Official BYC Poll: Why Do You Have Chickens - Select All That Apply

I raise chickens for (you can choose more than one):

  • Pets

    Votes: 1,736 71.6%

  • Eggs

    Votes: 2,258 93.1%

  • Meat

    Votes: 640 26.4%

  • Fertilizer

    Votes: 924 38.1%

  • Bug Control

    Votes: 1,018 42.0%

  • More interesting and/or easy than other animals

    Votes: 642 26.5%

  • Other (please specify in reply comments)

    Votes: 257 10.6%

  • Showing & Exhibition

    Votes: 219 9.0%
  • Total voters
    2,426
Date sort Score sort
Nifty-Chicken

Nifty-Chicken

Administrator
BYC Staff
18 Years
Spirit Friend
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
Messages
45,947
Reaction score
56,057
Points
1,832
Location
California - SF East Bay
My Coop
My Coop
I was speaking with a reporter today and he asked why people raise chickens. I'm hoping with this poll that we can get an idea of the % of people that raise chickens for different purposes.

Please select all that apply!

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
My other was 4H showing also
smile.png
 
I also got the chickens for my dog as well. She's a Border Collie trained to herd sheep but she's gotten too old (eyes, ears, and back all degenerating) for safely herding sheep, so... . Also, I can blame some of it on my Dad and stepmother, who have had backyard chickens for a while.
The dog and I are both quite happy to watch the chickens for quite a while. However, I always have to go work on something; my dog thinks watching the chickens is her work and she loves every minute of it! She LOVES her chickens!!
smile.png
 
Last edited:
Therapy. For the short time I went without chickens my anxiety was worse than it ever was. They give me something to care for, something to hold with nice soft feathers to hide my face in when I can't look at the world, and something to watch which is so much more relaxing than anything else I can think of. I suppose most people have dogs and cats for that purpose, and I do have dogs, but in my case it's the birds that help me the most. That's in addition to the other things I marked on the poll, but for me the therapy is the biggest thing.
 
Last edited:
I love to cook...I love to garden...I love colorful birds...
Chickens are the perfect pet- they are beautiful to look at, relaxing and funny to watch, fun to feed and observe their antics. They add bountiful fertilizer to the garden, they add delicious eggs to the table, they are living garden art, they eat our kitchen scraps. What's not to love? OH- and they don't go on barking or meowing escapades at 2 in the morning.
 
Darn, I totally forgot showing/exhibition!! I knew I was forgetting a big one!

It has been added. I'll mentally allocate a few of the "others" to that category.
 

Similar threads

BYC Project Manager
  • Poll Poll
Official BYC Poll: How Do You Spoil Your Flock the Most?
Replies
9
Views
750
ParanoidAndroid
ParanoidAndroid
BYC Project Manager
    • Love
  • Poll Poll
Official BYC Poll: Do you allow your chickens outside in the snow, or keep them indoors?
4 5 6
Replies
56
Views
7K
NetherLeeFarm
NetherLeeFarm
BYC Project Manager
    • Like
    • Love
  • Poll Poll
Official BYC Poll: What’s the most challenging part of chicken keeping for you during winter?
7 8 9
Replies
86
Views
10K
BigBlueHen53
BigBlueHen53
BYC Project Manager
    • Like
  • Poll Poll
Official BYC Poll: How and When Do You Decide to Cull a Bird?
3 4 5
Replies
45
Views
8K
500Chickens
500Chickens
BYC Project Manager
  • Poll Poll
Official BYC Poll: What's your biggest challenge with keeping chickens during the fall season?
Replies
8
Views
2K
Pampered chicken girl
Pampered chicken girl

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom