Because factory-farm operations prefer pretty much the same type of high-volume laying breeds (or in the case of meat, heavy, fast-growing meat birds), the preservation of rare, heritage breeds is threatened. Let them loose and they will scratch and dig your garden beds. Predators are always a problem for chickens as they are pretty low … They also act as gasoline-free, noise-free tillers, mixing the top layers of soil with compost or other mulches. Raising chickens in the city can be difficult. Raising chickens in the city can be challenging. #4. Chickens require three to four square feet of space apiece in a coop and at least the same amount of space in a run. However, be sure to also feed your flock a proper chicken feed so they still get the nutrition they need, and treats and table scraps should not exceed 10 percent of their daily ration, so they shouldn’t amount to more than one to two teaspoons per bird per day. However, if your kids are very young, make sure that they are gentle with the birds, like with any animal. Less wasted food. Chickens make your compost. Keeping livestock – such as chickens, bees, and goats – is allowed in most residential areas in Austin. With that being said, here are the 5 REASONS TO RAISE CHICKENS IN THE CITY, compliments of Patrician Foreman, author of City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Chickens as Garden Helpers, Compost Makers, Bio-reyclers, and Local Food Producers and Organic Gardening. The health of our food is tied directly to the health of our soil. Thank you, Just a heads up my friends. City dwelling chickens are all the rage! And … We all have different reasons for doing things, however when it comes to raising your own chickens, its almost always related to being self sufficient. You also learn about the cycle of life and death. Manure from chickens and other poultry is an excellent source of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate. To Empower & Inspire Women Over Age 50 To Live A Healthier And Happier Lifestyle - Do What Makes You Happy !! My posts may contain affiliate links! If your set on having your own chickens, but need some information on small flocks and housing them, there are two books out that can answer your questions. Developing a flock of this type is especially beneficial for urban preppers who may be limited on the number of poultry birds that can be kept for either legal or space reasons, or both. With neighbors issues, predators, and the law to deal with, we will walk you through getting started taking care of chickens in the city! There are many options available, including coops on wheels that can be moved around a yard and coops that can be built for less than $100. And chickens perform multiple functions that can turn parts of our boring old yards into fertile garden patches. Raising chickens is a commitment. We’ve entertained the idea of putting up a pen for chickens, making a chicken coup in our yard, but can’t seem to get past one minor little detail – he says NO to raising them, and I say YES. You have to gather the eggs every day, make sure they have plenty of food and water, and clean the coop on a regular basis. That may mean paying for a permit, meeting housing and/or fencing requirements, undergoing inspections, etc. But these backyard hens not only provide high-quality eggs, but also serve as master gardeners, organic pest exterminators, and unpaid city workers. So why not raise your own chickens? But I can tell you about the benefits of organic verses store bought. Benefits & Challenges of Raising Chickens in Urban Areas, Copyright © 2018 Chicken Whisperer Magazine | All Rights Reserved |, Website Design and Development by Blue Frog Marketing. Foreman concludes that the most economic and politically compelling reason to keep hens is to recycle food and yard waste, therefore keeping it out of landfills as it composts into an invaluable organic soil builder for your garden. By raising backyard chickens, you have already tak ...Read More, Nothing says simple country living like a flock of chickens. Chicken manure contains a good deal of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – the primary ingredients in lawn and garden fertilizers. Urbanites seeking a simpler way of life can bring a little bit of the country to the city by starting their own flock of chickens. You're not alone. The birds can eat bugs and weeds, take dust baths, and run as much as they like. ii This brief addresses these issues in order for individuals and municipalities to benefit from the allowance of backyard chickens. There are plenty of reasons to consider raising chickens in urban locations. Benefits of Raising Chickens Chickens Are Free Range By simply fencing your backyard or providing a fenced-in run area for chickens, you can offer your birds a free-range lifestyle. Everything likes to eat chicken. If you travel, you will need to find someone to care for the chickens while you are away. Needless to say I’m still working on it, arming myself with information for the cause. Keeping backyard birds is easier than you might think. Benefits of Raising Chickens Organic Fertilizer. Raising Chickens in the City Urban gardeners are flocking to chickens to keep bugs away and provide eggs and compost. Here are some of the most common reasons to raise chickens: Chickens are easy and inexpensive to maintain (when compared to most other pets—see what our members say in this poll: Chicken Keeping—easier, same or harder than dogs/cats?) But if you live in the city and are not sure about raising chickens because of your yard space, think again. From October 26th to November 3rd 2019 The Prizes: Gardening with Chickens by Lisa Steele; Chicken Garden Seed Collection from Mary’s Heirloom Seeds Policy solutions that alleviate public nuisance concerns by keeping the chickens safe and in good health allow individuals and families in municipalities to successfully raise chickens. I know the topic says 5 benefits of raising your own chickens in the city, but I’m going to add 4 more of my own. Poultry pest patrols can be applied to flower and vegetable gardens. As more and more cities are adopting chicken-friendly zoning laws, more and more city folks are opting to raise chickens of their own. Because chickens are omnivores, they will eat just about anything, including meat. Chicken Whisperer Magazine represents the poultry industry’s most up to date and comprehensive educational guide to everything chickens. By simply fencing your backyard or providing a fenced-in run area