Poultry Book Review

AllenWMiller

Chirping
8 Years
Jan 16, 2012
152
28
91
Rural PA
Some folks have been private messaging me regarding poultry books on various topics and what my take on them was so I thought I would start a review string of poultry books.

After reading strings today regarding various poultry books, I could not find a solid string really reviewing specific books and what they are actually good for to the poultry enthusiast, fancier, breeder and so forth.

So the purpose of this string is to review any poultry book you've read and make recommendations as to what you got out of it and what you think it's good for; whether for the beginner, hobbyist, fancier, serious breeder and so forth.

I will also begin compiling and reviewing books that I've accumulated and read over the last 90 years indicating where I think various books will do the most good. So I'll categorize them myself as follows:

1. Laymen
2. Hobbyist
3. Fancier/Show
4. Breeder
5. Hatchery
6. Production Laying Flock
7. Production Meat Flock

I will also indicate when books are "cross overs" which cover more than one subject as mentioned above. We old timers always wanted lots of subjects covered in a book when we bought them because they were down right expensive. Laughable, I think, a great many of my old books were financially worthless in the 60's - 80's and now folks are paying ten time what was originally paid for these old treasured relics. And no even now my poultry library isn't for sale!

I hope this string will become useful for a host of different folks regardless of their experience or their level of interest in poultry.

So please feel free to post your reviews and comments on your favorite books and the value you see in them and got out of them. No ones opinion here is invalid and from my point of view everyone has a valued perspective in this review conversation.

So if you bought a book just because you thought it had great pictures of poultry then by all means please state that here. I have many poultry books I've bought over the years just because I thought the color plates were terrific even though the content was less than sterling. And yes I still buy new poultry books and yes I've bought more than a few based solely on opening them up to see all the great pics only to be disappointed when I actually read it later. But still I keep them even now for the pretty pictures! Don't you?

I look forward to hearing lots of great reviews even as I review the poultry classics here for anyone who is interested.

Cheers

Allen
 
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Allen, Thank you so much for starting this thread. I asked a question on a breed website years ago about what would be a good book to get regarding breeding and did not get an answer. I've learned alot since then, most of it from resources I learned about here on BYC. I guess I'm a hobbyist, with a side of preservationist. I look forward to reading the reviews that will be posted here.
 
I have only a few books. It will take me a little time, but I will type up a review on them.

I look forward to hearing all about your books, Mr. Miller. I enjoy reading the old poultry publications that are available for online viewing.
 
Thank you for starting this thread. I've already subscribed to it! I'm really looking forward to some reviews.
 
Thank you for the interest in this string.

Below is an outline I'd like to use as a standard template for anyone reviewing books. Please review it and give feedback as to things you think should be changed or added. Once this template is agreed to and established anyone posting a review can simply copy and paste to the "reply box", fill in the information and write your review.

Pay special attention to the "special attributes" section. If you have any special attribute you'd like to see please post it using two bold letters then what they stand for. This will go a long well to helping all levels of enthusiasts understand how the book will relate to their specific needs.

I think this will go along way to helping folks get an idea about the value of each book to them personally. Likewise, the information in the template provided will help readers locate the book for themselves.

Please post your thoughts. Once the template is agreed to I will start posting my reviews and I encourage everyone to jump in with their own reviews.





[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Title:[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Author:[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Publisher/Date:[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ISBN:[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Price/Link:[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif](provide the price you paid, where you bought it, if it was a gift and how much you found it for on sites like Amazon.)[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Page Count: [/FONT]

Rating:


(1 poor...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 excellent)

Special Attributes:

CPH: contains color photos WPH: contains black and white photos WCP: contains colored plates
MH: a must have reference VT: very technical WE: well written easy to understand AB: advanced breeding
IL:
contains illustrations DB: contains diagrams/blueprints HC: Hardcover SC: Soft Cover BR: good beginner reference

Category:


([FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1. Beginner/Laymen 2. Hobbyist/Small Holder 3. Fancier/Show 4. Breeder/Genetics 5. Hatchery 6. Production Laying Flock 7. Production Meat Flock)[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Review:[/FONT]

 
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Title: Commercial Poultry Production

Author: Dean R. Marble, Associate Professor of Poultry Husbandry, Cornell University;
Fred P. Jeffrey, Associate Dean
, School of Agriculture and Horticulture, University of Massachusetts.

Publisher:
00a9.png
Ronald Press Company 1955

ISBN: out of print

Price/Link: not available

Rating: 10
(1 poor...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 excellent)

Special Attributes: From the Preface:
This book has been written from a business standpoint rather than biological one - the commercial production of eggs, chicks, and poultry meat on American farms today. It is intended for the basic beginning college course and also as a reference guide for extension workers and commercial poultrymen.


