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

[denn1948]

I like the taste of chicken, and eggs every morning, my plants love the fert..

 

[marktoo]

Pets with benefits! As veggie gardeners, we just thought they would be a better fit & be more productive than other pets. Not sure what we're do when they stop laying & we have to refresh our little flock if we want eggs. Hear old hens make great soup.

Cross that bridge when we come to it I guess, only 3 of 4 are laying at 33 weeks, so we got lots of time.

 

[Shades of Blue]

I bought chickens for


Eggs
Meat

Now......I understand they meet those needs BUT most of all they are for therapy.

I have a patio chair at the barn and even on the most busy day when I know I don't have time to sit....I will sit down and just watch the girls and my rooster. Scratching.......pecking....cackling.....etc. I like to talk to them......and they seem to listen. I throw them a handful of scratch and listen to the roo call his girls. I talk to Pearl and ask her if she has laid an egg for me today. She caulks her head sideways and looks at me. Then Blue strolls by and we have a chat......lol. In only a few minutes I realize I have relaxed and that is worth more than anything. Now I think the reason for chickens has switched to....

Therapy
Eggs
Meat

 

[viqui baby]

Each ils individual spirit, beautiful to look up and each one of them has his or her own unique energy and life spirit dwelling temporarily within their feathered bodies.
Here are the ten reasons I raise them, the most important of which are the first and the last.


1. I love them

2. If I didn't, these particular birds wouldn't have a chance to live a nice cage free life and experience the natural order where the families team up and enjoy several different territories on my property.

3. The food cost is less than for my 167 pigeons, and they lay eggs, and its really something to watch them grow up over the generations.

4. They're really cool the way they have their own pecking orders.( I let my neighbors eat the perverts that rape hens too young to breed.)

5. The unwary ones keep the monitor lizards fed, that live on my property. I leave a lone a couple of snakes who go aftrer rats firs, which are the worst enemies of my chicks where I live. The snakes and lizards eat the rats and eradicate them first> Then and only then do they require the sacrifice some chicks once a week to keep " Lord Shiva's snake gods" alive so when new rat populations from the warehouse next door don't come here into my yard and set up camp again. I actually like rats and pity them, but can't allow another rat infestation that eat so many more chicks than the snakes and big lizards in the habitat for life I've created and replenish, within my quarter acre garden of Eden.
6. They are nice to hear crowing at dawn. Supposedly the sound of birds makes the plants grow better but I don't know if I believe that.
7. Their manure is gold for the garden.

8. They are special to me and they never lie cheat or betray me like my own species is prone to do.

9. They are brave and the roosters are like brave soldiers who I have seen die to protect the flock, and when necessary, all the roosters that generally spar against each other will unite against an outside threat, dying for their familial flock, like brave soldiers deserving of medals of honor..

10 And I love them.

 

[kkcummins]

My other reason for having chickens is entertainment and also to fix my numerous panic attacks. I can go out to the hen house and sit down on the floor and talk to my birds and pretty soon I'm smiling and laughing. They are hilarious to watch and fun to talk to in their language. I have a BSL that I can carry on entire conversations with. She's quite the yakker. Bawk!

 

[minmin1258]

I raise them as a lesson to my grandchildren and other children I take care of. Children these days think food only comes from grocery stores, they don't realize that foods come from farms and farm raised animals. It's a good lesson in responsibility for them also. Of course they are the best cure for "lady bugs" that seem to infest West Virginia!

 

[sheetmetaltom]

everything except showing. plus I found that when I sit with them and read the paper on sunday morning, they jump into the other
chairs to hang out. makes my children laugh.

 

[Penny Hen]

My other reason for having chickens is entertainment and also to fix my numerous panic attacks. I can go out to the hen house and sit down on the floor and talk to my birds and pretty soon I'm smiling and laughing. They are hilarious to watch and fun to talk to in their language. I have a BSL that I can carry on entire conversations with. She's quite the yakker. Bawk!

I have found that they are exceptional for calming my anxiety attacks too! More so than even any other animal that I have ever owned. Fuzzy animals are nice to cuddle in the winter but in the heat when I am stressed it just makes me hotter and more stressed. The heat that imminates from chickens is dry and warm and doesn't trigger a sweating response in me. Their energy is quiet when they are relaxed. I find it soothing.

 

[frog30117]

Keeping chickens is something I always wanted to do. Farm life, to me, provides a more satisfying and secure way of life. I enjoy watching my birds; it is a huge stress relief for me. I also enjoy hatching new birds, excitedly waiting to see what the new bird will look like once (I like to mix my bird and duck breeds) hatched, and how it will grow. The hobby has grown on me since I have begun doing it, and I've begun selling the babies to help pay for the feed. Being able to have pets that pay for themselves is a great advantage!

 

[btguy]

i have seen the conditions many commercial egg and meat producers keep their chickens in and i dont want to contribute to that and i also dont want to give up eggs and chicken... so i am raising my own. if i ever get enough land to do it i intend to expand a little and raise a few turkey too. for now i will just go hunting for my turkey.