Why Raise Backyard Chickens?
I’ve written many posts touching on the benefits of backyard chickens but not a true “Why Raise Backyard Chickens.”
Food Source
For us, first and foremost, it’s for a food source. With the uncertainty of the economy, having a food source is important. Six chickens produce about 2 ½ to 3 dozen eggs a week, which is plenty for our family. We usually give a dozen away each week. However, if we needed to, we could make these go a long way between using them as a protein source in salads, making bread, and of course breakfast. Last night, I made fried rice.
We got our girls for egg-laying, however, Some of our girls are dual-purpose chickens, which means we could eat them if necessary. If things, got really bad, we would get a rooster and hatch out more chickens.
But that’s not the only reason to raise backyard chickens.
Teaching Kids Responsibility
Teaching our kids responsibility in caring for animals is equally important. Chickens, in my opinion, are easier to care for than dogs and require a little more than a cat. Depending on how you set up your feeders and waterers, they could go a couple of days without you having to intervene.
We also wanted to teach our children about sustainability, raising our own food, and living simpler. Chickens are a good start.
Garbage disposal
I hate throwing food out. Chickens are omnivores and can eat just about anything so this eases my guilt. But as a rule of thumb, don’t give them anything moldy or anything you wouldn’t eat. They will pick through what they like and will leave things that are not good for them.
Fertilizer
Chicken poop makes excellent fertilizer. Being high in nitrogen, it does need a “cooling off” period of 3-6 months. Ours goes in the compost pile and in October, it’s moved into a trash can where it sits until we’re ready to plant our garden. Since it’s combined with mulch and pine shaving, we use it around the plants and not tiled into the soil.
Pest Control
Chickens eat various pests, like mice, rodents, and bugs. I’ve seen them gulp down a small snake in one swallow and watched them chase squirrels away. Chickens aren’t much help with the mosquitos but with everything else they do, I can deal with that.
Good Pets
Amazingly, they make great pets. Every day when we get home, they come out to greet us. Chickens are very social creatures and enjoy being around people. Now, they don’t really like to be held too much but they do like their people. It’s believed they can recognize a hundred different faces.
Therapy
A lot of people think chickens should be certified therapy animals. If I’m stressed, I’ll go outside, sit in the garden, and chill out with the chickens. It’s amazing how relaxing it is. They check on me, tell me about their day, then jump down and scratch around. Then, if they find a worm or bug, the chase is on. Quite entertaining.
It took the Bearded Rooster three years to talk me into chickens. They’ve been the perfect addition to our homestead. Last year, we added bees and they are just as cool. Next on our list, Highland cattle.
If you are thinking about getting backyard chickens, be sure and check out my other blog posts on baby chicks and coop and runs.
