant and several retail stores ever since.
Both skilled do-it-yourselfers, Victoria and David designed and installed their solar electric system, and have plans for hydroelectric power as well. Victoria loves photography, reading, gardening, canning, meat curing and making beer and wine. Most recently, she has built a licensed microdistillery on their property.
