If I could only pick one animal to have on my homestead, it would be chickens. Hands down, no contest! I know I am not alone in my thinking, I recently read a study that claims chickens are kept in every major city in the United States! In the last 3 years, an estimated 15,000 baby chicks were shipped to New York City alone. Imagine, If that many chickens are kept is such a busy city what can the rest of us accomplish? Why the sudden chicken craze you might ask? Eggs, meat, fertile soil, and companionship. Chickens really have it all!
 
Eggs!
The most obvious and productive reason to keep chickens is of course EGGS! With a beautiful deep orange yolk, amazing flavor, and with more Vitamin A, D and Omega 3 fatty acids than store-bought eggs, how can you go wrong! Nothing is more nutritious per calorie than an egg. An egg has all of the nutrients to make a complete chicken. Eggs also contain small amounts of almost every vitamin and mineral required by the human body… including calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, manganese, Vitamin E, Folate, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B2, Vitamin A, Vitamin B5, and Selenium. Is it any wonder why chickens are so popular?
Meat!
Chicken is one of the most versatile meats for cooking. Many people process their 3 or 4-year-old hens who have slowed down on egg laying. I find butchering animals that have lived on my farm for years hard, but knowing that the chicken on your plate lived a healthy happy chicken life and now is feeding your family makes it all worth it. I don’t usually process my laying hens because I have a serious dislike for feathers, feathers are messy and drive me crazy. If I am going to process chickens it had better be a large amount to make it worth the mess. We occasionally raise broiler chickens which are bred to grow fast and quickly for meat, we usually process them at 10-12 weeks. Our Broilers take a bit longer than commercial Broilers because we partially free range them and that slows down their growth but is healthier for the birds and cheaper for us in feed costs.
Chicken Waste!
I have mentioned it before, but I like the chicken poop! Yes, that’s right the # 2 reason to love chickens is their poop! My garden owes it’s beautiful fertility to my chickens. We use the deep litter method in the chicken house. The deep litter method essentially means we only clean out the chicken house two times a year, in the spring and in the fall. That doesn’t mean it is dirty or smelly, quite the opposite in fact. Approximately every 2 weeks (or as needed) we put down new pine shavings, just enough to cover the mess. In the spring we empty the coop, our raspberries get a generous pile of mulch to keep the weeds down and fertilize for new growth. What is left goes on the compost pile. Every fall after we harvest the garden, we take the chicken waste that has been building up all summer and dig into our raised beds. This breaks down while the garden sleeps under a blanket of snow. In the spring the soil is beautiful and ready for planting.
Child-friendly!
Chickens are a fabulous family project.Chickens are one of the best starter animals for young children, they are hardy and independent but can be trained to come when you call them or feed them. Children love gathering the eggs, it’s one of the chores that my kids truly enjoy doing. Children are more than capable of performing the simple chores needed to care for chickens on a daily basis. If you have older kids try some of your county agricultural clubs, 4-H and FFA are wonderful organizations for kids to learn more about caring for animals. Another idea is for children to start a home-based business with chickens, selling eggs at the farmers market or raising chicks and selling them to people as pullets (female chickens that will start to lay eggs soon). Earning money and caring for animals gives children a sense of responsibility and accomplishment that can benefit them and the whole family.
