Chicken Resources on the Web

Selected by the creater of the
ICYouSee Handy Dandy Chicken Chart

'If I hadn't started painting, I would have raised chickens.' -- Anna Mary Moses

Information on Breeds

General Information

Lists of Hatcheries

Pictures and Illustrations

Standards & Preservation

Advice for Small Flock Owners

from Cooperative Extensions

from other good folk

Forums and Discussion Groups

ICYouSee Specials: Tips for Raising Chicks with a Mother Hen & Sexing Chicks

Historic Information
Full Text of 19th and Early 20th Century Materials

Special Topics

Health and Disease

Chicken Genetics

Folklore

Home Processing

Eggs

Information on Breeds

GENERAL BREED INFORMATION

Here are sites that provide information about different breeds of chickens as a primary focus. Many provide additional information and advice as well.

LISTS OF HATCHERIES AND BREEDERS

Since several other people have taken the trouble of compiling and maintaining current lists of hatcheries and breeders, it makes more sense to link to them than to reproduce their efforts.

Hatcheries
FeatherSite: Hatcheries and Poultry Equipment Supply Houses
The Poultry Connection Hatcheries and Suppliers Lists: USA
Hatcheries (Small-scale Production Links), from University of Minnesota's Poultry U.
Mother Earth News: Hatcheries Directory
Breeders
Jubilee Acres: Chicken Breeders
Lunehaven Farm: Breeders Directory - Poultry
Heritage Breeds Conservancy: Member Breeders Directory (only a few list chickens or other poultry in their annotations, however)

PICTURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Most of the breed information sites above contain many images of chickens. The sites below have paintings or photographs as their main focus or are especially well illustrated.

Diane Jacky's Art Gallery.
Diane Jacky's paintings can be found in the catalogs of leading hatcheries and have been published in the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection. Hundreds of her images are for sale through cafepress.com. Her images can also be found on the online catalogs for Murray McMurray, Ideal Poultry, and Double-R. There are many other places you can find Ms. Jacky's art on the Web, as well, but, unfortunately, her pictures are not always credited to her.
Poultry Art by Katherine Plumer
Poultry illustrations by the artist illustrations chosen for the next edition of the American Standard of Perfection.
FeatherSite and Chickenbox
I will mention Barry Koffler's and Johan Opsomer's sites again, because both are full of poultry photography. Both include a special section to guide you to photographs of chicks. Here is the Feathersite baby chicks page.
Lewis Wright's The Book of Poultry
Images from a 19th Century book of prints. Images are from lithographs created by J.W. Ludlow.
Poultry Photos
A collection of black and white photographs taken during the early 1900s by Arthur Rice, of Lincolnshire. Only small images are available on the Web.
Random Chicken
View a different chicken photo each time you refresh the page. Also available are video clips, jokes, and recipes.
Black Forest Poultry, Kentucky
Art and history of poultry and illustrations of poultry anatomy are featured.
French Fowl, from VOLAILLE-POULTRY
An English language site about more than 30 breeds of poultry that originated in France(including many I have not found elsewhere on the Web). Short descriptions and illustrations of breeds.
AgriPedia: Poultry Breeds
From the University of Kentucky, a collection of chicken pictures for 18 different breeds.

STANDARDS, PRESERVATION AND HERITAGE

The APA, ABA, and Poultry Club (UK) determine and sanction the standards for breeds and varieties of chickens.

American Poultry Association
Includes membership, show and exhibitor information, a health series, and a current list of breed classifications.
American Bantam Association
Includes membership nformation, news and articles, and a list of sanctioned shows.
Poultry Club of Great Britain
Includes news about shows, exhibitions, and other events, plus information, advice, and images on breeds and other poultry topics.
These heritage and preservation groups are good places to begin to look for information on rare breeds.
Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
The New England Heritage Breeds Conservancy
Rare Breeds Canada: Breed Priority List for Chickens and Turkeys

Advice for Small Flock Owners

Sites listed here are those with an emphasis on care, health, and flock management and other advice about poultry. Some may include information about the different breeds as well.

