Thursday, June 12, 2014

Raising Backyard Chickens

Will chickens change your life? To quote:
Ludlow, who is also co-author of such backyard-chicken-themed books as “Raising Chickens for Dummies” and “Building Chicken Coops for Dummies,” says people are increasingly interested in becoming more self-sufficient, and that chickens are easier to raise than cows, pigs and even large gardens. You can have a handful of egg-laying hens in a relatively small yard without drastically changing your lifestyle, he says.
There’s also increasing preference for eggs from chickens that were raised humanely, Ludlow says. When you collect eggs from your backyard flock, you know exactly how they were treated, fed and cared for, he explains.

A third element driving the backyard chicken trend, says Ludlow, is growing awareness of how fun and easy it actually is to do. “[Chickens are] a multipurpose pet,” he says. “They eat bugs and weeds in your yard, generate fantastic fertilizer and [even] make you breakfast.” (Read more.)
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3 comments:

The North Coast said...

Many cities are now permitting SF home owners to keep chickens in their back yards, and Chicago is one of them. Some friends of mine here in Chicago now raise chickens in their backyard and are enjoying the fresh eggs, as part of a larger movement to develop local food production.

We're hoping to get the city to allow goats next.

elena maria vidal said...

I would love to have a goat!

Proverbs Thirty One Woman said...

Chickens as pets?...Only if you are willing to keep them into their old age. Far too many new chicken owners don't want to keep their hens when they stop laying well (usually after 2 - 3 yrs.) and are giving them away to others who butcher them. If they are pets, keep them as pets. If they are a food source, stop being a hypocrite and learn to deal with the less pleasant, but realistic side of raising chickens. Ok, off my soap box now. :)