Having Fresh Eggs Isn’t the Only Advantage to Keeping Chickens

Free-range chickens. — It seems keeping chickens is becoming very popular. (Image: Elena Elisseeva via Dreamstime)

It seems that keeping chickens is becoming very popular. Quite a few of our friends have chickens, and they supply them with fresh eggs. But having fresh eggs is just one of the great reasons for keeping chickens in the backyard. Here are a few more.

Some of the advantages of keeping chickens

Children learn responsibility and the source of eggs

Instead of your children thinking everything comes from the supermarket, they will learn that chickens lay the eggs they eat. This will give them a sense of responsibility as they help out with feeding the chickens and collecting the eggs. It will also be exciting for them when they see the chickens laying their eggs. It may also encourage them to grow their own fruits and vegetables.

Keeping chickens will give children a sense of responsibility as they help out with feeding the chickens and collecting the eggs. — Chickens will give children a sense of responsibility as they help out with feeding the chickens and collecting the eggs. (Image: Boggy via Dreamstime)

Chickens are low maintenance

Once you set up your chicken coop and establish a flock, caring for chickens is minimal. You may only need 10 minutes a day to make sure they have plenty of food and water, throwing out scraps for them to snack on and checking for eggs.

Chickens eat bugs

You won’t have to use harmful pesticides to keep your garden clear of bugs, as the chickens will eat them. They love pecking around for bugs, and searching through the grass and rocks; it keeps them entertained. Chickens eat scorpions, grasshoppers, ticks, termites, caterpillars, worms, slugs, fly eggs and pupae, beetles, weevils, spiders, centipedes, and snails, among others.

Chicken poop makes great fertilizer

Chicken poop is high in nitrogen, and also contains good amounts of potassium and phosphorus, making it the best manure to use. However, the high amount of nitrogen is dangerous for your vegetables and could burn or kill them. To make it useful in your garden, you need to compost your chicken manure.

A chicken with its head cocked. — Chickens all have different personalities and quirky behaviors. (Image: Lukasbeno via Dreamtime)

Entertainment

When I was at a kid’s party recently, there were chickens there, which all the kids were very entertained by. They all have different personalities and quirky behaviors. There are many different types of breeds, a number of which are quite pretty.

To learn more about keeping chickens, check out this guide.

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Wilma Oakes

When Wilma isn't eating delicious food, she's scouring the internet, and dreaming of what yummy foods she can make next. One of her dreams would be to eat her way through Italy and Japan, and also see the sights of course. Another passion she has is natural health. When she was young her mother was sick for years. When the doctors finally worked out what was wrong they put her on medication, but it wasn't making her any better. Her parents turned to natural health and changed their health and their lives. Wilma has been researching about natural health since she was 12 and is currently studying nutritional medicine. The most important thing in her life is her two beautiful children and husband. They are blessed with a girl and boy and are living the tropical lifestyle in sunny Queensland, Australia. In her opinion the best state in Australia.

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