Wanna source of omega 3s, protein, and free garden fertilizer in your own backyard?
You can get tastier, healthier eggs by keeping your own flock of cluckers. If you’re itchin’ to know more about backyard chickens, read on for the 411.
How to Raise Backyard Chickens
Why this Matters:
- Eggs from backyard chickens have 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids than store-bought eggs.
- You’ll decrease support for factory farms, where 95 % of egg-laying hens are kept in battery cages the size of an open paperback book.
- Buying low-quality, factory-farmed eggs from the store costs over $100 a year. Put that money to reducing the distance between farm and fork, and get adorable new pets in the process.
Did you know?
In the chicken capital of the world, Gainesville, Georgia, it is illegal to eat chicken with a fork.
On a Personal Note
Keeping backyard chickens is all the rage for all the logical reasons discussed in the video. However, there is something odd that happens… these pterodactyl-like birds somehow win your heart. You’ll see!
Ready to try?
- Make sure to watch the kick off episode from our Backyard Chicken Keeping series for a quick primer.
- Go to BackYardChickens.com for a complete overview of the urban chicken-keeping experience.
- Find out more about the sad truth of factory farming of chickens.
Our Fresh Pick:
Chicken Diapers?!
Laugh now, but you’ll be thinking about these later when you have a favorite chicken that wants to come inside and hang out.
A Deeper Dig:
Keep Chickens!, a book by Barbara Kilarski is an intro to chicken-tending for those who live in homes of all-sizes in cities or suburbs.
Great article!!
Entertaining and informative video! I love the idea of keeping my own chickens for farm fresh eggs. If only I had a backyard…
Yay for the word about chickens! Some of my old ladies are five years old and still (occasionally) laying, but they are such dear little ladies, and they love hatching the eggs the younger girls lay. They are so little trouble and so much fun, but maybe more important, they connect you to the things that matter. Animal husbandry, seasons, weather, caring for creatures that delight in your company and really don’t mean to poop so much… Little garden helpers (and destroyers), they alert and remind us to notice and delight in the rhythm of life. They bless me.
@Linda…. we couldn’t agree with you more! We just added 6 to the flock, and it’s so fun watching the big girls and little girls traipse all over the yard, exploring, “fertilizing” and being silly.
Just discovered your website when I was thinking about making a U-tube video on chickens. You are DELIGHTFUL! thanks…I’ll keep watching! 🙂