Here are a few things that are better in my life because of raising chickens. In no particular order, my life has improved in the following areas:
- I no longer just mow the lawn. Now I harvest fresh green grass clippings to feed to the chickens who really enjoy the salad bar. Although I have 3 riding lawn mowers, with baggers, I now take out my small 16 inch battery operated push Ryobi lawn mower and harvest grass clippings one bagful at a time. Not the whole lawn (I have 3 acres), but just enough to fill the small bagger and give fresh clipping to the hens. Not only do I harvest fresh clippings, but I get a nice little workout for about 15 minutes.
- Shredding junk mail is no longer a chore as I now think about how I am making fresh paper litter for the chickens which I throw into the coop and let the chickens work it into wood chip litter.
- Picking up sticks and branches in the yard used to be a back breaking chore, but now I run those sticks and branches through my wood chipper and throw the wood chips into the coop for litter. The chickens will eat some of the greens if there are any in the wood chips. The coop smells like fresh cut wood. So instead of having to clean up the yard from fallen branches and sticks before I mow, I now harvest free bedding material for the girls.
- I hate to throw out old bread, but with just the wife and me, one loaf of bread only gets half used before it no longer tastes fresh to us. I used to just throw it out in the yard for the wild birds, but now I take a slice or two of the bread and hand feed it to my girls. They love the bread and everyday they become just a bit more friendly towards me (if I have food for them). So, the old bread is not only a treat for the chickens, but it helps the chickens not to be afraid of me and they are eating out of my hand.
- Kitchen scraps used to go into the garbage can, bagged up, brought out to the garage, and then hauled out to the dump about once a week. Now, more and more of those scraps are first offered the chickens. What they don't eat gets thrown into a compost bin. I feel much better about not hauling as much garbage out to the dump and learning new ways to recycle food scraps.
- I know I should exercise more, but really, who has the time? Instead, I just spent 2 weeks building a mobile chicken coop, in the heat of the summer, all by myself, and dropped 5 pounds in the process. Climbing up and down ladders, hauling wood, shingles, etc... has made me use some muscles that I have not worked out for quite a while. I am just a bit less heavy and in better shape thanks to my chickens.
Well, those are some of the things that have improved in my life, or at least in my outlook towards chores I had to do anyway, thanks to raising chickens.
- I no longer just mow the lawn. Now I harvest fresh green grass clippings to feed to the chickens who really enjoy the salad bar. Although I have 3 riding lawn mowers, with baggers, I now take out my small 16 inch battery operated push Ryobi lawn mower and harvest grass clippings one bagful at a time. Not the whole lawn (I have 3 acres), but just enough to fill the small bagger and give fresh clipping to the hens. Not only do I harvest fresh clippings, but I get a nice little workout for about 15 minutes.
- Shredding junk mail is no longer a chore as I now think about how I am making fresh paper litter for the chickens which I throw into the coop and let the chickens work it into wood chip litter.
- Picking up sticks and branches in the yard used to be a back breaking chore, but now I run those sticks and branches through my wood chipper and throw the wood chips into the coop for litter. The chickens will eat some of the greens if there are any in the wood chips. The coop smells like fresh cut wood. So instead of having to clean up the yard from fallen branches and sticks before I mow, I now harvest free bedding material for the girls.
- I hate to throw out old bread, but with just the wife and me, one loaf of bread only gets half used before it no longer tastes fresh to us. I used to just throw it out in the yard for the wild birds, but now I take a slice or two of the bread and hand feed it to my girls. They love the bread and everyday they become just a bit more friendly towards me (if I have food for them). So, the old bread is not only a treat for the chickens, but it helps the chickens not to be afraid of me and they are eating out of my hand.
- Kitchen scraps used to go into the garbage can, bagged up, brought out to the garage, and then hauled out to the dump about once a week. Now, more and more of those scraps are first offered the chickens. What they don't eat gets thrown into a compost bin. I feel much better about not hauling as much garbage out to the dump and learning new ways to recycle food scraps.
- I know I should exercise more, but really, who has the time? Instead, I just spent 2 weeks building a mobile chicken coop, in the heat of the summer, all by myself, and dropped 5 pounds in the process. Climbing up and down ladders, hauling wood, shingles, etc... has made me use some muscles that I have not worked out for quite a while. I am just a bit less heavy and in better shape thanks to my chickens.
Well, those are some of the things that have improved in my life, or at least in my outlook towards chores I had to do anyway, thanks to raising chickens.
