10 Things to Know Before Owning Chickens 🐓

[oldschool]

Two best things about your neighbor having chickens:
- an economical source of eggs
- not having to mess with chickens

[CurtisDrew]

Still have my favorite pet hen buried next to my wife's flower bed in a mahogany casket. Ethel was a sweetheart. So many stories. She was a dark Brahma.

[cmwHisArtist]

We had to buy a minimum of 6 at Tractor Supply. At 3 weeks old, I knew one was a rooster because he had an attitude. He crows every morning at 4:30.

[LuminousMindGames]

"Buying chickens isn't going to save you any money on eggs..." and yet we ate chicken eggs before we had money...

[jeanninegodwin]

Composted chicken manure creates the greenest, most beautiful lawns! My Dad always used chicken manure as long as it was available. After the 1980's we had a difficult time finding chicken manure for sale at the local nurseries and garden stores.

[nicoledeloncrais]

Chicken poop is fantastic for the garden. And if you are kind, loving and respectful most of my hens are still laying after 5 years. I have the garden gals( my older girls) and my hip hop hens(the young and fun ones). They are separate to help reduce the sass and attitude.

[kelleyleblanc]

I still have 2 girls that are 5 1/2 years and they still lay me 5 eggs a week with fall off. They are spoiled pets!

[its.avalove]

I got chickens today!!! Little chicks! They are so sooo cute!

[jeffreytaylor]

I've nursed gravely injured chickens back to health. I've had to put some down. I've had to clean-up messes left by hawks and coyotes. I've fought escape artists and raccoons and opossums.She's right - EVERYTHING wants to eat chickens. If you're not prepared to deal with the reality of that and all it entails, don't get chickens. But they really are amazing livestock. If you let them forage, they'll eat pest insects like ticks and mosquitos. They'll fertilize your lawn (and your porch). And in my experience, they do better with a rooster so you need to deal with the noises from that. And if you know how to make it, chicken tea fertilizer is the best fertilizer you can get.

And for anyone wondering, a chicken's maximum lifespan is around 9 years. Their egg production starts dropping by about 10% per year after age 2. So that means, they should lay eggs their entire life. If you have a prolific layer, they can still produce well up until they die of old age. I have Rhode Island Reds, Easter Eggers and Cinnamon Queens. The Rhode Island Reds are easily the best layers. I once had 9 eggs one day from 6 reds. Reds are poor flyers. My Cinnamon Queens and Easter Eggers are hard to keep in the coop. So if you're looking for the best egg layers that are easy to contain, get reds.

[intangible]

The pasta, beans, rice, corn, and oats I feed my chickens costs me about $20 a month. How is that not cheaper than eggs?

[lionessofel]

The initial investment to get started is a lot, but over time it does pay off, I disagree concerning what you said about eggs. Farm-raised chicken eggs are ten times healthier and safer than store-bought eggs, the price of eggs are going up and soon enough getting eggs in the store is going to be hard to come by. Having your own chickens means you have a secure food source. Also if you do not store your extra eggs by water glassing, you can sell them.

[Dragon-wlic]

I've got 3 chickens who are 3 years old. They don't lay eggs anymore, but nevertheless enjoy their lives as free running chickens on 1 hectar of land and loads of snacks. Oh and yes, I named them!! Love my girls!

[turkeyminer]

We have a brown americana that got attacked by a dog. She was absolutely mangled and bloodied. She couldn't lift her head for a few days, and didn't stand for several weeks. But now she's up and running around and has been laying well for the last year.

[-a-s-a-s-]

You can absolutely save money on eggs if you do it right and don't be dumb and do stuff like purchase expensive feed.

[papajeff]

My grandparents had chickens. None were named. No petting or cuddling occurred. The culls were separated from the laying hens, kept in a barn stall. Sunday dinner was fried chicken. As the oldest boy, I was taught to catch two culls and bring them to Grandma. She killed them, plucked them and we ate them for Sunday dinner. It was never an issue. It was how we lived.

[samjam]

I don’t know why any one does this I’m 12 I have 15 chickens and every day I go to a restaurant that is vary close and I take a bucket and get their scraps which means my eggs are free and I also sell eggs and make a lot of money and my chickens free rang

[thegentlemenrat]

You gain this with chickens
An amazing and quirky pet you never knew could happen

[adamvigil]

Buying chickens does save you money on eggs if you do it right.

[nuggetella]

Further, breeds like the Isa browns are superior layer's while rarely broody.

[bonesrhodes]

#11 : if you regularly put them on your shoulder, you'll regularly have chicken squat down your back