COOPERATIVE EXTENSION (AND OTHER GOVERNMENTAL) SERVICES

Incubation and Embryology from the University of Illinois Extension
A site of lesson plans and resources packed with chicken and egg information. Included is an all-on-one-page History of Chicken Breeds
Mississippi State University Poultry Extension Information Services
One of the fullest extension service Web sites, with guides for the commericial industry, small flock owners, and 4-H members. Topics range from the avian embryo to culling hens.
Poultry News
Regular (well, every week or 10 days) updates from University of Auburn Poultry Department on government, industry, and health news affecting poultry and poultry owners.
The University of Minnesota Extension Service: Poultry
A wide variety of information, especially for small flock owners and those interested in sustainable agriculture.
Ohio State's Ohioline: Farm: Livestock: Poultry
More than a dozen extension fact sheets with information on poultry health and management.
UConn's Poultry Pages
Extension pages, with a nice one on incubation.
Texas A&M Poultry Department
The site is now set up in frames, but you can follow the links to a plentiful list of Extension Publications that are available as PDF files. Separately you can visit the Poultry Science Virtual Library, a comprehensive page of links.
Virginia Cooperative Extension's Information Resources: Poultry
Another good source for information. Titles that caught my eye include Management Requirements for Laying Flocks, Why Have My Hens Stopped Laying?
NebGuide: Poultry,
Online guides icluding: The Home Laying Flock, Part I & Part II; Brooding and Rearing the Home Meat Flock
University of Florida Extension: Poultry Sciences
Lots of documents, divided up among these categories: Backyard Flocks, Breeds, General, Health and Nutrition, Housing Design, and much more. It
The West Virginia Poultry Extension Web Page.
Designed to provide educational and informational materials related to poultry production, consumer education, and other related poultry topics, this site provides plenty of its own fact sheets plus many links to other online resources.
UC Davis's Poultry Web Page:
Publications & Small Flock & Game Bird Information include leaflets and fact sheets on topics such as candling, biosecurity, health, and feeding.
Queensland. Department of Primary Industries. Poultry.
Extension service-esque advice on poultry health, as well as production.
NSW Agriculture: Poultry
A series of practical notes on poultry production, including several topics related to small-scale poultry keeping, free range eggs, lighting of poultry, and more.

