If Only I Could Blog About It: Chicken or the Egg?

Chicken or the egg-Which came first? That has always been the question, right? Rest assured, I am not here to debate such a HOT topic. I am here to convince you that there are undeniable reasons to have backyard chickens, even if you dwell in the city! My family and I moved from the city to the beautiful East Texas country in July. The previous homeowners sold us their 8 chickens and 1 Rooster who is still debatably named Fred or Joe. In September, we had our first lot of baby chicks, and four lucky ladies naturally survived the wild out doors. It was a delightful fall watching the babies grow, and grow fast! Did you know you don’t need a rooster to get eggs? I didn’t either, Shocking! A rooster is only needed to fertilize the egg and that is a whole different conversation if you know what I mean. I adore having chickens pecking around the yard, running up to me for scraps and even the rooster crowing at dawn!

Pasture fed chickens give you the most delicious, fresh, creamy eggs with many health benefits.

Eggs clock in 6 grams of protein per serving. Web Md states the following for recommended daily protein intake:

Babies-10 grams

School-age kids-19-34 grams

Teenage boys-up to 52 grams

Teenage girls-46 grams

Adult men-56 grams

Adult women-46 grams (71 grams, if pregnant or breastfeeding)

Here is a comparison of different egg options:

Chickens are such a backyard enjoyment to watch, they all have personalities of their own. We named one of our chicks Camo this fall because her face looked camouflaged; ironically she always separates herself from the others, doing her own thing. Fred/Joe, the Rooster seems to have taken a macho pill in the last two weeks; he is a bit feistier than normal. And Lucy she is one of the older and wiser hens. She maybe a little over weight (if that’s a thing with chickens) but is always the first to help herself to leftovers from the kitchen. We never handled any of the chickens from birth so our chickens are not as warm and cuddly as some you may read about. However, if you raise your chicks from the get go, you can really make a connection with your chicks resulting in a more “pet- like” relationship.

Scraps???? Sometimes I can’t decide if I am more thankful for the daily egg picking or watching our chickens eat our scraps. Since chickens eat table scraps (not everything is okay) it cuts down on waste. I did not think our family “threw” much away each week BUT we do! Here is a picture from just a few days of little things left on plates or leftovers from the fridge. The very next day I filled the same bin up with waffles no one liked and half a glass of bad milk.

I really like a good visual challenge. Try for one week to not throw your scraps away and I promise you will quickly notice how much waste actually makes its way to the land fills. I get so much more satisfaction watching our chickens eat the food I made rather than throwing it in the garbage can!

Chickens are an easy, low maintenance, (can I get an AMEN!) way to teach children that their food does not magically appear on their plates. We are giving our girls an introduction into sustainable living as well as many opportunities to talk about the Lord and how He made things work perfectly! My three and a half year old gathered eggs with her dad last night and came in as if it were the very first time, genuinely excited about the discovery! And honestly I feel the same way when I gather eggs…excited and thankful! A laying hen will lay one egg a day when the weather isn’t too hot or too cold, every once in a while you can get a hen that will lay two.

Maybe gardening is your thing or someone you know. Either way someone can benefit from ALL the poop and eggshells! Chicken poop and eggshells are an amazing additive to the compost pile that will benefit a plant or vegetable garden. Crush the eggshells, throw them in, and mix it all around. I promise someone will take your shells and your poop off your hands if you don’t stake your claim!

Backyard chickens are a must for all families willing to try something new and rewarding. If you are interested, make sure to have a warm, draft free environment for at least 5 weeks. Here is some other need to know facts before signing your family up for chickens:

Like anything new it will take some money to get started. You will need the basics, a coop and some chicks. And those basic things will also need their own basic things such as a heating lamp, food, pine shavings, water canister, etc. If you are the adventurous type, you can build a coop in a days or weekend time. It’s also a great family project. If time is an issue you can also buy some pretty amazing coops on-line or at a local feed store. Most of the time if you purchase a coop they will deliver it to your house, or you can at least work that into the deal. Here is our coop, it was already here when we bought our land. Simple and functional:

Here is my two links to tons of other coop ideas: Kirsi's Pins and My Pet Chicken

After reading this blog you decide chickens are a must, first check with your city, neighbors, and homeowners association for approval. There are usually regulations on how many chickens you may have and possibly how close the coop can be to a neighbor’s fence line. Also, there might be a regulation on how or where you put the chicken poop. Best case scenario move to the country!

Just like us, chickens come in all different varieties! Here is a great site with pictures in order to see what the different breeds look like and to find your perfect fit; Chicken Breeds and here is a second link with great detail on picking the right chicken for your family, My Pet Chicken-Breeds.

Be prepared and plan it out! Here is an incredible FREE, printable e-book that My Pet Chicken created. It took me step by step through, what I should have already known! This is the most informative, easy to read packet I could find about raising backyard chickens: My Pet Chicken-Raising Backyard Chickens

In my last attempt to persuade the masses to buy laying hens for the backyard is the reminder that eggs can be enjoyed and used in many different ways. They remind me of the scene in Forest Gump when they talk about all the ways you can eat shrimp…boiled shrimp, shrimp gumbo, etc. Eggs are like that whether you bake with them, eat them as a regular breakfast item, or boil them for lunch. The possibilities are endless. Here is a picture of our girls and how they enjoy their pastured farm fresh egg!