Reasons to Raise Chickens
Table of Contents
Reasons to Raise Chickens
Chickens make great pets!
One of the reasons to raise chickens is that they have personality galore, and for the most part they’re very easy to care for. They’re bright, funny, quirky, friendly, loving little balls of feathers-and they’re entertaining, also. When you have a flock, you’ll find they have their own friends, their own cliques, their own favorite nest. Chickens come in such an array of colors, patterns, shapes, and sizes that some of them look more like exotic tropical birds-or even alien life-forms-than farm animals.
The personalities can vary a great deal. Many are so docile they will sit on the owners shoulders and feed from their hands while on the other end of the spectrum some will hardly let you pick them up or even pet them. The breeds make all the difference in the world.
Many breeds are just great for backyard pets! We wrote an article titled Top Ten Chicken Breeds for Backyards. If you are planning on raising chickens, this article covers some chickens that would make good pets as well as good layers. Folks love their chickens so much they even buy clothing for them! chicken saddles, etc!
Keeping chickens is a lifestyle choice.
You can keep chickens if you want to try to live in a more sustainable way. All the homesteaders I have known own chickens and it helps fulfill a positive, back-to-the-farm way of living that’s about becoming more sustainable and self sufficient. Many of the homesteaders are very extreme in their way of life and many of us are not adapted for this style of living but can still enjoy the sustainable, fresh eggs we get when we raise our own chickens. It’s also a way to celebrate local, slow food, and reestablish a constructive connection with your neighbors and your neighborhood.
Raising chickens allows you to have more control over the type of food you put on your table. You want organic? You want non-GMO? You want cruelty-free? These choices are all yours to make when raising your own chickens.
Chickens Eat Table Scraps
This is on of my favorite reasons to raise chickens. Chickens will eat your table scraps and convert them into eggs and fertilizer. If you grow vegetables or flowers, you’ll find that composted chicken manure is great for your home garden, adding organic matter and nutrients to the soil. Plus, chicken manure from layers tends to be relatively high in calcium, which is helpful for plants, warding off blossom-end rot on tomatoes. I have found chicken manure to be among the best fertilizer I have ever used on tomatoes!
Your table scraps can help you with the feed bill also if you have much leftovers. Always be sure to only feed the scraps that are safe for your chickens though. There is an article titled, Feeding your Chickens Table Scraps you might want to read.
Insect and Bug Control
This alone is a reason to raise chickens! Chickens will cut down on the number of insects in your yard. Anywhere chickens are allowed to forage, they’ll snap up spiders, ticks, beetles, grubs, worms, grasshoppers, and more. They love to dig through lawn clippings and yard waste, too. They will scratch and forage the entire yard and will leave no leaf unturned! Chickens and Guinea’s are some of the most efficient natural bug control on this planet! You not only get fresh eggs but eliminate bugs and ticks also!
The eggs from hens raised with access to your backyard will be tastier and more nutritious! Research shows they’re not only higher in omega-3s, beta-carotene, and vitamins A, D, and E, but they’re lower in cholesterol and saturated fat.
They taste better, too. It’s something you can see: All that extra nutrition gives backyard eggs a dark orange yolk-not the pale yellow color you see in store-bought eggs.
You’ll be eating really fresh eggs—sometimes just minutes old-as opposed to the eggs you get in a grocery store , which can be 6 weeks old or more.
Teach Children Wholesome Values
You’ll be giving your children positive values when you raise chickens. Just as with other pets, keeping chickens can help kids learn about responsibility. But because chickens give back in such a tangible way-eggs!-your kids can also learn about reciprocity and how the care they provide impacts their pets directly. Once they taste the fresh eggs, they’ll also come to learn that store-bought isn’t always better. Some things are worth doing yourself. Children are fast learners and if you get them interested early, it can impact their whole life! Learning how to survive is a great lesson!
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Control of you Flock
Another of the good reasons to raise chickens is that you’ll have control over how humanely your wonderful egg producers are treated—and how healthy and clean their environment is. Many chicken farms are over crowded and the chickens are treated for what they are caged for, simply a food chain. They never have any interaction with anyone. The food is done automatically and the eggs are pretty much gathered the same way! Raising chickens allows you to pamper and feed your flock the way you want to. You know what they have ate and how they have been raised!
Chickens are so one of the easier farm animals to care for. No walking, no pooper scooper, no grooming, no boarding when you go away; they won’t scratch up your furniture or chew your favorite slippers, etc. You can purchase automatic waterer, automatic chicken feeder and doors! All of this can be installed in such a way that if you need to be gone for a few days it does not create a burden for others to take care of them 24/7!
Another reason to raise chickens is to ensure your food is not contaminated with preservatives you are not familiar with. Many of our chickens in the USA are being sent to China for reprocessing and then frozen and sent back to us here for consumption. How safe can this be? Read the articles:
- ” Chicken From USA Reprocessed In China “
- ” Chicken Processed in China Triggers U.S. Food Safety Protests “
- ” Chicken From China? Your Seafood Is Already Being Processed There “
These are only three of many articles on this subject matter. The preserving process alone will just about make you sick to read it. Just another good reason to raise your own foods if you can.
There are many farms around out country and outlying areas of cities where good fresh eggs and meat can be purchased from local, small farms or growers. Check around and I bet you will be surprised how many fresh foods you can find in your area alone.
We hope you have enjoyed this article on raising chickens and we look forward to your input. What are your reasons to raise chickens?
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