Poultry Resources for Small Scale Producers

By Brian Tuck, Wasco County Extension Agent, Susan Kerr, WSU-Klickitat County Extension Director and Linda Williams, Klickitat County 4-H Program Assistant.

On October 9, 2004, Washington State University Extension and Oregon State University Extension Service sponsored the small-scale poultry and greenhouse workshops at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles, OR. For those unable to attend, we wanted to provide information concerning useful resources for those interested in small-scale poultry and green house production. If you have any questions concerning the resources listed here, please contact the OSU Wasco County Extension office at 541-296-5494 or the WSU Klickitat County Extension office at 509-773-5817. Readers who do not have access to the Internet at home may contact their county Extension office for these documents or access them through their public library.

Poultry Production

Photo courtesy of USDA On Line Photography Center

These publications are available through your local Oregon State University Extension Service Office for a small fee. Many of these publications can be downloaded free of charge from the OSU website at http://eesc.oregonstate.edu/.

• Brooding and Rearing Baby Chicks, PNW, 491
• Hatching Small Numbers of Eggs, PNW 478
• How to Feed Your Laying and Breeding Hens, PNW 477
• Growing Broilers in Oregon: Facts for the Potential Grower, EM 8426
• Why Did My Chickens Stop Laying? PNW 565

These publications are available through your local Washington State University Extension office or may be downloaded from http://pubs.wsu.edu. This list includes 4-H and Extension publications.

Photo courtesy of USDA On Line Photography Center

• Poultry Leader Guide, EM4887
• Poultry Science Exhibit Ideas, EM3497
• Home Processing of Poultry, MNEF411
• National Poultry Judging Manual, NE4H460
• Brooding and Rearing Ducklings and Goslings, EB1190
• Care of a Small Flock of Chickens, EB0971
• Helpful Hints on Growing Fryers, EB0911
• Poultry Pests and Their Control, EB0912
• Small Poultry Flock Health Tips, EB 1371
• Basic Ventilation Considerations for Livestock or Poultry Housing, PNW0307
• Troubleshooting Mechanical Ventilation Systems for Livestock/Poultry Housing, PNW 0308
• Ohio State University Poultry Learning Laboratory kit

Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (sponsored by USDA) has some excellent publications for small-scale poultry producers. Their Web site is www.attra.org/publication.html. Here are a few of the titles available:

• Sustainable Poultry: Production Overview
• Small-Scale Poultry Processing
• Range Poultry Housing
• Growing Your Range Poultry Business: An Entrepreneur’s Toolbox

SARE, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program of the USDA, promotes small farm endeavors with through grants, research and education. A good publication on range poultry production is at http://www.sare.org/publications/poultry/poultry.pdf