Raising chickens is a growing trend, and many people are choosing to raise their own chickens for eggs. Chickens can be a great addition to your backyard. They are fun to watch, provide healthy eggs and meat, and they are relatively easy to care for. But why chicken? Why not keep a cow or goat? Or even a few goats?
Below are the 6 reasons to keep chickens.
1. Keep Chicken For The Environment
They’re good for the environment. Raising chickens will keep your family from having to buy eggs from grocery stores, which reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by automobiles transporting products from one location to another. It also reduces waste by eliminating egg cartons that would otherwise end up in landfills once they’ve been discarded after use.
2. Fresh Eggs When You Keep Chickens
Fresh eggs are a great way to start the day. They’re packed with nutrients and they taste great, but many people don’t have access to fresh eggs in the winter months. If you keep chickens, you can enjoy fresh eggs 365 days a year.
Fresh Eggs for Breakfast
Eat your eggs for breakfast! The yolk contains most of an egg’s fat, which is essential to good health. The yolk also contains vitamins A and D, folate, iron, and zinc — all important nutrients for good health.
If you buy fresh eggs from the store, look for ones that have been laid within the past two days — older eggs will be less nutritious and can even be harmful if eaten raw.
Eggs laid by free-range hens offer the best nutritional profile because they are higher in omega-3 fatty acids than any other type of egg.
3. When You Keep Chickens They Help the Garden
When you keep chickens they help the garden. Chickens are great for getting rid of bugs in your garden. They love to eat bugs and insects, but they also like to eat plants. If you have a garden that is veggie or fruit-based, then having chickens will be beneficial for you because they will eat all of the bugs and insects that might be eating your plants.
Chickens are also great for fertilizing your garden. When chickens defecate on a lawn or garden bed, it provides nutrients to the soil and helps promote growth. So if you have a lush green lawn or garden bed, then it is likely that your chickens have played a role in keeping it that way.
4. Chickens Are Very Low Maintenance
Chickens are very low-maintenance pets, and they are easy to take care of. If you have the space and the time, you can raise your own chickens. You will need to make sure that their coop is kept clean and that they have access to water, food, and shelter from the elements.
Chickens are social animals and will enjoy being around people. If you want to interact with them more often, you will need to train them not to scratch or peck at your skin when they’re around humans.
Chickens can be trained to walk on a leash and even ride in a car! They do require some training for this, but it’s worth it for all the pictures you’ll be able to post on social media once they’ve mastered riding in a car or walking on a leash.
If you choose to keep roosters (males), they will crow loudly in the morning as well as during other times throughout the day. This might be an issue if you live in an apartment complex or near someone else who doesn’t appreciate crowing roosters waking them up early in the morning!
5. Keep Chickens to Teach Your Kids
One of the best ways to teach your kids about responsibility is by giving them a pet. Pets, by their very nature, need care and attention from their owners, and this helps teach kids about responsibility. While you could get a dog or cat for this purpose, chickens are probably the best option. Chickens are relatively easy to care for and require less time than other pets do.
Chickens are also inexpensive and require little space, making them a great choice for parents who want to teach their children about responsibility.
If you’re not sure whether you should get chickens for your family, here are three reasons why they make good pets:
1. They’re easy to take care of
2. They’re inexpensive
3. They can be raised as food sources
6. Chickens Require Less Space
Chickens are great pets for people who live in apartments or small homes. They don’t require a lot of space, but they do need room to roam around outdoors — at least once a day — and enough room indoors to stretch their legs and take dust baths.
If you don’t have much outdoor space, you can get smaller breeds such as Leghorns or Rhode Island Reds that only grow to about 4 pounds. If you have more space, you might want to consider getting Bantams (which weigh less than 3 pounds) or Silkies (which weigh less than 2 pounds).
Final Thoughts on Whether to Keep Chickens
If you already have (or plan to get) chickens, it’s a great idea to make sure they have plenty of space to move around in, and you can even do little things like putting the roost a little lower in the winter or provide nesting boxes closer to the ground. But when it comes down to it, whether or not you start keeping chickens largely depends on your own circumstances and personal interests. There’s no right answer for everyone. What is most important is that you keep your chickens safe, healthy, happy, and well-fed.