OTHER GOOD FOLKS

Loren Hadley's The Coop
The Coop provides many resources in its classroom, library, show schedule, directory, and other sections.
Mother Earth News Chicken and eggs page
A compendium of articles with the homesteader and small operation chicken farmer in mind. It's started a campaign advocating the nutritional benefits of pastured poultry and free range chicken eggs.
The Easy Chicken, Ohio
Excellent general resource for beginners starting a flock, or just thinking about raising chickens. Includes an illustrated guide to Candling.
Mulligan Creek Poultry Farm
Follow the road sign to information about poultry, pasturing, and butchering basics.
Greg Davies's The Chook Shed
An Australian site both fun and informative. Information and illustrations of breeds, plus advise and tips on raising chickens.
MyPetChicken
Has as its aim "to show prospective chicken owners that it's okay to keep chickens and to walk them through the process, plus provide some great resources & pictures for the seasoned chicken keepers." At the site are a chicken care guide and an interactive breed selection tool.
PoultryEssays.com
Bob Martin is yet another Australian with poultry advice to share. The essays range in scope from incubation to eggs to chick sexing.
Sustainable Poultry: Production Overview
A report from ATTRA (National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service) on "raising poultry on pasture, including descriptions of production systems and facilities, as well as detailed nuts-and-bolts information."
Robert Plamondon
This Oregon poultry farmer has answers and advice and opinions about all manner of poultry-related topics, including free ranging and pastured poultry.
The Chicken Page from the Farm at Morrison Corner (Stowe, Vermont)
Summarizes on one page a good bit of helpful information about raising chickens. It begins with encouraging advice: "Chickens have got to be the easiest, most forgiving, creatures for a small farm to manage."
ChickenCrossing
Dedicated to the pet chicken owner, this site is especially intended for folks keeping chickens in urban settings and small farms. There are pictures, stories, and a forum.
Chicken Keeping
Terry Golson's page of fun, advice, recipes, and recommendations, plus excerpts from a farmstead cookbook and a HenCam Blog.
The Small Farm Resource
Included among its resources is a page of FAQs on Raising Poultry.
Mad City Chickens
Information, advocacy, advice and photos from a group of pro-poultry people from Madison, WI, where, because of the group's effort, single-family homes now have the right to raise poultry in the back yard.
The Chicken Project
Along with photo essays, this site provides plans and details of an attractive coop designed to house up to 10 chickens.
The Homestead Poultry Flock, from the Modern Homestead
Homesteaders, farmers, and orchardists Harvey and Ellen Ussery, who live in Hume, Virginia, offer advice on feeding, housing, breeding, and pasturing poultry among other topics in their guide.
Journey to Forever's Poultry for small farms
Includes some advice on topics not as well covered elsewhere, such as how to raise maggots for chicken feed, and butchering tips.
The late Douglas Adams' Chicken Theory
Well, perhaps this doesn't provide very helpful information, but it is technical and about chickens.

POULTRY FORUMS AND ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUPS

If you have a chicken question, there is a good chance someone else has has asked it, too. In fact some of the same questions keep appearing over and over in many of forums, discussion boards, lists, and groups. Most of the groups have an archive where you should look for questions similar to your own before you ask. You should also keep in mind, that although many lists have very experienced old-timers and real poultry experts, there is no guarantee that the answers provided have addressed or will address a question well, accurately, or completely. Each of the following groups has its own personality based as much on the current members of the group as anything else.

The Classroom @ The Coop
The "classroom" is the coop's bulletin board, one of several resources the Coop provides to small flock owners, breeders and exhibitors. The moderator attempts to keep this board more informative and less chatty, and some categories include some very technical exchanges.
The Poultry Connection
TPC includes a general poultry forum for members and guests.
Backyard Chickens hosts both a message board, maintained by EZBoard, and its BYC Forum.
Both invite socializing, but provide exhanges for information on breeds, eggs and chicks, care and health, and other chicken information.
Yahoo Groups
There are over a hundred poultry groups on Yahoo, but these are some of the longest running, most active ones.
dom_bird (open)
PasturePoultry (open)
Chickens-101 (membership required)
Homestead Poultry (membership required)
Poultry Egg Swappers (membership required)
RarePoultryBreeders2 (membership required)
NOTE: Because of some spam and other problems, the original RarePoultryBreeders group is not recommended.
sci.agriculture.poultry
Through Google Groups, you can read, search, and review recent and archived messages. Jerry D. Jones' History of the Breeds was originally posted on sci.agriculture.poultry.
ChickenCrossing Forum
Open to any chicken fancier, especially those keeping chickens in urban settings and small farms.
CANADIANCHICKENEGGSWAPPERS
If you are Canadian and like to swap chicken eggs, this group's for you.
Specific Breeds and Classes of Poultry
Ameraucana Breeders Club Forum
msn Groups: American Brahma Club
Cochin Forum
Dark Egg Layers
Java

