Is a Backyard Chicken Coop in Your Future?
Eggs are one of the most nutritious superfoods, animal-friendly items you can eat. Packing 90 calories and 6 grams of healthy protein, an egg is one of the most complete and nutritious foods in existence. That’s why it’s the breakfast staple that it is. But have you ever considered stepping out to the backyard chickens in the coop for your breakfast eggs instead of reaching into the refrigerator? Urban non-farmers have a lot of mistaken ideas about chickens and eggs, wondering, for instance, whether or not eggs are truly animal-friendly? Rest assured, eggs are not unborn baby chicks. Rather, they are eggs that didn’t get fertilized inside of the chicken, leaving them with no other purpose other than to be laid and eaten.
The fact that chickens produce such a superfood, paired with the fact that chickens also help reduce ticks and mosquitos, makes the idea of keeping chickens and producing backyard eggs a very popular one for many people. Homegrown eggs are not treated with preservatives, nor are the chickens pumped full of antibiotics and other chemical agents. There is a consensus that eggs produced by chickens that are free to range the yard, taste way better than eggs that come from permanently penned up chickens.
However, as with any animal tending, you should understand what you’re getting into before buying your first flock.
How to make keeping chickens a success
Before anything else, check with relevant authorities that you’re actually allowed to house chickens in your backyard.
After this, you’re going to want to make sure that you build a proper coop for your chickens, equipped with proper fencing and heating for the colder months (if you have colder months in your area). The last thing you want to happen is for your flock to disperse around your neighborhood, or to find your flock frozen in place one morning.
Also be prepared to pay for chicken feed every month, which tends to be approximately $20 per 50 lb bag. Of course, if you have more chickens, you can expect to pay more for feed every month.
Fortunately, if you need more in-depth guidance, backyard chickens have caught the attention of many social media influencers recently, resulting in an explosion of educational blogs and video series. You can check out this article to learn about some of the more reputable influencers to learn from. Chickens have finally come home to roost.
