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

[ibpboo]

Another thing that is so cool about chickens, is they put themselves away!!

I open the gate to let them out to play and eat and scratch around, and they put themselves to bed in the evening, and I just close the gate!!

 

[birdlover]

Many people say chickens are therapeutic - help them unwind and relax. I'm one of those!

 

[Pupsnpullets]

They're fun, easy and definitely therapeutic. However one of the other reasons I love them is that I'm interested in genetics and chickens are very quick to show you the results of different genetic combinations.

Oh, another reason, well not really reason - more of a by-product of chicken raising - is that fresh eggs are nearly always appreciated as a thank you gift.

 

[partimer]

They are an amazing animal. Hatching in the incubator and then watching them grow and become a part of the "little farm" . We've just begun, and interesting and sometimes exciting..They are Gods creatures. We love them all;;;

 

[islandchicken]

I am a wild bird rehabber here in the tropics, and have gotten almost all of my feral chickens as rehab birds. Several were orphans or had injuries; the first two were the offspring (we think) of a rooster that we nursed through fowl pox -- with help from "Wes, adopted by a chicken", right from here backyardchickens.com. That rooster -- "Slim Pickins", was the first chicken -- or bird for that matter -- that I ever worked with. I saw how intelligent he was. That really opened my eyes, and encouraged me to become trained to help other (non-domestic) birds.

 

[walterd]

Other: I have young children (7 & 10) and I think having BYC is a great way to have them experience first hand that food doesn't come from the grocery store, it comes from plants and animals that we are all dependent on. I'd like them to grow up knowing that we all have (either directly or indirectly) responsibility for the availability and quality of our food, and that it takes effort and hopefully a little compassion for us to have good and healthy food.

Because there is also such a difference in the eggs from BYC and the store I think it provides a lesson that there are tradeoffs in raising large scale commercial food in terms of quality (and grown/raised at home does NOT always mean better!). Being able to have them learn all this through hands-on involvement is the best possible experience!

 

[TAPOGrrl]

For the cats. They sit in front of the brooder (a clear plastic bin) and watch for hours and hours. We call it Chicken TV.

 

[emvickrey]

They are therapy for me. I enjoy them and their antics. Each of my birds has a personality of their own. I started with chickens for the eggs, then it got more personal. I discovered that their not just dumb chickens. They are actually individuals with individual personalities. At least mine are.

 

[silky ma]

Pop was raised on a farm and it is in my blood!!!!
I started with buff orps- etc but got hooked on Silkies!!!
Found out about 6 years ago I was Celiac sufferer, and a year or so later Neutropenic-( cannot keep a white count level).

Not only do my banties keep me in eggs to help me with my high need for protein but since I can no longer work they help to keep me entertained, give me one more reason to get up in the morning- early- and since my hubby and I are not able to have children I enjoy motherhood through mama silkies.

I did find out early in life that all store bought eggs make me sick. Regardless if they are organic.. My eggs are as clean as you can get them. My babies eat everything that we eat from the garden.

When it comes to a roo... a silky is easy to train! My boy knows that if we need to crow we got to go inside.- we dont have acreage yet.

 

[claud]

For my other besides the eggs, meat, and ease of care:

I love the science of embryology and have always been interested in oology.

The miraculous development of a living thing outside of it's mother is just awesome.