Historic Information

FULL TEXT OF 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY MATERIALS

The American Farmer's New and Universal Handbook [plus sub-title 99 words long]. Philadelphia: Cowperthwait, Desilver, and Butler, 1854.
Chapter VII, Poultry or the Various Domestic Fowls, starts on p. 290. Available through the University of Michigan's Making of America series.
H. S. Babcock. "Chickens for Use and Beauty." The Century; a Popular Quarterly. Volume 40 (May 1890): pp. 47-60.
An article by a renowned authority of the time describing the recognized breeds of the day. Available through Cornell University's Making of America series.
Liberty Hyde Bailey. The School-book of Farming; a Text for the Elementary Schools, Homes and Clubs. New York: Macmillan, 1920.
Topic 25, which begins on p. 318, is Poultry. Written by the famous Cornell professor and horticulturalist, the poultry unit includes subtopics include the egg, origins, place on the farm, feeding the flock (including the recipe for the Cornell ration for laying hens), housing, mating, hatching and brooding, feeding chicks, diseases and pests (including a recipe for Lawry's lice powder). Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
Caleb N. Bement. The American Poulterer's Companion: a Practical Treatise on the Breeding, Rearing, Fattening, and General Management of the Various Species of Domestic Poultry. 5th ed. New York: Harper & brothers, 1852.
A wonderfully practical guide, and plentifully illustrated. Available through the University of Michigan's Making of America series.
Geo. P. Burnham. The History of the Hen Fever: a Humorous Record. Boston: J. French and company, 1855.
Before there was Frank Sinatra, Elvis, the Beatles, the hoola hoop, beany babies, or Pokemon, there were chickens. This classic book describes the fad that took the world by storm after the introduction of some exotic breeds of chickens in the early 19th Century. Available through University of Michigan's Making of America series.
William Crozier and Peter Henderson. How the Farm Pays. The Experiences of Forty Years of Successful Farming and Gardening by the Authors. New York: Peter Henderson, 1884.
Section on "Rearing and Keeping Poultry" is on pages 224-240. It includes some economic advice (it is hard to make poultry pay) and descriptions of various breeds. Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
William Budington Duryee. A Living from the Land. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1934.
Advice for families experiencing country life for the first time in what the author believed would be a new era of homesteading. "Chapter IX: Poultry as a Source of Income" begins on p. 123. Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
"Easy-On" Caponizing Set Instruction Book. Chicago: Sears, Roebuck, and Co., 1922.
Available as a Web page and a pdf file (tools not included), these instructions are provided by the Palm Beach County Poultry Fanciers Association.
Charles Wyllys Elliott. "The Poultry Lovers." The Galaxy. Volume 8 (July 1869): pp. 70-82.
An essay on poultry and poultry farmers that is part hommage and part informational. There is a short discussion comparing breeds, but in 1869 there were fewer to discuss. The author does add an extra consideration among the breeds -- cockfighting ability. Available through Cornell University's Making of America series.
Felch, Isaac K. Poultry culture: how to raise, manage, mate and judge thoroughbred fowls. Chicago :W. H. Harrison, 1885.
A pioneer in the promotion of poultry production.
John Hammond. Farm Animals; Their Breeding, Growth, and Inheritance. New York: Longmans, Green, 1940.
Regarding poultry, Hammond discusses fertility, sexing of chicks, the growth of chicks, and special breeding problems. Here's a sample sentence: "There is a rhythm in egg production, although there is no corpus luteum to regulate it.
Milo M. Hastings. The Dollar Hen Syracuse: National Poultry Publishing Company, 1911.
Hastings wrote this to assist "in placing the poultry business on a sound scientific and economic basis" and "to help the poultryman to make money, not to spend it." From Project Gutenberg.
William Adams Lippincott. Poultry Production Washington, DC: Lamon, 1914.
A general text on poultry, their care and feeding, from a poultry professor at Kansas State. Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
Harry Lamon. Practical poultry production St. Paul: Webb, 1920.
A complete guide to poultry raising, from breeding to feeding, butchering to marketing. "Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
My Poultry Day By Day, 1901.
An anonymous diary with monthly advice (October: "This is the month to crow over your neighbour if your pullets are laying and his are not."). Written a hundred years ago, it is brief, fun, and informative. It is included on the British Free Range Egg Producers Association Web Site.
Robert Jennings. Sheep, Swine, and Poultry. Philadelphia: J. E. Potter, 1864.
A practical manual from a veterinary surgeon with information on poultry and their diseases. Descriptions of breeds are included, but the names are not the same as we use today. Included are the Bolton Grey, the Blue Dun, and the Chittagong. The Spangled Hamburgh pictured and described here appears to me to be the Houdan. Available through the University of Michigan's Making of America series.
