Awesome Reasons Why You Should Raise a Chicken

by Melissa W. Content Writer

In recent years there has been an increased interest in raising chickens in more suburban and urban locales. It totally makes sense when you think about it.

Our present financial situation now has caused people to look for cheaper ways to feed their families and others want the convenience of getting their sources of food closer to their home.

Soaring interest in organic foods has also contributed to this trend.

Here are some reasons why you should bring some farm yard into your back yard.

1. Organic and Fresh Eggs

Raising your own chickens will ensure that your family has fresh eggs that are not just more delicious but fresh and healthier.

Home harvested-eggs are lower in cholesterol and higher in beta carotene, omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin E than what you can buy at the grocery store.

You may like to read: How Much Does It Cost To Produce A Dozen Eggs?

2. Very Affordable

Unlike a horse or other back yard animal, initial start-up cost of raising a chicken in your own backyard is very cheap and has great rewarding returns. You will just need to build or buy a chicken coup to make sure your pets are kept safe from predators such as dogs, coyotes, raccoons and foxes.

You also need to have proper feeding equipment. For a thorough and comprehensive guide you can visit https://www.fromscratchmag.com/raising-chickens-the-basics . When you're done investing on your own chicken coup it's relatively inexpensive to care for these new pets.

3. Pest Control

Chickens are omnivores and love to eat insects and tiny crawlies.

They will consume pests such as beetles, spiders, flies, earwigs, grasshoppers, snail, slugs, centipedes and weevils that maybe damaging your garden.

They are constantly hungry and they definitely aren’t a picky eater that makes them a good option if you want a pest-free backyard.

4. Free Fertilizer in Your Garden

Chicken manure contains a good amount of phosphorus and potassium that can help almost all plant varieties to flourish. Chicken manure compost is also high in nitrogen and has balanced nutrients that make it one of the best kinds of animal manure to use.

But high nitrogen will cause your young plants to quickly wither, so you have to make sure that the manure is properly composted to mellow the nitrogen and make it perfect for your garden.

Composting chicken manure is very simple. The first step is collect manure and bedding. You can use bedding such as sawdust, dry leaves and straw to provide a dry cushion for chickens and to control pests and odor. The coop bedding can be collected with the manure and put into a composting bin.

The next step in chicken manure composting is to make a suitable carbon to nitrogen ratio. 30 parts of Carbon to 1 part nitrogen makes an ideal environment of microbes to break down organic material to produce great compost.

Depending on the type of bedding used the carbon to nitrogen ratio may vary. Some composters follow the general rule of 1 part brown to 2 parts green.

But since the chicken manure is so high in nitrogen you may want to use a 1:1 or even 2:1 mixture. It usually takes six to nine months, for chicken manure compost to be done properly. The specific amount of time it takes for composting chicken manure will depend on the conditions in which is it composted.

If you are not certain how good your chicken manure has been composted, you should wait up to twelve months to use the chicken manure compost. After you chicken manure composting, it is now ready to use.

You can add it to your vegetable garden or flower bed by spreading it on the surface or by gently working it using either a shovel or a tiller into existing soil.

5. Low Maintenance

Unlike other pets, chickens don't need to be brushed, walked, or fed twice a day. Baby chicks like puppies require constant care and monitoring, so make sure to clear your schedule for the first two fortnights.

You can keep young chicks almost everywhere, thanks to their small size it makes them easy to manage. These young chicks grow quickly and you need extra attention during this period.

This is the time where you keep them warm, protected and well fed. Once they grow into a matured chicken, it's already pretty much easy to take care of them. They have the same needs as most any other pet.

On a daily basis you need to check water and clean or refill as needed. Chickens don't like to drink dirty water and a dehydrated chicken will most likely to get sick and die.

Feeding chickens is a very easy task. You can free feed with a hanging feeder and simply add chicken feed whenever necessary, or you may feed them with a certain amount each day.

Daily collecting of eggs is a must, this will make sure that they are clean as possible and you will also get to maximize its eggs freshness. For more information about taking your new pet, you can visit https://morninghomestead.com/chicken . or https://www.fromscratchmag.com/raising-chickens-the-basics