What are Backyard Chickens?
Backyard Chickens
Exactly what you might think when you hear someone say backyard chickens. They are simply chickens that are either in a chicken coop in the backyard or they are roaming free in the backyard area.
There was a time that in rural America you couldn’t find a child that never seen or held a baby chick. It was a part of life for them. To gather up the eggs every morning and every night as part of their chores. And the eggs were an added addition to their daily meals. Sometimes the main goal for owning backyard chickens were not just for their eggs but also for the meat. But more often then not, the kids would grow attached to them and the parents didn’t have the heart to make any of the chickens part of their main course meals.
What happened to the Backyard Chickens?
The time of farmland everywhere you look, has pretty much became a thing of the past. What were once busy small towns have now become almost a skeleton town because the people have moved to bigger cities chasing the businesses that have gone there before them. And for the most part, people didn’t seem to mind. The days where you once knew your neighbors have been replaced with empty porch swings and tree shrubs or fences.
People had no problems with going to the local store to buy their foods instead of taking the time to grow it themselves. With the time it took to get to and from work, it wasn’t worth the hassle. As well as others just took it for granted that it was cheaper to buy then to grow. Plus it was more convenient, not having to wait for the food to grow. Want eggs tonight? Go to store buy some. Maybe you want a salad, go to store buy the vegetables without having to wait for them to grow. And with this mentality went the days of people owning their own flock of Backyard Chickens.
The Future of Backyard Chickens.
The future for the backyard chickens are looking brighter then ever.
With the explosive rate of the increased gas prices and food prices, the average American family are starting to remember their childhood and the benefits of owning chickens. If you go to any local feed store right now, they will all tell you the same thing. Hatching eggs and baby chick sales have doubled and sometimes triple over the last 2 years. As well as chicken coop sales. Even though some choose to build those themselves. Raising backyard chickens doesn’t really cost that much, depending on where you live. But for the most part if you let them roam around the back lawn, they will pretty much feed themselves. They eat insects and spiders and caterpillars, making them perfect pest control.
Benefits of owning Backyard Chickens
There are a bunch of benefits to owning your own flock of backyard chickens. As was hinted at in the above text.
Delicious eggs that you don’t have to buy.
If you have children, it is a great learning experience for them to watch eggs hatch and chicks growing into full size chickens. It also teaches them responsibilities as they care for the chickens.
They keep the insect and spider population down in your area. (big factor that persuaded me to own them)