How Backyard Chickens Changed Our Lives For The Better

Our decision whether or not to have backyard chickens wasn’t easy. It’s a commitment and it takes hard work to be a successful backyard chicken keeper. The only thing we thought of when we were thinking about starting a flock in our backyard was just to get fresh eggs, nothing else. We didn’t even think of other backyard chickens benefits they provide.

My oh my, how these little feathered dinosaurs have changed our lives.

Why the heck do we want backyard chickens in the first place?

1. We wanted fresh eggs, simple as that. I heard that fresh eggs tasted better and were curious to find out if it was true. The only way to find out was to have backyard chickens. There are no fresher eggs than collecting your own eggs right outside your home.
2. I heard and saw horrible stories about how hens are commercially kept for eggs; cruel practices, battery cages, etc. We wanted to be the change. So we wanted to be one less household to buy commercial eggs.
3. We lived in a town where backyard chickens were allowed but we didn’t take advantage even though we thought about it.  When we moved away from that town to a city home (where backyard chickens are not allowed), we regretted the decision of having backyard chickens. We felt that we were missing out on great benefits that backyard chickens have to offer. Fortunately, we moved back! And that decision was easily made without a doubt.

The danger of having backyard chickens

1. Oh boy, who would know that having backyard chickens would be so dangerous! We started naming our chickens and named them like they were our pets. Even worse than that, we started chatting with them like they understood whatever we had to say. We’d gone crazy!

2. Initially, we had 4 chickens which we bought from a family-owned organic farm nearby. We rescued a couple more chickens and now have 6. We even thought about starting our own farm, quitting our jobs, and living off the grid. Have we gone too far?

3. You have new friends coming to visit your home every now and then. We got to know our uninvited friends like snakes, raccoons, and possums. They came to eat our yummy eggs and our pet chickens. YIKES!

4. Raising backyard chickens comes with endless tasks. First, from getting/building a coop to weekly coop cleaning. Taking care of your new feathered dinosaur pets is a serious commitment.

5. Be prepared to search for a local avian veterinarian in case of an emergency as well as learning about the common chicken diseases. Knowing how to prevent and cure them is a must.

The real benefits of having backyard chickens

1. You get fresh eggs every single day! We agree that fresh eggs taste so much better than store-bought eggs. Not to mention that the egg yolk is almost orange in color! If you’ve been buying free-range and/or organic eggs, having backyard chicken can save you money.

2. The work that comes with having backyard chickens is real and endless from collecting eggs daily to weekly/monthly coop cleaning. Because of them, we’ve learned new skills and done incredible things that we could never think we could do. We built our coop from scratch and applied that knowledge to fix our own home.

3. Raising backyard chickens helped us understand the true cost of living. They’ve turned us into living a more self-sufficient and fulfilling lifestyle. Having them led us to become suburban homesteaders. Not only will homesteading save us money but it’ll also lead us to live a simpler life.

4. We get so many eggs from just 6 hens. That led us to learn to eat less meat and save money on groceries.

5. We wanted pastured organic eggs, so we raise our ladies organically. With that in mind, we started to garden organically and started to eat organically as well (so that we can give our kitchen scraps to them). Because of our feathered dinosaur friends, we practice no-chemical usage in our yard and on our land.

6. They give us perfect natural organic fertilizer. We use it on our fruit trees, shrubs, and flowers which helps us save money.

7. It’s entertaining to watch them scratching around our backyard. They also help us flip compost piles. Chickens are ground birds. They have strong and sturdy feet that are meant for digging and scratching in search of food. At the end of gardening seasons, we let our ladies graze on our raised beds. They till the soil and this activity will turn leaf litter and dead plants into the soil while providing an easy aeration solution. Watching them forage is also quite entertaining.

8. When you produce your own foods, eggs in this case, you appreciate and value your food more than ever. You realize that it takes hard work, energy, and resources to get food on a table. It’s not as simple as going to a store and buying it outright.

9. Raising backyard chickens has taught our kid where foods actually come from. It’s the experience and educational value we can’t get in school.

10. There are a number of ways that having backyard chickens can be environmentally beneficial. They are omnivores and are perfect for controlling insects in your yard.

11. They keep us active and busy. Raising backyard chickens is no joke. From feeding to cleaning, it takes time and effort to get things done. However, there are rewards that go with it. We exercise more and we shop less. By spending time in your yard taking care of your chickens, we spend less money on shopping and outing. The most important is we really enjoy the lifestyle we adopted.

We just wanted fresh eggs and no more. Unexpectedly, keeping backyard chickens had changed our lives from a typical dual income family who ate out once a week and always bought our produce from a supermarket to an urban homesteader who produces their own foods and rarely eats out. The most important change was that backyard chickens changed our mindset about life in general. We value our food and know the true value of life.

While these great benefits of having backyard chickens may not be for everyone, it has changed our lives for the better. Best of all, our family values the time we spend together and the food we produce. We learned new skills and improved our house and land. You can be healthier, happier and live a simpler life.

Do you have backyard chickens?

What are the top benefits you’re getting from them? 

Are you considering having backyard chickens?

Have you been thinking of getting some chicks? 

If backyard chickens are allowed in your town, what are things that stop you to have them?