The Birds & the Bees & the Bunnies
E.A.T. South is sending a big thank you to our guest speakers Amanda Edwards (River Oaks Farm) and Gene Price (Urban Hives), and to everyone who participated in the February 18 workshop on backyard livestock. We definitely had lots of fun hosting the workshop! In case you missed the resource sheet from the workshop, here it is:
Learning More about the Birds & the Bees & the Bunnies
Bees
Bee Keeping for Dummies, Howland Blackiston
Central Alabama Bee Keeping Association
Brushy Mountain Bee Farm sells bee keeping supplies & bees, but look under “bee educated” for video bee keeping tutorials
Rabbits
Books
Storey’s Guide to Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett (basic guide… I do not use antibiotics recommended in this book, great anecdotal examples)
The Rabbit Raising Problem Solver by Karen Patry ( I love this book… learn as you go philosophy with great illustrations and better kindling information than first book)
Rabbit Facebook groups: Used on a daily basis for rabbit community information sharing, sales, etc.
Alabama Farm and Livestock Trader (catch-all)
Meat Rabbits for Beginners
Rabbits for Meat Only
101 Raising Backyard or meat Rabbits
Alabama rabbit auction
Alabama Rabbit breeders
Backyard Meat Rabbits of Alabama (very well managed page)
Alabama Rabbit Trader
Alabama pedigree rabbits for sale only (good place to start!)
Champagne D’Argent Breeders (good meat breed)
Rabbit Relay & Transport (to arrange for the shipment of specific rabbits from far away places)
Raising Meat Rabbits Responsibly
…and there are probably many more gosh by golly!
The Livestock Conservancy Heritage and Conservation Breed Information for Rabbits, Chickens, Ducks, Pigs and more
Chickens
Books
- The Chicken Health Handbook, by Gail Damerow
- Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens
- Raising Chickens for Dummies
- Chicken Health for Dummies
Chicken Hatcheries
Ideal Poultry (Prattville Farm Center sells chicks from Ideal. You can buy breeds they order, or add a special order to their delivery through the store.)
Murray McMurray (very large hatchery, but has lots of breeds to choose from. Website also includes lots of chicken and breen information.)
Local Supplier Amber Haslam, Hues of Bleu
Breed charts
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/hendersonschickenchart.pdf
http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/chicken-chart
Photos of egg color and breeds:
http://www.chickencondos.com/breeds-best-layers/
http://tbnranch.com/2014/05/24/chicken-egg-color-chart-breed-specific/
Web Forums and other info
Alabama Cooperative Extension Poultry Page
Chicken Disease diagnosis chart
Local Suppliers of Chicken and other Backyard Livestock Things
Prattville Farm Center Locally-owned business that sells feed, chicks, and general chicken equipment. They will also special-order feed for you.
Tractor Supply Company Sells feed (including organic) and basic chicken-keeping supplies
Farmers Feed & Supply Locally-owned business with standard chicken feed & supplies