why did you start keeping chickens

[Flfirecracker]

Its all food to my family. Eggs, Meat or Poop for the garden, we dont do meaties(cornish rocks) but will put a old hen to its full use . We do love our birds but they will never replace the family dogs as pets. Our chickens are utilitarian on my property and I try to teach my son the self reliance way of life nothing will go to waste. We never take more than we need and we give back when we can. I wish I had more folks that would keep the same frame of mind weather its with their farm animals or in thier hunting ethics.

 

[Gifa]

Ethical and Moral.

I don't agree with or trust corporate sources of food.

Cheap Eggs come from chickens that are raised cheaply:

• fed the cheapest (thus lowest quality) of feed.
• housed in facilities designed to maximize profits (thus do not provide a minimal quality of life for the chicken)
• treated as disposable (in that chickens are forced into unnatural laying conditions for a set period of time, burned out and processed and not handled with the greatest of care for the duration)

There are too many semantic and technical games played in marketing to be able to believe anything the packaging says these days. Free Range, Pastured, Organic, No-hormone, cage free... Who in the heck really knows what that all really means. It seems that every company describes their product by meeting the minimum technical criteria of these terms which are define by equally variable definitions. Is what I understand Free Range to mean the same as what they understand Free Range to mean? And how many of these words are intentionally "branded" into the company's brand name or schpiel to lure in customers who have a legitimate desire to do what they feel is right but which bears no actual resemblance to the actual practices being employed by the company. What does the word Fresh actually mean when I see it on this company's packaging? Is it just a word they use, or is it actually fresh? And what does this company define as fresh? 2 - 3 - 4 weeks old?

If an egg is 80% water... what kind of water do the hens who are laying the eggs you buy in the store for $2 a dozen have access to... is it clean? who knows.

So... I looked into it...

Can I buy good quality commercial feed? Yes.
Can I buy good quality ingredients to mix my own feed rations? Definitely.
Do I have suitable space on my small urban property to provide more than adequate living conditions for a small number of hens? Absolutely.
Is it legal in my town. Yes.
Are my neighbors ok with it... Surprisingly, more than I thought they would be.
Is my husband game? After 3 months of a local farm fresh source, and then having to go back to store-bought in the winter and noting the difference... he is now.


DONE DEAL

 

[Whittni]

I started to keep them for eggs - now I have them for show and rarely get an egg.

 

[pachickie]

I got my chickens for the eggs but have come to realize that they are way more than just egg makers
They are so funny to watch... sometimes a little challenging to deal with but fun to spoil!!!
So now they are like feathered children who I have come to find that they like treats just as much as real children! So I guess... Eggs and amusement would have to be my answer

 

[Izzymoon]

Eggs. My neice became an RD and she is all about organic everything, she wanted city chickens and somehow I ended up with chickens and she hasn't haha. I do love them though

 

[jimandscott]

i have always wanted a yard with cat sunning on the porch and chickens flapping and pecking about and children jumping off hay bails while i sit and watch the world go by. ........ i now have a little house with tiny garden,,, but 2 chickens and 2 grandchildren ,3 cats and fantastic fresh eggs, maybe i will retire to the small holding with a yard???

 

[Hunter Hilbig]

For my school i am in ffa and for like a project we had to do something like agriculturally so i decided to do chickens and now i have a prettty big flock

 

[ckneggfarmer]

We wanted eggs and thought it would be a good family project. Taking care of the chickens teaches our daughters responsibility and they have pets at the same time.

 

[ChickadeeRanch]

Well the want for pets was scarce in our family (in exception for a couple members of the family) But chickens fit perfectly - outside and they give back! with fertilizer and eggs! So glad we did! So funny and friendly!

 

[ladyalia]

Because I couldn't resist those fuzzy, chirpy, waddly little things in the watering trough! lol