Short Course- Caring for Chickens and other Poultry

Sneak Peek

Become an expert at raising and caring for chickens and poultry

The Caring for Chickens and Other Poultry Study Guide is a complete learning guide for people who already own or are considering buying their first flock! This short course is ideal at encouraging you to become familiar with the scope of the industry in your area and at testing your knowledge so you can feel confident handling the practical issues of poultry care.  Perhaps you work in a poultry or pet care business and would like to formalise what you learn – you will receive a digital Certificate of Completion at the end. 

This short course covers 6 lessons that explores the history and origins of chickens and other poultry,  the overall nature of caring for chickens, recognising breeds, the fundamentals of feeding and nutrition, health care, general management of a flock and the industry services and opportunities.   It is designed to take around 20 hours to complete from start to finish!

Like all of our animal and agricultural courses, this course is founded on research from history, agriculture, science and business.  A wealth of information comes from academic writers who have years of knowledge and experience working with animals including poultry.

At the end of each lesson, you will be given a short interactive test to undertake, which will provide an indication of how your learning is progressing.  Upon completing the very last lesson, you will be offered a more thorough automated test or examination. This final assessment can be undertaken at a time that suits you. If you achieve an overall pass, you will be able to obtain a "certificate of completion" with your name and completion date on it.

Lessons

LESSON 1: SCOPE AND NATURE OF DOMESTICATED POULTRY

• A brief history
• Keeping poultry – profit or pleasure
• Chickens
• Turkeys
• Ducks
• Don’t buy sick birds
• How to help hatchings chicks
• How to revive ‘dead’ hatchlings
• Poultry products and uses
• Value adding to poultry products
• Concerns for human health

LESSON 2: BREEDS

• Basic nomenclature
• Categories of breeds
• Breeds
• Chicken (fowl) classification

LESSON 3:  FOOD AND WATER

• Feeding for stages – starter, growth, maintenance
• Nutrition during reproduction
• Digestive system
• Nutrients from feed
• Water requirements
• Favourite treats
• Feeding fowls
• Feeding turkeys
• Feeding ducks
• Feeding geese

LESSON 4: HEALTH

• A definition of health
• First aid kit for poultry
• Administering medication by syringe
• Common poisonous household products
• General basic care
• Common diseases affecting poultry
• Parasites

LESSON 5: MANAGEMENT

• Housing and shelter
• Managing waste
• Environmental issues
• Regulations for keeping poultry
• Management procedures for breeding
• Meat production procedures

LESSON 6: THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

• Working in the poultry industry
• Farm management – egg, meat or breeder

FINAL ASSESSMENT

WHAT WOULD YOU GET FROM THIS COURSE?

At the end of the course you will learn to:

• Control and maintain buildings and facilities onsite
• Control and manage animal husbandry processes – feeding, health care, general care
• Understand the needs of the poultry and how to maintain an adequate shelter and controlled environment 
• Farm processes
• Manage pasture and control diseases
• Farm management

Example Pages from the Study Guide