A homestead without chickens is like a horse without a saddle. OK maybe that’s not a good analogue, but will have to do for now. Your homestead whether it be in the city or suburbs will be more fun and fulling if you have a small flock of chickens. Oh and don’t forget mention the great tasting eggs…they taste nothing like the store bought eggs.
There are some really great side benefits to raising chickens.
- Fertilizer
- Meat for the table
- Fresh eggs
- Compost materiel
- Income
If you are going to raise chickens one of the first steps is to plan and build a chicken Coop. The main thing I learned about building a hen house is that you really do need a set of plans and good step by step directions. The only place it trust to send folks is HowToBuildAChickenCoopIn3Days.com… You will find the directions easy to follow and the verity of different styles and sizes will fill your needs. Go take a look and let me know what you think.
In the fertilizer department chickens are worth their weight in gold. If you use movable pens or what is called tractor coops, they dig, scratch, eat bugs and really help the overall health of the area where they are foraging. Of course they are fertilizing as they go. Each day you move there movable pen to a new spot and they do their job all over. If you move them to your garden in the early spring they will eat the new sprouting weed and other undesirable new growth. Of course fertilizing at the same time.
If you have never tasted chickens that are truly raised as free rang chicken you are in for really big and pleasant surprise. The meat is not even close to what you get at the box stores. No comparison…end of story. There are several reasons for the difference. One it is the foraging that they do. This adds protein (bug, worms etc..) and the greens that they eat. By letting them forage as they would in the wild you will lower their feed bill considerable and your food bill too.
The eggs are as different as night and day. The same reasons that the meat taste so much better applies to the eggs. The cholesterol content of eggs raised as free range is much lower for the bad and much higher for the good. Once you have tasted your own eggs you will be hooked!
One thing we homesteaders never have enough off is compost material. You have lots of wood chips in the floor of the coop which is combined with the chicken manure. Just take this and mix it in with some grass clippings or what ever else you have in compost pile and wala..the best compost ever. Of course the time they spend in the garden just adds to the soil there.
If your homesteading a few extra dollars that comes in as cash is a great asset. Now with a small operation your not going to make a lot of money, however if it helps pay the feed bill that’s a big plus. You can price your eggs at a premium because of the quality and taste. You will having folks begging for more eggs. It is a supply and demand thing.
Don’t forget to check out the the plans and instructions at
Get started with your to do list. This is a great time of year to get a few chickens whether you live in the city or not. Most city allow you to raise chickens…maybe not rosters; their a bit noise. See on the West Forty..