Reasons To Keep Chickens

My husband and I decided last year in March to try our hand at homesteading. There are many young people out there who have decided to buy a piece of property and start harnessing their electricity and food from the sun, invest in composting toilets, and leave the cities behind for good. We wanted to get back to our roots and try to live as sustainably as we could.
One way we thought we could achieve this was to try raising livestock. I had great expectations of going out to the barn in the morning and getting fresh milk for my coffee from a cow or goat but after talking to a few of my neighbors and my hesitant husband we decided on chickens instead. We took the plunge and became the happy owners of six Old English Games. We went with this breed because they have been around for thousands of years which makes them resilient to disease. They are great mother's to their babies and good food foragers.

Here are a few of the reasons why we went with chickens:

1) They are a great beginner choice to make for newbies like my husband and I.
2) Their needs are easily met in both shelter and food.
3) During my days I am constantly working on my garden. One of the first jobs of getting a new garden patch ready is to till the soil which can be a chore. Luckily I have my little feathered friends to do it for me. They get penned into the area I need tilled so they don't wander off and get hurt.
4) Chickens not only till the soil for you but they also are a good pest control. They eat grubs, slugs and snails with glee.
5) Another good reason to keep chickens is they are good food recyclers. Anything that I don't compost I generally give to the chickens. I stay away from giving them chicken leftovers though as it doesn't seem right somehow.
6) Each morning I wake up to farm fresh eggs that my lovely chickens provide for me. I love my soft boiled egg with homemade bread and locally made jam. Yum!

And last but not least one of my favorite times of the day is when I let the chickens out to exercise and in turn they keep me company all day long. They are great companions!

Click here to follow Mary, her chickens, and how to build the chicken coop of your dreams!