5 Best Reasons to Raise Backyard Chickens

Posted on October 10, 2009
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There are many reasons why people raise backyard chickens including for eggs, meat, as pets and to show. Here are our five favorite reasons to raise chickens.

Reason #1 – Eggs!

Who doesn’t love eggs? Have them boiled, scrambled or sunny side up. Admit it, pets that live comfortably inside your houses don’t give you anything more than barks, meows, purrs, and sometimes a chirp. Fish can be eaten, but who would want to eat Goldie? None of these domesticated animals produce something edible. Well, chickens, on the other hand, have lots of benefits. One of the many benefits of chickens is laying delicious eggs.

You can eat fresh eggs right from the source. Eggs taken from chickens minutes or hours ago are more tasty and nutritious than those purchased in the grocery store. You’ll notice the texture and color of store bought eggs is much different than that of the fresh ones.

Reason #2 – Low Maintenance Pets

Unlike dogs that need combing and brushing everyday to keep their fur alive and shiny, chickens doesn’t need such soulful treatment. All you have to do is provide them their daily needs like food and water and they will entertain you in return. They are friendly, engaging and amusing to watch. You will have to clean their coop at least twice a month and change the beddings too, but that is a small price to pay in terms of time and money.

Reason # 3 – Chickens love leftovers.
A chicken’s appetite is incredible. They can eat almost everything, even their own kind! You can now say bye-bye to those unwanted leftovers left to rot in your fridge. Plus, you can save on chicken feed. But be very careful what you give or it may be their last supper. Tone down on the onions and garlic. Also, make sure the food is still edible. If you can’t eat it, don’t feed it to your chickens.

Reason #4 – Source of natural fertilizers

Chickens love to freely walk around. Chickens also love to peck on anything they see that can be considered as food. And what is food to them? Possibly anything that’s organic. If you let your chickens roam around your space, you’ll find out how reliable they can be. They eat pests living in your backyard – grubs, beetles, insects, earwigs, and anything that comes close.

After the digestion has set its due, they will transform what they’ve eaten into poop. But this is not just any kind of poop but a treasure called natural fertilizer. And you know what natural fertilizers do right? They keep the soil healthy for plants to grow. Cool.

Reason #5 – Grass and weed clippers

Got that right. Now you can save on mowing your own lawn by getting yourself chickens! For chickens, grasses, weeds, and leaves are treats. It’s like a lifetime dessert offering. It’s like having a cow in your own backyard. They will dig through whatever it is without even complaining about the hard work. Chickens will clip it then clean it all at the same time.

With all these reasons, why bother getting yourself a dog or a cat? No offense but they can’t even water the plants nor lay eggs for breakfast. All they do is prove to their masters that they are their best friends. With chickens, you can have a best friend, a lawn mower, a supplier of organic fertilizer and an egg producer all in one.