We have had chickens on our farm for almost 5 years. The longer we have them the more amazing we realize they truly are. Below are 7 reasons why every farm or homestead needs to have chickens.
Chickens are a relatively inexpensive investment. You can go to most any farm supply store and pick up some chicks for $1 or $2. With a 50lb bag of feed and some feeders and waters you can have a dozen chickens and enough supplies to get them to egg laying age for around $6 a chicken total investment.
Chickens make a great activity for younger children. We have three young children and the chickens are their responsibility. Our kids feed, water, and collect the eggs from them. It is a wonderful way to teach them responsibility and because the investment is very low, if things go terribly wrong you are not out a bunch of money.
Chickens convert all of our leftovers into delicious eggs. We feed our chickens all our table scraps from bread to old fruit. They love it all.
Chickens are amusing to watch. If you have ever just sat down on your front porch and watched chickens you will be amazed at how entertaining they truly are.
Chickens keep the bug population in check. If you let your chickens roam your yard, you will quickly notice that there are not as many bugs around. Chickens are amazing bug hunters.
Chicken eggs are great for bartering. We trade eggs for fruit and vegetables, we have even traded eggs for work on the farm before. You never know what an egg might get you!
Chicken eggs are easy to sell. Almost everyone uses eggs in one way or another. People will want to buy your eggs, if they are cage free, free range, no hormones, non GMO fed, ect… and to be honest, I think local farm raised eggs even taste better. I might be biased though.
I hope this will encourage anyone who has been thinking about chickens to make the leap and get some amazing chickens of your very own.