Raising your own chickens is a fun and rewarding endeavor. Not only are laying hens full of personality and a great source of entertainment, but they also come with a handful of health and environmental benefits. Chickens are a natural solution to pest problems, food waste and can even reduce your carbon footprint.
From greater nutrition to saving money, here are ten reasons we are raising backyard chickens this year.
1. Fresh Eggs
The most obvious benefit of keeping chickens is fresh eggs every morning. The flavor is more robust and the yolks will change in color based on what you feed your chickens every season! Freshly-laid free-range eggs are not only delicious, but they are also much more nutritious than storebought caged varieties. Fresh eggs have twice the amount of Omega-3 Fatty Acids as their storebought counterparts, seven times more beta-carotene and 50% more folic acid.
2. Pest Control
Chickens love bugs. A flock of backyard chickens can play an essential role in naturally managing pests in your yard. They are much safer than applying insecticides and access to free food will cut down on your feed costs. Chickens will eat slugs, ticks, flies, termites and scorpions.
3. Food Waste
Chickens will eat just about everything, eliminating the need to throw away leftover food. While there are some products that you should avoid feeding to your flocks, like caffeine and alcohol, most fresh fruits and vegetables are a great option. Feeding your chickens nutritious food not only reduces your carbon footprint, but it also improves the nutrition content of their eggs.
4. Self-Reliance
Getting chickens might be the first step in growing more of your own food. Not only is providing food for yourself and family a delicious and gratifying venture; it also is a step towards finding ways to subsist without visiting a grocery store. Producing your own food can help you realize the value of supporting your own nutritional needs.
5. Cruelty-Free
Egg factories are pretty unpleasant places. Not only are birds kept in terrible conditions, but the nutritional content of their eggs diminishes significantly. Hundreds of thousands of these birds can be stuck in a small facility, increasing the use of antibiotics. Raising your own chickens ensures that these animals live a happy and healthy life. With the freedom to roam and lots of insects to eat, free-ranging chickens are free from the cruelty of the factories.
6. Save Money
Chickens are not an expensive investment. While there are upfront costs associated with setting up your chicken coop, such as a shade structure, nesting boxes and fencing, these are negligible compared to the value you will get out of your flock. In terms of quality, you would pay much more for eggs at the grocery store to get the same quality level as your own flock.
7. Carbon Footprint
Animal products in an industrialized food system carry a heavy footprint. Not only are the chicken factories where most eggs come from extremely detrimental to the animal and the environment, but they also impact the health of workers in the facility. Transportation costs are high, and most eggs sit in the grocery store for weeks. Gathering farm fresh eggs in the morning is a simple solution to a complicated problem.
