So, you’d like to know what are the Pros and Cons of Owning Chicken? There are a lot of different opinions about owning or raising chickens.
We prepared a lot of Pros and Cons, and you will decide is this the right thing for you or your family.
PROS
Fresh eggs!
Seriously, if you’ve never eaten fresh eggs from healthy well-fed chickens then you’ve never really eaten eggs.
Read more :
5 Tips On How To Keep Your Eggs Fresh!
Pest control.
Chickens *love* bugs. We keep a compost pile and the chickens keep it clean. Don’t like all the chemical pesticides? Chickens are great for keeping the bugs away.
They have a hatred of anything smaller than them that eats eggs.
They will aggressively kill rats, mice, snakes, etc. Also, they will eat most of your table scraps (assuming you keep a healthy diet).
Price.
Chickens are not expensive to have. A good quality coop that’s easy to maintain is easy to make with simple inexpensive materials from the hardware store.
Chickens themselves are usually only a couple dollars and feeding them costs about the same.
There is one very important thing that can influence the quality of the eggs and the mood of the hen – the coop. The quality of the chicken coop is crucial for you if you are serious about breeding chicken so i highly recommend that you (invest in this manual).
This manual helped me and many other people to make chicken breeding easier and more simple.
Easy to care for.
They don’t require much in the way of attention and once they have a good set up don’t need much from you. They are hearty and do well in lots of climates.
Read more:
How to raise friendly chickens
CONS
Noise.
Chickens are loud! Even if you don’t have roosters.
Seriously, the expression gossiping hens is right on. They constantly cluck and squawk.
If you have neighbors nearby they won’t appreciate having to listen to your brood during sunlight hours, nonstop, every single day.
Read More:
How to Handle Noise Chickens
Smell.
Chickens are dirty. Their poop stinks really bad and they leave it everywhere they go.
Make sure your coop is easy to keep clean and clean it every day.
Even one missed day will make it unbearable.
Read More:
How to clean your chicken coop.
Schedule.
Chickens are creatures of habit. They wake with the sun and must be let out. They will make the most obnoxious racket if you are late to let them out or feed them.
And they have to be safe on their roost before dusk.
They are scared of the dark and when the sun starts to go down they look for their roost. If they can’t get to it as soon as they decide they need to they will hide wherever they can and will likely be eaten in the night.
Attract birds
Every bird of prey knows about them and is always looking for an opportunity.
Smaller birds will flock to their food.
The chickens will kill any smaller birds they can catch. Huge flocks of pigeons leaving messes and stealing the chicken feed can be a problem.
Predators
No matter where you live there are predators waiting to eat your flock.
You will have to keep them protected.
Read More:
8 Most Dangerous Chicken Predators. Be Aware of Number 2!
Space
They can’t be kept caged up, they need more space than most people realize.
Also, you can’t keep just one, they are social and will actually die of loneliness. It’s best for the flock to be at least five strong.
They aren’t right for everyone, but if they fit into your life you will always want to have them.
Hope this helps and good luck!
Shannon Stansberry has been engaged in the business of raising chickens for more than 12 years. In 2016, she accomplished the Agriculture & Natural Resources program at Mt. San Antonio College. At present, she tends to more than 80 chickens on her 4-hectare farm. Shannon regularly shares her insights and experience on how to raise healthy and contented chickens on the platform Typesofchickens.com