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Building a horse barn is quite a project — and there is a vast and varied array of plans and books available to help you. But renovating a shelter to make it fit for just one or two horses, or building a sturdy three-sided shelter, can be quite simple, even if you have only basic carpentry skills.

This e-handbook shows you what you need to know to properly construct horse housing. Chapters included are:

• The Fundamentals of Building for Horses
• Tips and Techniques for Remodeling
• Building a Simple Run-in Shelter
• Designing the Layout for a Small Barn Renovation
• Roofing Your Horse Barn
• Building a Stall
• Providing Food and Water in the Barn
• Finishes to Preserve Your Horse Shelter

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Chicken-coop designs are as varied as the people who keep chickens. The best design for you depends on how many chickens you keep, your purpose in keeping them, their breed, your geographic location, and how much money you want to spend.

This e-handbook shows you designs and helpful tips to make your chicken raising experience a successful one. Chapters include:

• Twelve Tips for a Successful Coop Design
• Providing Adequate Ventilation
• Temperature Control
• Choosing the Right Flooring
• Putting Down Bedding
• Installing Roosts
• Nests and Nest Boxes
• Choosing and Siting a Water Source
• Tips and Advice for Keeping Chickens in Cages
• Offering Access to a Yard
• Raising Chickens Free on the Range

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Homesteading and sustainable farming are major steps in the journey toward self-sufficiency. The benefits of producing naturally raised animals and crops have a positive influence on everyone, from the grower to the consumer. Learn the best methods in egg and chicken production; gain the skills to build or renovate a small barn for your horse; find out how to easily crate train your dog; and much more with the Livestock and Farming E-book Projects Collection.

For the first time, Mother Earth News is proud to offer the complete Livestock and Farming E-book Projects Collection. This comprehensive collection includes 12 useful e-books with titles ranging from "Raising Game Birds" to "Homemade Treats for Happy, Healthy Dogs". The Livestock and Farming E-book Projects Collection is packed with practical information, innovative ideas and creative projects to inspire you to turn your dreams of country living into a reality.

E-book Projects Included in the Collection:

• Tack: Care and Cleaning
• Fencing for Horses
• Building or Renovating a Small Barn for Your Horse
• Crate Training Your Dog
• Raising a Healthy Guinea Pig
• Eggs & Chickens
• Raising Ducks & Geese
• Building Rabbit Housing
• Building Chicken Coops
• Raising Game Birds
• Buying or Selling a Horse

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More than 128 birds strut their stuff across the pages of Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, the ultimate primer for farmers and fanciers alike. Admire the handsome black and white plumage of Lakenvelder roosters, read the fascinating history of the Blue Hens of Delaware, and marvel at the petite size and toylike appearance of Call ducks. And if you’re curious to know which heritage turkeys are making a comeback, look no further. This definitive guide to North American barnyard and wild fowl includes a brief history of each breed, detailed descriptions of identifying characteristics, and colorful photography that celebrates the birds’ quirky personalities and charming good looks. If it’s fowl facts and photos you want, you’ll find them all here.

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The romance of the farm calls to all of us at some point in our lives. For some, the appeal lies in the promise of a simpler lifestyle marked by honest work and results you can hold in your hands. For others, the farm is a lineage to our past. It conjures images of dewy meadows, Mason jars, ripe tomatoes and the pure companionship of a trusted horse or dog.

Usually, our dreams of going back to the farm remain dreams. But in growing numbers, today's enterprising city-dwellers are finding ways to make it happen. Whether your dream farm is just a few acres with a big garden and a rabbit hutch or an 80-acre tract with a horse corral and big red barn, John Deere's Hobby Farm is just the guide you need to get started on your adventure. With full-color photos and step-by-step projects it will give structure to your dream and take you one big step closer to achieving the real thing.

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Here is a holistic approach to small-area farming that will show you how to produce 85 percent of an average family's food on just one-quarter acre — and earn $10,000 in cash annually. This is not back-to-the-land utopianism, but a tested and pragmatic method that can be applied in small lots in rural, suburban and even urban areas. Even if you have never been a farmer or a gardener, Brett Markham's advice will teach you what you need to know:

• Saving, buying, starting, and selecting seeds
• Maintaining and improving soil
• Preventing and eradicating pests and diseases
• Compost, crop rotation, and timing
• Using organic methods
• Garden planning to meet dietary requirements
• Raising poultry
• Raising and pruning fruits and nuts
• Canning, freezing, and dehydrating
• Selling your excess produce for top dollar
• And more!

More than just a how-to guide for self-sufficiency, Mini Farming teaches you the underlying principles of mini-farming so you will have the knowledge to make your own unique applications. Materials, tools and techniques are detailed with over a hundred photographs, tables, diagrams and illustrations.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $34.95. AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

In Over the Rainbeau, Lisa Schwartz conveys the romance and challenges of her journey from tending a pair of goats to building a multifaceted sustainable farm in the New York City suburbs and becoming an award-winning cheese maker. This inspirational memoir comes to life with tantalizing original and chef-created recipes, aspirational how-tos and captivating photographs. The book is a seasonal journey of Lisa and the farm and is presented with beautiful seasonal color palettes. Each season contains memoirs written with beautiful accounts of life on the farm.

Over the Rainbeau contains 64 delicious recipes, with 15 recipes from renowned chefs including Dan Barber and Adam Kaye of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Michael Anthony of New York City's top rated Gramercy Tavern and Robert Weland of Poste Brasserie in Washington, D.C. The book's "One Steps" include Starting with Herbs, Homemade Yogurt and Composting to enable readers to take incremental steps to add sustainability to their lives.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $29.99. AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Whether you want to grow a few vegetables or you're ready to go whole hog and relocate to the countryside, this invaluable handbook will guide you through every aspect of a self-sufficient lifestyle. Packed with practical information, expert advice and real-life experiences, this is the ultimate reference book for anyone who wants to make the move toward natural living.

• Make your home self-sufficient: Find out all you need to know about eco-building, recycling and traditional crafts such as spinning, weaving, dyeing, making candles and tanning hides.
• Grow your own fruit and vegetables: Detailed instructions and tips on how to cultivate more than 100 vegetables, fruits and herbs.
• From crop to kitchen: Learn how to prepare and preserve your food, including information on drying, freezing, canning, bottling, brewing, basic butchery and making your own bread, butter, yogurt and cheese.
• Food from the wild: Discover how to forage for food with a practical wild food calendar and identification guide.
• Raise your own livestock: Expert advice on choosing and keeping chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, goats, sheep, cows, bees and more.