Kansas State University makes available its archive of historical bulletins, circulars, and reports as PDFs. Those related to chickens include:
BULLETINS
150. Hens place on the farm. Oscar Erf, October 1907.
159. Analysis of Eggs. JT Willard and RH Shaw, March 1908.
162. The Marketing of Eggs. A.G. Philips, December 1909.
164. Selection and Feeding of Laying Hens. A.G. Philips, January 1910.
180. Bacteriological Studies on Eggs. Otto Maurer, November 1911.
252. Crossbred Poultry, D.C. Warren, December 1930.
256. Farm Production and Consumption of Poultry in Kansas. Morris Evans and H.L. Collins, January 1932.
256. The Poultry Enterprise on Kansas Farms. Morris Evans, July 1932.
274. Capon Production. Loyal F. Payne, January 1936.
284. Poultry Diseases: Their Prevention and Control. L. D. Bushnell and M.J. Twiehaus, May 1939.
307. Distinguishing Sex of Chicks at Hatching Time. D.C. Warren, September 1942.
308. Economics of Poultry Enterprise on Kansas Farms. R.W. Hoecker, December 1942
315. Capon Production. Loyal F. Payne, May 1943.
326. Poultry Diseases, Their Prevention and Control. L.D. Bushnell and M.J. Twiehaus, June 1945.
423. Egg Products Industry of the United States, Part I: Historical Highlights, 1900-59, Joe W. Koudele and Edwin C. Heinsohn, 1960.
CIRCULARS
 60. Chicken Management on the Farm. R. M. Sherwood, et al., March 1917.
 61. Chicken Houses, Ross M. Sherwood, July 1917.
 67. Pedigreeing Poultry, William A. Lippincott, May 1918.
 70. Poultry Diseases, L. D. Bushnell and J. G. Jackley, October 1918.
 93. Culling Farm Poultry, Loyal F. Payne, May 1922.
 99. Poultry Breeding Records, William A. Lippincott, October 1923.
122. Poultry Management on the Farm, Loyal F. Payne, 1926.
147. Culling Poultry, Loyal F. Payne and Howard H. Steup, April 1929.
178. Poultry Management, Loyal F. Payne, January 1936.
216. Culling Poultry (Circ. 147 rev.), Loyal F. Payne, November 1943.
Rural Affairs : a Practical and Copiously Illustrated Register of Rural Economy and Rural Taste, Including Country Dwellings, Improving and Planting Grounds, Fruits and Flowers, compiled and edited by J.J. Thomas. Albany, N.Y. : L. Tucker, 1858-81.
A nine volume compilation of articles that originally appeared in the Illustrated Annual Register of Rural Affairs. Available through the University of Michigan's Making of America series. Poultry is mentioned quite often, but some articles of particular note are:
Management of Poultry, by D. F. Heffron of Utica. Starts on p. 218 of Volume II (1859-60-1)
Domestic Poultry, Varieties, Rearing and Management, by C. N. Bement, and illustrated by someone signing him or herself Ferguson. Starts on p. 50 of Volume III (1861-2-3)
Poultry Houses, Coops, and Yards, by C. N. Bement, with plans. Starts on p. 126 of Volume IV (1864-5-6).
More on poultry house and breeding coops (designs and how to keep them pure) starting on pages 67 and 160 of Volume VI (1870-1-2).
Harry Oscar Sampson. Effective Farming; a Text-book for American Schools. New York: Macmillan, 1918.
The chapter on poultry (21st of 23 chapters) begins on page 425. It provides introductory information on breeds, housing, feeding, brooding and incubation. Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
E. L. D. Seymour, editor. Farm Knowledge: A Complete Manual of Successful Farming. 4 volumes. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday (Prepared exclusively for Sears, Roebuck, and Co.), 1918.
Section 6. Poultry and Birds (in eight chapters) is found in Volume I. It includes information on care, commercial production, and detailed descriptions of breeds. Other information can be found in Volumes II, III, and IV.
Henry Stephens. The Farmer's Guide to Scientific and Practical Agriculture. New York: L. Scott, 1852. Volumes I and II
Since Stephens, assisted by John P. Norton, details the labors of the farmer, in all their variety, and adapts them to the seasons of the year as they successively occur, you will have to browse through both volumes for references to poultry. Available through the University of Michigan's Making of America series.
Elliot G. Storke. Domestic and Rural Affairs: The family, Farm and Gardens, and the Domestic Animals.
The chapter, "Domestic Poultry, Their Breeds and Treatment in Health and Disease," begins on page B243. Available through the University of Michigan's Making of America series.
U. S. Department of Agriculture.Farmers Bulletin No. 51: Standard Varieties of Chickens, 1897.
Descriptions and illustrations of thoroughbred chickens from more than a century ago. Available through Chickenscope, a site from the University of Illinoisw that includes many topics related to chickens and eggs developed in cooperation with a group of Illinois schools.
G. C. Watson. Farm Poultry; a Popular Sketch of Domestic Fowls for the Farmer and Amateur. New York: Macmillan Company, 1901.
364 pages full of information about chickens and other poultry. Among reasons providing for going into the poultry raising are because it requires little capital with a chance for a quick return on investment and because it can be engaged in by both men and women. Watson provides in depth descriptions of breeds divided up in categories of egg, meat, general-purpose, and fancy. In addition there are chapters on housing, feeding, breeding, diseases and enemies.

