The Benefits And Drawbacks Of Raising Chickens

If there a benefits to having chickens in your own backyard, there's also bound to be some drawbacks as well. Let's compare lists. Here some the two sides to raising chickens.

Benefits of Raising Chickens

1-Cheap maintenance

Cheap here not just means the cost of buying chickens, but also the cost of caring and maintaining the chicken's living conditions and health. Compare that to a cat or a dog which you keep as pets and you'll notice how much you're spending for your pet's food. Not to mention the vet. When you raise chickens, you can give them whatever's left, scraps of food, and happily they'll eat it. Chickens aren't picky. Imagine, with only around $2.00, you can buy some layer mash.

2-Meat and eggs

Since they're not pets you keep around and pamper, it makes sense that you can something from raising chickens. Almost all chickens lay eggs, which is a reliable source of iron, which in turn is good for brain development and health. If you have too many eggs, why not sell them to your neighbors instead of stuffing them all in your fridge? Let's not forget you can eat your chickens. Of course, if you form some attachment, then your poultry supply becomes pets. Sometimes it can't be helped. At least your pets are cheap to maintain.

3- What maintenance?

You have to walk your dogs, groom your cats, and devote time to playing with them. You don't groom or bond or walk your chickens. Maybe to your vet. Once or twice. Just for vaccines. You just feed and feed them and ensure they have access to clean water all the time. There's the routine leavings cleaning maybe just once a week, but this depends on how many you are raising.

4 -Living fertilizers and bug catchers

As your chickens roam your backyard, they poop where they please, and that's good fertilizer. Since they peck on bugs and worms, you can be sure your backyard won't be having an infestation anytime soon.

Drawbacks of Raising Chickens

1- They make for bad guard pets

Unlike dogs who can growl at suspicious people, chickens just coo and be as they are. They're not designed by nature to attack or bite, but grown and consumer and lay eggs and leave manure. Also, chickens won't wait up for you or welcome you home like pets. They're chickens.

2- All that mess

Poop smells, and chickens leave their poop wherever they please. The smell spreads, and if you don't want to keep on cleaning and cleaning their leavings and making sure they have water around, chickens aren't for you.

3- Sickness domino effect

One catches a flu, it can be downhill from there: every one of your chickens will most likely catch it. This is where being watchful comes into play. If you aren't, one infected chicken can end up getting a lot of others killed.