Raising Chickens

Our chickens give us more than enough eggs each day for our family. They also provide manure for the compost piles and garden.

Reasons to Raise Chickens

When we started to raise chickens, we had only one main reason: Cacklefruit! We wanted the eggs, and not just any eggs, we could more easily get those at the grocery store. We wanted the healthiest eggs--we wanted complete control over the quality of the eggs we eat. Since we began our small flock, we have discovered other reasons for having our feathered friends.

Raising backyard chickens may not be for everyone, but almost anyone can do it. If you have had a dog or a cat for a pet, you have experienced the time and effort requirements for keeping chickens. A small flock can be cared for in just a few minutes a day--about the amount of time it takes to walk your dog or change the cat litter box. There is a lot to learn, but soon the return on you investment of time and effort will become obvious.

Chickens recycle yard and food wastes. If you are concerned about our land-fills, chickens are just the partners to consider. They turn our kitchen scraps into high nitrogen fertilizer for our garden. When mixed with leaves, grass clippings, and garden cuttings, their manure helps to make a-number-one compost for the garden.

Chickens love to eat those protein-rich bugs, slugs, and snails. When they do, the yolks of their eggs become more nutritious and healthy for us! They also eat many kinds of weeds and other plants. You can't turn them loose in your vegetable patch -- they like veggies, too. Although once your harvest is done, they do a pretty good job cleaning up the debris and/or turning the soil with all of that scratching they do. In other words, they can work that layer of mulch or compost into the garden bed helping you get it ready for the next planting.

Chickens are also good for your attitude--they are fun to watch! Their antics can lift your spirits.

Several years ago, we started raising chickens for meat.

Ready, Set, Go!

We had been raising pigeons, and we tried eating some of the eggs. We prefer chicken eggs. We got rid of the pigeons and converted the pigeon coop into a chicken coop. We went to the feed store and bought a dozen each of Rhode Island Red and Buff Orpington chicks guaranteed to be mostly pullets (females). Actually, they were guaranteed to be no more than about 13% males, and that was spot on. We had three cockerels (males) in the bunch. We started reading up not only on laying hens and their care, but also on when would be the best time to harvest (butcher) our cockerels and how to go about it. There are several good videos on the internet showing how to do it. We watched these and gave it a try. it was not as difficult as we had imagined.