10 Benefits Of Raising Chickens On Your Homestead
10 wonderful benefits of raising chickens and the positive impact having your own flock can make for all chicken owners.
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Benefits of raising chickens:
1. Fresh eggs
The obvious benefit of raising your own chickens is all of the healthy eggs you will get. With such uncertain times right now if you fall on hard times you can rely on your own flock of chickens to provide the best eggs for you and your family. Chickens are a great food source but they have many amazing benefits besides their delicious eggs.
2. Profitable
Chickens can be profitable in the summer when egg production is at its peak you will more than likely have excess eggs. This is a great way for your backyard chickens to make you some money. Based on the size of your flock and how may excess eggs you have will determine how profitable this will be for you. Of course you’re not running factory farms or industrial farms with your backyard flock so don’t expect to make a substantial income from selling extra eggs. This is a great way to get rid of excess eggs and your community, friends, and neighbors will love it since they won’t have to go to the grocery store for eggs.
3. Space
Chickens do not require much space. They just need a chicken coop or any backyard chicken keepers will work. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Allot for about 3 square feet of space per chicken in a coop and about 8 – 10 square feet of outdoor space per chicken. If are worried if you will have enough space for chickens you can easily get started with a small flock.
4. Chicken manure
One of the great benefits of raising chickens is all of the chicken manure. Even if you let your chickens free range you can collect the manure from their roosting place. There are many added benefits to utilizing chicken manure especially if you know the value of good compost.
5. Compost
Added benefits of keeping chickens is you will have manure for your compost pile. Once you have your chicken poop added to the compost heap, chickens will do the majority of the work for you. They will scratch and turn the compost pile. With chickens you don’t ever have to worry about not having enough compost for your vegetable garden or the health of your garden.
6. Decrease in bug population
Chickens love bugs! They are the absolute best way to naturally decrease your bug population. Chickens can even help add health benefits for you by eating ticks. Ticks are so dangerous for humans as well as other animals and livestock. So this added benefit of disease control from ticks is great! If you don’t plan on raising free range chickens you can supplement the bugs they would naturally eat.
7. Low maintenance
If you are looking for a family pet that serves a purpose chickens can make great pets. They require little daily care besides opening and shutting the coop door, feeding, and watering. This can be a great easy job for young children or older kids.
8. Easy to care for
Chickens are one of the easiest backyard animals to care for. They are pretty self sufficient. They take dust baths which helps prevent lice and mites all while removing excess oil from their feathers.
9. Inexpensive
One of the best benefits of raising chickens is they are fairly inexpensive to raise especially if you plan on letting them free range. Of course there are additional cost if you don’t plan on feeding them scraps and letting them free range. You will have to supplement with feed and this can get a little pricy. Especially if you choose organic feed. Feed cost are increasing daily (the day that I’m writing this). If you don’t free range, ensuring you have happier hens can get a little pricey based on what you decide to feed them.
10. Great starters
If you are looking for a relatively easy animal to get started with so you can start raising your own food I highly recommend chickens. When just starting out I recommend starting with laying hens that are about 6-8 months old and have just started laying. This way you don’t have to worry about raising and caring for baby chicks you can jump straight into collecting eggs. Chicks require a heat lamp and more daily chores than adult chickens do. So if you are new to chickens I recommend starting with chickens that already lay eggs.
FAQ: Benefits of raising chickens
How often do you collect eggs?
Chicken eggs need to be checked for a minimum of once a day. During summer when it is extremely hot or winter when it is extremely cold it is best to check a minimum of twice a day.
How to store chicken eggs?
Chicken eggs can be stored at room temperature for about two weeks as long as you do not wash them after collecting. If you wash the eggs you will be washing away the bloom (a protein film) that protects the egg. If you wash the bloom off you must refrigerate your eggs.
Can you have chickens if you live in the city?
When we lived at our old house we were in suburban areas and were still able to have chickens. We had to build a chicken coop and run for them to go in because they weren’t able to free range. If you are in an urban environment always check with your local laws, city ordinances, and local ordinances before getting any chickens.
What do you feed chickens?
We love giving our chickens kitchen scraps or any food scraps. This helps cut kitchen waste to essentially nothing. There are various types of chicken feed. It depends on what you are looking to feed your chickens. They are relatively low maintenance and if you own acreage I recommend letting them free range. Chickens help tremendously with the bug population. Based on what you feed your chicken you will get a different flavor and coloring to your egg. If you have free-ranging chickens they will be very dark yolks and rich in flavor. This is because the chickens eat grasses and clovers and they contain carotenoids. Carotenoids are pigments in the plant that darkens the yolk color. This results in a better egg quality and makes nutritious eggs.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.
