I must admit, of all my animals, my chickens are my favorites. It truly is a thing of joy to watch them running around in the grass, chasing bugs, scratching for treasures, dusting in the dirt, and then come racing toward me when they hear me yell “Here, Chickies!!” to let them know I’ve got some kitchen table discards for them. This love goes way back as far as I can remember…back to when my sister and I used to dress up our chickens in doll clothes (poor things!). Yes, I’ve always loved my feathered friends.

 

But besides giving me the pleasure of their company, chickens contribute in other important ways.

Delicious, home-grown, free-ranged eggs. Raising a diverse flock means eggs of every shape, color, and size. White, cream, brown, speckled, blue, green, big, small…daily treasures pulled from the nest boxes and carefully transferred to my refrigerator. Such a simple thing and yet beautiful knowing exactly where that egg came from and how it was grown. In the most clean, natural, and loved way possible. I take darn good care of my chickens- it’s nice knowing that when I eat their eggs, that I’m eating quite likely the best egg I can have.

According to a recent article done by Mother Earth News (one of my most favorite sites/magazines out there!), free-range chicken eggs in comparison to commercial eggs have:

Not only are chicken eggs useful for tasty eating, their shells also provide many uses. Yes! They do! Don’t throw them away- here are some uses instead:

Manure

 

Yes, in my opinion, manure is an asset. I just love cleaning out the coop and dumping the heaps of nitrogen-rich future compost into the mulch pile. You do need to be sure to allow the manure to fully compost as adding it directly to your garden could burn or even kill your plants. But if allowed to compost completely (6 months to a year on average), you can spread it in your garden, work it in my hand, hoe, or tiller, and watch it work its magic!#3
Babies!

All it takes is a rooster, a hen, and either a broody hen to set on the eggs or an incubator. 21 short days later, and you could be hatching your own baby chicks! This is a thrilling experience that I never tire of, no matter how many batches of chicks we hatch out. To watch life evolve in such a short time and to see the natural motherly instincts of the hen take over…simply awesome. In this way, you can grow or turn over your flock as you wish.

#4
Meat

Yes, this one is about as common a reason for raising chickens as eggs. Homegrown chicken is a far superior alternative to the stuff they sell in the stores. Growing up, we butchered our chickens every two years and it is quite the process- from the beheading to the boiling and plucking to the gutting and processing…it’s work. Stinky, hot, feathers-stuck-to-everything work. I always said that when I grew up, I would not butcher my chickens. Let’s just say that didn’t last long.

#5
Low-Maintenance, Affordable Pets

When it comes to pets, we must always consider expense. The good news is that chickens- especially if allowed to free range- are affordable (both to buy and to raise) and require minimum maintenance. Baby chicks will generally cost $3-$5 each to purchase. By using egg shells in place of your oyster shells, you need only buy their primary feed (Starter for baby chicks, Grower from approx 12-20 weeks of age, and Layer for 20 weeks+) and the occasional Scratch Feed (optional, think of it as dessert). My chickens get minimal scratch feed because they are free range chickens- and they “scratch feed” all day! 😉

Chickens are also easy to tame (especially when handled from the time they are chicks), friendly, and can easily take care of your table scraps which might otherwise find their way into the trash. Anything that I cannot compost (meat, dairy, processed foods) goes straight out the door to the chickens.

Additionally, these handy pets do their part to keep pesky bugs and ticks at bay, can weed and control the pests in your garden, and fertilize while they’re at it. Can you say as much for your dog or cat? I didn’t think so!

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