Backyard Chickens: 4 Important Lessons (Watch before you buy)

Are you considering backyard chickens? I share 4 important lessons that I’ve learned over the past 3 years raising backyard chickens in the city. From fugitive free ranging chickens, to unexpected predators, and the real cost of a dozen eggs…I ask the question, are backyard chickens worth it?

In this episode, I introduce you to our black australorp chickens and our isa browns that play an essential role in our urban homestead. When they’re not wreaking havoc with the neighbours, these urban chickens are mowing our lawn and producing manure for organic compost that power our chemical free vegetable garden.

Follow my urban homestead journey! Subscribe to this channeI for more content about vegetable gardening, sustainable living and building self-sufficiency.

0:00 Intro: Raising Backyard Chickens in the City
0:37 My Backyard Chicken Breeds: Isa Browns & Black Australorp
1:30 Fencing and Free Ranging Backyard Chickens
2:17 Backyard Chicken Predators
3:41 DIY Chicken Coop For Holidays
4:16 Backyard Chickens 101: Coop Bedding and Chicken Feed
5:56 Are Backyard Chickens Worth It? Cost Breakdown For My Eggs
7:18 Integrating Backyard Chickens into an Urban Homestead Ecosystem
7:39 Outro

[ben.strong]

Thanks for watching! This is a brand new channel so if you enjoyed this vid I’d love it if you gave it a like and subscribed! ❤

[strictlyconservative]

Yes, we want to see how you integrate your chickens in your garden and your composting. No other channel talks about chickens escaping. That was surprising!

[gemmacorke]

Wow! That's a lot of chickens for one backyard. I only had two and they were great escape artists. They would jump the fence and chase the neighbours cat! Great vid, keep up the good work.🇦🇺🐓

[doubles]

Great content for such a new channel. You are as comfortable in front of the camera as a veteran YouTuber. My only complaint is there’s too many random video clips inserted into the video- but that’s just a personal pet peeve.

I don’t currently have chickens, but I keep a duck flock for eggs. I also raise rabbits and turkeys for meat. It’s not so much a cost-saver as it is just knowing where my food is coming from. Plus, the enjoyment and sense of purpose they bring to my life is great for my mental health.

A cost savings tip for feed (for any livestock)- sprouting. Organic whole grains are generally much cheaper than organic feed. With some sprouting jars, you can turn those grains into nutritious feed in three days. And all my critters love the sprouts. I still provide feed, both for convenience and to make sure all nutritional needs are met, but I buy a lot less feed since I began supplementing with sprouts.

[kellyramos]

You forgot to mention “chicken math” lol😂. I love having chickens at our house, it’s great to always have fresh eggs and they help tremendously in the garden and in the compost pile. Our kids also benefit from raising chickens, they have learned responsibility early on, again making sure the coop is closed at night to protect them against predators, we have also had to nurse some chickens back to health after minor injuries.

[curiouscat]

$6 - $7 bucks for pastured eggs in my city (central NC, USA) so I do save a bit of money on average year-round. I have 1/2 acre food forest with some woods, shrubs, berries, weeds and They don't even need any supplemental feed in summer except for some chemical free raw wheat I get cheap from a local farmer. Aside from cost I just like knowing that I have happy stress free organic eggs. I will never eat an industrial produced egg again - ugh! Enjoying your new channel - videography is great and your narrative is interesting and to the point!

[lyndonnelly]

Our chickens are expert tunnelers and very clever. We don't let them free range now but have a good sized pen for them and they get goodies most days. The egg yolks are more yellow the more greens the girls have access too. The deliciousness of the eggs is a definite benefit too

[danielingyuyoon]

amazing editing, content, and quality, i was surprised this channel only had 134 subscribers. welp, i'm subscribing!

[endtimeslips]

beside chicken the best plant friend is fish. watering your garden with your fish pond water give great impact if you growing leafy green. you can see your veggie leaf grow bigger and healthier

[AmirsAllotment]

A great and very informative video Ben! I have not got my backyard chickens yet, so I found this very useful 👍

[Wonderland_Homestead]

4 and a half bucks for a dozen eggs, but you can't go to the market to get the quality of life that chickens bring.

[farmstrong]

Love from Morocco! 🇲🇦 Great video love the time you put into these great job keep up the good work!

[Visarray]

Fantastic video! And very humorous as well 😂
Thanks for the advice!

[curiouscat]

I'm going to put that on a T-shirt - "Never underestimate the ability of a chicken to escape" lol. Love it. I've been finetuning my 1/2 acre urban garden and chicken systems for 7 yrs. I spend more time protecting the garden than growing itself. Chicks LOVE LOVE LOVE romaine lettuce and all things brassica. So I've got my veg garden fenced off ( 6 feet high people!) and just started a new system of small "paddocks" which is just 3 ft x 6 ft growing beds with wire cages that I can rotate once a week for the chooks to munch on. They do need their greens :) Subscribing!

[thefeatherbrain]

This video was a delight to watch! You have wonderful editing and production skills. Would love to see how you're using your chickens in your garden.

[alexaubort]

Great video! Can you please show how you integrate them into your garden 😊

[BlueZoneHome]

Ben and Maddy, we love your channel! I am also a design professional making videos about living off the land here in the states. We are at a similar stage; my first long video posted four weeks ago after building my subs from shorts. Keep posting the great videos. You’ll be the Beatles to our Beach Boys. Wishing you success! Love and blessings, Mary

[BlueberryStinkFinger]

Mine stay in their Run I live in Oklahoma coyotes.. Bobcats are here

[rainman]

For those who have a winter season with less daylight and cold temperatures - you won't get 300 eggs per chicken per year. Depending on where you live, you might get half to 3/4 of that. You can help them with heating lamps for temperature and light - but that's another cost. You also didn't include your labor in the cost. Twice a day to let them out & in, cleaning pens, chasing escapees, clipping wings, repairing your garden damage, etc. There's a lot of work and time that goes into raising chickens. Surely your time is worth something. People who raise chickens (or any animals or do homesteading) never include their labor cost. You're (at least) a part time farmer/rancher - that's a real job... with an associated cost. At least an opportunity cost - meaning, you could be doing something else around the homestead.

[etiennelouw]

I've been thinking about chickens or even rabbits, but my yard is much smaller than yours. By the way, Hi, from Cape Town, South Africa. I have subscribed.