When most people think about keeping animals, they focus primarily on traditional and popular pet animals like dogs and cats. That’s even a practical attitude for city dwellers with limited space or non-existent yards. If you live in a more rural area and own a little bit of land, though, you enjoy more options in terms of the animals you can keep.
Have you ever considered raising chickens as an option. Hang in there for a little longer. It turns out there are some benefits you might not have thought about.
Keep reading for five of the key benefits you get from raising chickens.
1. Fresh Eggs!
It’s the rare home that doesn’t keep at least one carton of eggs in the fridge. They’re great for baking and make a good breakfast food. It turns out that those free-range eggs from your backyard chickens are typically healthier than the ones you get from the store.
They usually show higher vitamin and mineral content, along with lower cholesterol content.
2. Fewer Insects
On the list of reasons to get chickens, dealing with fewer insects ranks high for a lot of people. Like many birds, chickens consider the insect kingdom just another source of food. They’ll eat everything from spiders and mosquitoes to ticks.
Who doesn’t want fewer mosquitoes and ticks?
3. Low Maintenance
Even if you view them primarily as pets, chickens are very low maintenance relative to most other pets. Taking care of chickens mostly consists of providing them water and food a few times a week. You can even go healthy there with gluten free chicken feed.
Beyond that, you switch out their bedding once or twice a month. Chicken care does not include walking them on a daily basis.
4. Entertainment
Chickens are surprisingly curious and playful. You can get a lot of entertainment out of just watching them doing their chicken thing in your yard. If you want to take it up a notch, you can even find chicken toys that you can throw out into the yard for them to play with.
As a bonus, many chicken breeds prove very friendly.
5. Fertilizer
Chicken droppings contain a high level of nitrogen. Do you know what the main ingredient in most fertilizers is? Yep, it’s nitrogen.
You should compost the dung first to eliminate any disease-causing organisms that it might contain. After that, though, it makes a great additive for flower beds or even a garden.
Raising Chickens and You
Raising chickens isn’t a great fit for everyone. You do need some space for them to roam around in and a coop where they can sleep and shelter. If you do decide to raise chickens, though, it comes with benefits.
You get those fresh eggs for meals and baking. They’ll cull a lot of the local insect population. Plus, you get the entertainment value of watching them interact with their environment.
They can even provide you with some potent fertilizer.
Looking for more pet or animal tips or advice? Check out the posts in our Lifestyle section.