Special Topics

HEALTH AND DISEASE

In this section are direct links to some of the sources for health and disease found within some cooperative extension sites, plus other excellent online sites. I hope you won't have to visit any of them often.

Merck Veterinary Manual
"The single most comprehensive electronic reference for animal care information" has a lengthy section on poultry.
Avian Disease Fact Sheet from the Virginia Cooperative Extenstion's Information Resources.
Diseases and Pests of Chickens from Mississippi State University Poultry Extension Information Services
Diagnosis, identification, and suggestions for treatment. One page is arranged by symptoms.
Penn State University Extension Health and Disease
A large collection of links to various health and disease issues, including Avian flu and biosecurity.

CHICKEN GENETICS

Poultry Genetics for the Nonprofessional
If you are interested in chicken genetics (including such topics as sex-linkage, lethal genes, and blue feathering), this site is a good place to turn. The information has been put together by a poultry breeder who is also a chemistry professor (and the professor's sister).
F. A. Hays. Poultry Breeding Applied Washington, DC: Lamon, 1948.
Written following the latest scientific principles, but targeted to be "understandable to the average poultryman," this book covers material found in a poultry breeding course at the agricultural school that becaome the University of Massachusetts. Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
Frederick Bruce Hutt. Genetics of the Fowl. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1949.
Dated, but useful, scientific look at what makes up a breed. Includes information on combs, skin, plumage, and eggs. Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
Harry Lamon. Poultry Breeding and Selection Washington, DC: Lamon, 1932.
Lamon was Senior Poultryman for the National Poultry Institute. This book was written as a text for a course, and each chapter is a lesson. Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
Harry Lamon. The mating and breeding of poultry New York: Orange Judd, 1923, c1920.
Covers both principles and practices of breeding, and provides descriptions and advice concerning every breed then accepted to the standard. "Available through Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture series.
The TROUP (Time to Restore our Utility Poultry (T.R.O.U.P.) in the U.K.) Genetics page
Jill Bowis addresses poultry genetics with a focus on how it might be used in restoring pure breeds.
Chickmap
And if you really want to get technical, Roslin Institute's Chicken Genome Mapping Project resource page will lead you to a wealth of online resources, technical reports, gene maps, and other documents.
US Poultry Genome Project
Somehow integrated with, but separate from, the Roslin Institute's work in the UK is the US Poultry Genome Project. Its Web site is another technical resource for anyone interested in gene mapping.

