If you are thinking about keeping chickens, but aren’t convinced – or you already keep chickens and were just looking for something to read! Either way, welcome! Now, back to the topic. When it comes to keeping chickens, especially for those who are just beginning to look into the topic, it can seem daunting, difficult, and maybe even a little stressful. And as appealing as the idea of keeping chickens might be, you may be wondering – is it really worth it? In this article, I’m going to be talking about some different reasons as to why chickens are a great choice, and after looking at the facts, hopefully, it’ll help you make up your mind.
1. Eggs
Yum, eggs! There’s something so appealing about seeing an egg on your breakfast plate and knowing that it came from your own flock.
You can decide if you want to free-range your flock or feed them organic feed. It’s your choice, and it makes it a lot easier than scanning the shelves for the exact carton of eggs you want in the store. Also, to clear up any confusion – no, you don’t need roosters for hens to lay eggs.
Also, if you’ve ever dreamed of having a beautiful collection of eggs in different colors and tones (Think – green, blue, white, pink, brown, cream, and more!) now’s your chance! You can pick out different breeds that lay the egg color you prefer – though the eggs only change by looks, not by taste.
Chicken eggs are a powerhouse of nutrients – Vitamin D, iodine, phosphorus, and lots of other very healthy things – and studies show that chickens that you raise at home in healthy conditions will lay far more nutritious eggs than those raised on commercial factory farms.
Doesn’t it sound amazing to be able to go out to the coop and grab a freshly laid egg for your breakfast? And if you’re stuck at home for some time, you’ll still have fresh food!
2. Low-Maintenance
Seriously. Chickens are surprisingly easy to keep and don’t require much time to take care of. The most time-consuming part of keeping chickens is getting started. (Gathering supplies, building the coop, getting set up, researching – but even that isn’t too hard!)
On an average day, you could spend about 20 minutes taking care of the chickens if you wanted. You’d want to give them feed, fresh water, let them out of their coop in the morning, lock them up at night, and gather eggs. Of course, if you love your chickens like I do, you might find yourself reading books to them and having a chat over a cup of tea with them – but obviously, that’s not mandatory.
Cleaning the coop generally shouldn’t need to be done every day – depending on the size of the coop and amount of your chickens, it could be from once a week to several months – especially if you end up using the deep litter method.
Chickens are also extremely common right now, so it’s super easy to find supplies to raise them – you can even buy entire chicken coops, just make sure the coop is sturdy and good quality before buying!
Chickens are really simple to take care of, and raising them can be extremely satisfying.
3. Inexpensive
That’s right. Chickens aren’t expensive to raise at all. True, if you buy a vast, pre-built coop and luxury items for the flock, things are going to get a little pricy. But in general, keeping chickens can leave you happy and satisfied without ending up with an empty wallet.
Common chicken breeds can cost around $5 per chick at your local feed store, and feed, bedding, and other essentials often don’t cost much – depending on your area, you can easily buy them for less than $20. Even coops – when hand-built and made with recycled materials – can cost less than $100. Or even better, if you have a shed or old playhouse, you can EASILY convert it to the coop for little money.
So, to sum it up (No pun intended), raising these beautiful, egg-laying chickens probably isn’t going to leave you bankrupt – and they’ll be giving you free breakfast. It’s a win-win!
4. Reduce Waste
Think of it – when you’re cooking, you’re probably going to end up with scraps of food – and oftentimes, those scraps are going to end up in the trash.
Why waste something that would be happily enjoyed by your outdoor friends? The chickens! They’ll happily munch on scraps, leftovers, or food that isn’t spoiled – but might look bruised. Just remember not to give them food like pizza too often – that’s not great for their health.
But adding some kitchen scraps to their diet can give them some extra vitamins and nutrients, especially if they don’t free-range. Do make sure to review poisonous foods for chickens, so you don’t accidentally feed them something bad. But if you give them some yummy scraps, your chickens will thank you!
If you take up raising chickens, you’ll not only be having a flock full of fun antics and making you smile every time you see them, but they’ll be helping you reduce waste from the kitchen!
5. Fertilizer
Yep! Not only can you reduce waste by giving your chickens scraps, but if you garden, you can use your flock’s droppings to grow more food for your kitchen, and then those scraps can go to your flock! It’s a never-ending cycle!
Just remember that you shouldn’t put the manure on your plants immediately – you want to let it age first. Mixing it with leaves, straw bedding, and other green compost is a great way to ‘cook’ it.
And if you don’t garden, or you have too much manure for yourself to handle, many gardeners would be happy to take it off your hands!
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Photo Credit: Johnathan Cooper from Shutterstock
6. Pest Control
Many chickens are great at pest control. They love patrolling the area, searching for tasty bugs to grab, which is beneficial for all of us.
Some pests that they especially like are ticks, mosquitos, ants, slugs, and more! So, if you have anything like slugs ruining your garden, chickens just might be the way to go. They’ll be happy to take down some of those pests for you! Silkies and bantam breeds are especially known for their slug-hunting skills!
7. Sustainable Living
There’s something about being able to walk out to the coop, gather eggs from your very own flock that you’ve raised, and then use those eggs to provide a nourishing meal for yourself or others that is truly unique and rewarding.
The fact that you were able to raise those chicks and be able to provide some of your own food is eye-opening. What could you do next? If you live on enough land, chickens can be the gateway to goats, bees, ducks, and more. Or you could start to learn more about gardening so that you could grow more food. Or maybe raising your own little flock is enough, just knowing that you don’t depend completely on the grocery store for all of your food is really…uplifting.
Chickens can be used for more than just eggs, too. They can produce manure for the garden, and if you’re interested in raising your own meat, chickens are a starting point that many will begin with.
When it comes right down to it, being able to raise your own food, eggs, meat, or more, is a beautiful, wonderful thing to accomplish.
8. Education
Chickens are a great way to learn where your food comes from and learn more about the animals that you might encounter in everyday life, or the products from these animals that you commonly use.
If you have children, it’s also a great opportunity to teach them responsibility by letting them take part in the chicken-tending. Collecting eggs, refilling feeders, and more are all great ways for them to learn about caring for the world around them and to be dependable.
9 Pets
Nowadays, chickens as pets have been on a rise. And for some good reasons, too!
They’re easier to care for and less expensive than cats or dogs, and they’re the pet that makes breakfast – I say that’s a pretty neat combo! Chickens are the type of pet that seems to always make you smile and have funny little antics that often will leave you laughing. It’s also extremely peaceful to watch them, and many chickens will happily jump up into your lap for some snuggle time. Some breeds, like the Silkie, are particularly great for pets, with their soft, down-like feathers.
Chickens are also great for therapy and becoming more and more popular for this purpose. Chicken therapy has been found to be a great success for people with anxiety, depression, autism, and loneliness, giving people a sense of purpose, order, and self-worth. I personally have found great comfort in chickens and consider them my “emotional support animals.”
In my opinion, chickens make a wonderful choice for pets, and they have some great qualities that make them a great option, like the ease of caring for them and their bonus of laying eggs.
Lastly,
Chickens are great animals, they’re friendly, hardy, easy to care for, and are multi-purpose – whether you’re interested in keeping them as pets, livestock, or both, they’re a great choice to have around. There are many more reasons as to why to keep chickens, but these are my main reasons. So, do you think chickens are the right animals for you? If so, there are many resources for keeping chickens, like books, websites, and of course, here on BYC! Keeping chickens is not only fun and easy but extremely beneficial.
