Why You Should Raise Backyard Chickens For Eggs
When you crack open eggs from the store, and an egg you got from a chicken farmer, or in your own backyard, the difference is amazing.
Hands-down, backyard, or homegrown eggs always come out with a much darker yolk than store-bought.
Even if you buy specialty eggs from a grocery store, backyard chicken eggs still contain much more nutritional value than store-bought. Read more about free-range chicken eggs here.
When I first considered the idea of raising my own chickens, I really wasn't sure it was worth it. I knew I wanted to start the journey, but it seemed like such an insurmountable task and yes, it took us about 6 months to really get things going.
Plus, I had to do it on a budget, or it just wasn't going to happen. But, we took the chicken leap about 2 years ago, and now, the efforts have paid off with fresh eggs daily.
Believe me, there have been times as a special needs mom, I thought, there is no way I can fit raising chickens in too! Running up and down the road to doctor's appointments and even traveling out of town, can seem insurmountable when you have animals to take care of.
But, with the right preparation, chickens are very easy to take care of, even if you have to be out of town a night or two.
As you can see in the photo above, raising your own chickens brings much more nutritious eggs, and if you feed them what you know your family isn't allergic to, you may even find a renewed tolerance to eggs, if that is an issue for you.
Why should you raise your own chickens?
1. The nutrition alone is great.
2. You can feed your chickens what you and your family can tolerate. If you are allergic to say, corn, then omit that from your diet. You never know, your egg allergy may be related to what the chickens are fed!
3. Range-fed chicken eggs are much higher in omega-3 fatty acids.
4. According to my son, they make great pets. Ever seen the cartoon where the chicken's eyes are bugged out? That is what happens when he hugs them (ok, not really, but it is close to that). Lol, The Easter Eggers are a great chicken breed and I highly recommend them, because they really do act like dogs some days.
5. They are great fertilizers for your garden. When I can keep them away from my veggies, they make great garden companions.
6. They keep the bug population down.
7. If you raise enough of them, you can sell them for a profit, or do like we do, and pass them to friends.
8. They make a great project for learning about farm animals and how to care for them. My teenager built the A-frame coop by himself.
9. They are by far one of the easiest pets to take care of.