Backyard Chicken Ownership Guide

Backyard Chickens

Chickens are no longer confined to the farm as more and more city dwellers and suburbanites are raising chickens in their backyards. If you're one of those self-sufficient minded folks who have decided to raise a flock in your yard, whether for your own convenient source of fresh, organic eggs and meat, or simply for the educational and entertainment value, we hope you'll find this information about raising backyard chickens a useful resource.

Backyard Chickens Ownership Guide

Everything you need to know about raising chickens.

DIY Chicken Coop Design & Construction

Tips and ideas for building your own coop.

Chicken Supplies & Accessories

Everything you need for your roosters, hens & chicks.

Chicken in the Kitchen: Recipes & Poultry Product Info

Chicken and egg recipes and health & safety info.

Chicken Info & Trivia

General information, facts & trivia about chickens.

Why Raise Backyard Chickens?

There are several reasons to keep a few hens in your backyard, including pest control and sheer entertainment. I like egg sandwiches and chickens are great entertainment. Fresh eggs are most likely the most popular reason.

Chickens eat weed seeds, bugs, grass and left-over’s. Hens raised in your backyard provide an endless supply of eggs that taste better and they are better for you than eggs from hens raised in cages. Your organic eggs are higher in vitamin E and beta carotene, and lower in cholesterol.

  • Food Source – Endless supply of fresh organic eggs
  • Entertainment – Fun to watch their curious nature
  • Going Green
  • Natural Fertilizer - Composted droppings make incredible garden fertilizer
  • Insect control – They eat  insects
  • Weed Control – They eat the weed seeds
  • Pets for kids – Beats hamsters, gerbils, hermit crabs, etc.

Why pet hens?

  • Hens—not roosters!—are quieter than dogs
  • Fresh organic eggs are healthier for you and the environment: no fuel used trucking them to stores!
  • Backyard chickens lead healthy happy lives. If they are kept in an attractive coops it won’t be an eye sore in your yard and they won't be roaming into your neighbors' yards
  • Cities all over America are now allowing and even encouraging backyard hens. They are fun, educational, and make good neighbors
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