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

[Cathartica]

I want chickens to help me make use of kitchen scraps. Veggie tops and tails, apple and potato peelings, fish skins and bones, soft/rotten fruit. Makes more sense to me to feed to chickens and get eggs, than PAY to throw them in the garbage. And composting causes too many problems with the bears.

 

[Frindizzle]

Pets, Eggs, Meat, Fertilizer, Bug Control, and they are just AWESOME!

 

[chiklee]

The rooster is a wonderful watch dog.

 

[ChristieBuffOrp]

My kids, Buttercup, Gretta, Pinnelope, Bluebelle, Floppsy & Jake make my heart light & joyful !! Not to mention all the hard work bugging, producing the most delicious eggs and of course all their sorted antics !!

 

[cubalaya]

while I mainly have chickens for eggs and meat, I also have them for the sheer beauty of them foraging in the yard. or the satisfaction of breeding them and watching them grow. or watching as each generation gets better through the selections that i make. yes, I use the fertilizer (after composting) in my gardens. yes, they eat a lot of bugs. yes, they bring in money through eggs and sales of extras. while I consider them livestock, they are also pets and some of them will live out there whole life here. I like the tameness towards humans of the breeds that I keep(cubalayas, asils).

 

[threescompany]

Having chickens and learning how to raise them was on my bucket list.

 

[dorothy72]

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Got my first 10 chicks the end of.Jan. now I have 32!! In addition to the other reasons for having them I also find that they relieve my stress completely when I'm around them. What a joy!!!

 

[saulsberry]

I got chickens to stir up my compost for my ducks so they can eat the bugs/slugs/critters that nest in it. I can buy eggs anywhere I have several farms near me, but the eggs will be a bonus, when their older

 

[Tiller]

Eggs, they eat kitchen scraps, and most importantly my daughter wants them, and thinks they are the neatest little things

 

[Filipinojimmy]

I'm new to the group. I'm retired and live in the Philippines with my wife and youngest son. Currently we have 9 chickens for meat and eggs. The chickens are in an enclosure in a vacant lot beside our house in a gated subdivision. Our objective is to provide fresh eggs to a group of squatters living nearby with young children. We also provide meat on occasion. I am hoping to find ways to improve production. Cock fighting is a big "sport" here so finding feed sources isn't difficult. Two things we use to supplement regular grain a pelts are malungay leaves and gabi leaves. Both of these are vegetables we also enjoy.