On average, Americans eat around 279 eggs a year. That is a huge amount! And almost all these eggs are from industrial chicken farms, not backyard chickens.
This might be because most Americans do not realize the many benefits of raising chickens, not to mention how easy they can be to keep.
But chickens are also smelly, need everyday care, and can often get into fights. They do not call it a pecking order for no reason. So, is chicken raising worth it?
Read on to discover the benefits of raising flock to decide for yourself.
Backyard Chickens Lay Eggs You Can Eat
This is the main benefit of backyard chickens, of course! Even if you keep only one chicken, you could enjoy at least four free-range, organic eggs per week.
People who care about sustainability can lower their carbon footprint by eating their own eggs. You are also able to avoid factory farms.
Plus, eggs are a fantastic source of protein and are delicious.
Chickens Can Clean and Weed Your Yard
When you have chickens, you can put away your gardening gloves and your lawnmower. Let your chickens eat your weeds, graze your grass, and eat your bugs and rotting fruit.
To take full advantage of this benefit, you could invest in a chicken coop on wheels like this chicken tractor to cover more ground. There would be no need for insecticide or weed killer, either!
In fact, these chemicals will poison your chickens so you should stop using them when you get backyard chickens.
Chickens Make Great Learning Pets for Kids
Worried your city-living kids will grow up not appreciating where their food comes from? Or not understanding the value of hard work and caring for another being?
Owning your own small chicken farm could be the perfect solution.
Your kids will be able to collect eggs, clean the coop, and watch the chickens go about their business. Chickens are also cleverer and have more personality than you might think, so they make ideal pets.
Chickens Are Less Work Than Other Animals
Backyard farms can be a lot of work if you have goats or pigs. They create a lot of mess and need large pens.
But backyard chickens? In comparison, they need much less space and much less food and water. As long as you keep on top of the small amount of mess, there is not much else you need to do.
Backyard Chickens Eat Your Food Waste
You might know that chickens eat special chicken feed to aid digestion. But did you know that chickens are omnivores and eat a variety of produce?
You can give them vegetable scraps, seeds, cereal, nuts, rice as well as some small chunks of meat—not chicken meat, though!
Start Raising Backyard Chickens Today
Raising backyard chickens is not easy, but as you can see there are many benefits. You will need to weigh up the pros and cons to decide if it is right for you. But if you have the resources and space, there will be little harm in giving backyard chicken farming a try!
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