FOLKLORE

Folklore of the Egg
From Easter traditions to proverbs to nursery rhymes
History of Poultry Dishes, by Linda Stradley
Origins of chicken ala king, General's Tso's chicken, and other recipes
Geoffrey Chaucer. The Nun's Priest's Tale
The story of Chauntecleer and faire Pertelote, cock and hen, his foreboding dream, her advice, and his encounter with a fox, his quick thinking and escape.
Delaware's Blue Hens
Origins's of the state bird and state university's mascot
Urban Legends about chickens:
Freeway Chickens (This one's true.)
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC
FAA's chicken launcher
Shoplifter's frozen chicken headache

HOME PROCESSING (AKA Butchering)

An illustrated step-by-step guide and advice by Melvin L. Hamre on home processing of poultry from Minnesota cooperative extension.
Mulligan Creek Poultry Farm created the first illustrated Web guide to butchering. It provides different advice and perspectives.
Slaughtering Chickens is an illustrated talk-through from The Farm at Morrison Corner
How to butcher a chicken in 20 minutes or less ...while leaving the carcass and feathers intact! [how to skin a bird], by Roger Grim (from Backwoods Home Magazine)
Home Processing of Chickens, by Daniel E. Bigbee, a Nebraska Extension Poultry Specialist, provides illustrated step-by-step instructions.
Home Processing of Poultry, by Joe G. Berry and Charles Lester, is Pamplet F-8400 of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. It is available as a PDF.
SMALL SCALE POULTRY PROCESSING is a forty-page publication (PDF) developed by Anne Fanatico, Agriculture Specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). Small scale, it should be noted, in the terms of the publication, range from 50-5000 birds processed in a day.
Processing Poultry at Home, from Texas A&M, is a 12 page guide available as a PDF.
Global Flyfisher has a page on chickens that concentrates on skinning them properly for purposes of using the feathers for tying flies.

EGGS

Placing chickens before eggs on this web site, I have divided up this final section into the following groups.

Grading and Egg Quality
US Standards, Grades, and Weight Classes for Shell Eggs (USDA regulations)
USDA offers a guide How to buy eggs
University of Florida Extension has a good page on Egg Quality
 
Marketing Boards for Fun, Facts, and Propaganda (I'll let you decide which is which)
American Egg Board
Canadian Egg Board
 
Eggs and Cholesterol (a variety of different interpretations)
Delicious Organics: Eggs
University of Illinois Extension Service's summary of the Eggs and Cholesterol controversy
Some facts and fears about eggs tackled by the American Council on Science and Health:
   Egg Story Unscrambled
   Scared by Eggs and Milk But in Love with Herbs
University Science News: Why Eggs Don't Contribute Much Cholesterol To Diet
 
Egg Arts and Craft
Learn Pysanky
World of Pysanky
Adriana's Pysanka -- illustrations, instructions, and history
Ukrainian Museum: Pysanky
The Art of Pysanky from the Ukrainian Gift Shop
How I blow eggs, by Sunni Bergeron
And for more links, see the Pysanky links maintained by Dr. Myron Hlynka, Dept. of Math.& Stat., University of Windsor.

This page authored and maintained by: John R. Henderson (jhenderson@ithaca.edu), Sage Hen Farm, Lodi, NY.
Last modified: Presidents Day, 2008
URL: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chlinks.html