MH: a must have reference VT: very technical WE: well written easy to understand AB: advanced breeding BR: good beginner reference

Category: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7.
(1. Beginner/Laymen 2. Hobbyist/Small Holder 3. Fancier/Show 4. Breeder/Genetics 5. Hatchery 6. Production Laying Flock 7. Production Meat Flock)


Review:
I bought this book because I was looking for some particular information from back in the 50s.
However, I found it so interesting, I read the entire book. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 are the ones I was most interested in, though the entire book is well written and keeps your interest (if this is what your interest is). I learned alot, and am glad I bought this book. The chapters are:
  1. The Poultry Industry in the United States
  2. Poultry Breeding
  3. Selection of Foundation Stock
  4. Culling and Breeder Selection
  5. Formulating Poultry Rations
  6. Feeding Practices
  7. Hatchery Management
  8. Brooding and Rearing
  9. Housing the Laying Flock
  10. Laying Flock Management
  11. The Production and Marketing of Eggs
  12. The Production and Marketing of Poultry
  13. Poultry Diseases
  14. The Economics of Poultry Farming
  15. Turkey Production
  16. Ducks and Geese
 
While waiting to get started with reviews I wanted to write about book preservation briefly. Many poultry enthusiasts are knowledgeable about poultry keeping and even preservation efforts but what they don't know is that many valuable poultry books are also threatened.

But I want to offer a word of caution about obtaining old and used books based on my own experiences.

Getting one or more used/old books is an exciting process much like getting new chicks or chickens. It feels like Christmas from my childhood every time I pick up an "old friend" or find a new "old friend" I had never read before. I got so excited years ago to obtain a collection from the 16th through 20th century from an old poultry mentor of mine. It was one of my first large acquisitions of books on the subject of poultry which were mine and mine alone. Not grandfather's nor great grandfather's but mine alone.

This early experience was excellent because my mentor took superb care of his collection and kept them in pristine condition. This experience jaded me for decades to come as I always expected people to take such excellent care of such resources. So because I was naive to various book condition problems I made my first blunder at about 30 when I received several books from the wife of a late breeder. She told me her husband had kept them in the hatchery for years. I never gave that fact a second thought nor the fact that her husband has been ill for a decade and the hatchery had been idle during that whole time.

I brought the books home, placed them on a shelf with other books in the library thinking nothing of it. A day later my grandfather stormed into my study, slammed the books down on my desk and asked me why I was so foolish. Shocked and too dumbfounded to respond he went on to tell me the books were infested with "book lice" and that I had put the entire library at risk for serious damage. This was shocking to me and I was stupefied to realize books even had their own lice. Imagine my embarrassment when my greatest mentor, who taught me how to care for and cherish such precious books came to me and chided me for my ignorance and lapse of good judgment.

I pulled out my magnifying glass and sure enough there were the little beggars happily running about my new found books. Now how to kill them. Well back then we had lots of "good" stuff to kill most anything from cyanide gas to DDT dust. A quick lock in a gas box, drop a cyanide capsule into a water vessel close and lock the lid and 60 minutes later presto no more book lice.

In triumph, I returned the newly deloused books back to their rightful place in the library only to have my grandfather slap them down on my desk again later in the day. To my disgrace I must admit I had never really paid attention to his teachings on proper care of books. Had I, there would certainly have been a better result. As it happened I had killed the lice but neglected to realize there was serious foxing on the pages. The cause was mildew and this too could have had serious consequences to the library as a whole.

So I want to caution everyone that if you buy a used book please examine it thoroughly. I also recommend quarantining all old books for 60 days as follows:


Take the book and wrap it in several layers of an absorbent paper towel; then place the wrapped book into a freezer safe zip lock bag and place the book into your deep freezer for the next 60 days. Check the book after 72 hours to make sure the paper towels are not iced over or damp. This is an indication that there was moisture in the pages of the book. If there is ice or moisture present replace the towels and check the book again in 72 hours. Repeat until the book is "freeze" dried. Then check the book weekly leaving it in the coldest part of your freezer maintaining at least a 10f or lower temp setting for 60 days.

What this process will accomplish is to kill all parasites like book lice and silver fish which do much more damage than even book lice. This will also kill all mold and fungus spores on the book. When you remove the book from the freezer let it warm up first in the refrigerator then in a cool dark room then to a hot dry room. Once the book's temperature has stabilized, take unprinted paper towels and wipe the covers, spine and pages gently to remove any left over residue and dirt. You can also use a towel lightly moistened with denatured alcohol to remove grim and grease. Yes human hands leave grease on the book from use.

This process will not remove ferrous oxide damage (rust spots) due to foxing but it will kill the mildew and fungi responsible for creating the damage in the first place.

This book process will insure that you are not introducing harmful things to your existing collection of books.

I hope this is somewhat helpful to you.
 
WOW Kathy! Thanks so much for stepping right up! This was a book I was going to introduce and thank you for saving me the time as I couldn't have done a better job reviewing it!

Well Kathy has shown us all how I'd hoped the system will work what does everyone think? Good stuff aye?!
 

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