for chickens, you can offer your birds a free-range lifestyle. Chicken keepers are usually happy to give a tour of their set up and talk about their chickens (trust me, chicken keepers LOVE to talk about their chickens). It’s a stress-lowering chemical in your body that’s unleashed when you hug someone you love, or even pet your dog or cat. If you order baby chicks to raise, you can request no male birds, but sometimes one will accidentally slip through the cracks. Improved Nutrition Animals evolved eating a wide variety of plants and/or animals. Hello, Denise here. If not composted first, the high nitrogen concentration in chicken manure can kill plants. Urban chickens as soil savers. It’s a GIVEAWAY! Your two biggest hurdles will likely be researching city ordinances, followed quickly by figuring out how to construct your chicken coops. If just 2,000 households raise three hens, it could divert 252 tons of waste from landfills annually. As an agrarian, hard working, family-oriented community it only makes sense that Commerce City should embrace the practice of urban backyard chickens! Living in an urban area, you may not have a private, spacious place to butcher your birds when the time comes. And they make enough of it that you will probably never have to bring offsite compost home again, depending on … Chicken manure is a free source of fertilizer for your vegetable garden. Believe it or not, Foreman says, there are actually hens employed as therapy chickens! My posts may contain affiliate links! Predation. The idea is that you feed your chickens kitchen scraps, they poop out a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, and you compost it with leaves and other untreated yard waste. Raising your own chickens allows you to monitor what your hens consume, so you know what goes into the egg. Lets take a look at the why raising backyard chickens is so great: If … Raising chickens also allows kids the opportunity to learn about responsibility as they help take care of the flock, gather eggs, make sure the birds are penned up at night, etc. What a great guy my neighbor is. Share the chicken benefits. Just do what you can to make chickens seem like a mutually beneficial endeavor. Did you know that just 3 backyard hens can supply a family of 4 with all the antibiotic and pesticide free eggs they need? Heritage-breed city chickens as an extinction-prevention task force. The most important thing is keeping them safe, warm and happy. Especially if you have kids, chickens can make very social and even affectionate pets. - Lush Lawn Chicken poop is … Just make sure you compost the chicken manure before putting it directly on plants. Backyard chickens are a great way to reconnect with the food supply and learn how food is made. In generations past, families often had a connection to the family farm. Urban chickens as bargain-basement backyard city workers. Keep Chickens! That equates to you eating good nutritious eggs as well. Bring some eggs to your neighbors or allow their kids to feed the chickens. Chickens love to eat protein-packed insects, which works out well because they can serve as the organic pest-cleanup crew in your garden and devour ticks on your property. Their eggs are fresh, delicious and nutritious ; They provide chemical-free bug and weed control in your garden Whether it’s overflow from your fruit or vegetable garden or leftover table scraps … By Jay Rossier – can be bought new or on Kindle for $10.00. By Barbara Kilarski – Can be picked up for under $10.00, Living with Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock Instead of letting those scraps go to waste, you can feed them to your chickens. Just a heads up my friends. Nothing beats knowing exactly what you’re putting into your body – and this goes for poultry and eggs as well. In addition, business enterprises are also reaping this benefit of keeping chickens: Earth First Farms, run by Tom and Denise Rosenfeld, is a local organic orchard that uses chickens as natural “insecticide.” Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces, KALE IS KING: 5 Things You Should Know About Kale. Raising chickens in the city is very possible with the right preparation and care. Chickens don’t only provide a constant supply of fresh eggs—they produce an endless amount of manure, too. Hot Topics, Sustainability is more than a buzzword; it’s a way of life. They also eat many varieties of weeds. Be sure to follow your city ordinances and make sure birds have enough space in their coop. Well, chickens actually eat bugs. A gardening neighbor may like to have your manure and soiled bedding for compost. If you decide to raise your own flock, you will gain access to all the amazing benefits that raising chickens provides – even if you live in the heart of a metropolitan area. A chicken can make your gardening work easier by doing some post-harvest gardening for you. Typical backyard hens can live from eight to ten years, so raising chickens is not a short-term job. If your chickens are seen as the source of these pests, neighbors may complain. Every couple weeks my generous neighbor delights us with 2 cartons of eggs straight from his coup, and when I open the cartons and see the assortment of colors, it always reminds me of Easter. Your email address will not be published. If you live in a suburban area, you may still be ...Read More. Thanks for stopping by my site. If your a gardener and grow some of your own vegetables, chances are you need to boost the nitrogen level in your soil. I hate bugs that eat my garden veggies and bite my tender flesh. And while there are many reasons why you should, I’m going to focus on the 5 Benefits Of Raising  Chickens | Especially In The City. I hope you enjoy the read – cheers to your health . If we lose these beautiful breeds, we wipe out genetic material from a species, perhaps losing genes that could save the poultry industry one day if the standard production breeds fall susceptible to illness. For more information on raising chickens, subscribe to Chicken Whisperer Magazine. While there are several benefits to having your own chickens, raising chickens inside city limits can be challenging, too. #2. Failure to be aware of and/or follow city ordinances can result in hefty fines or even confiscation of your flock. Next it is important to check your local city ordinances or neighborhood regulations to make sure backyard chickens are allowed and to find out the limit. Although many city ordinances today allow residents to raise chickens, many of them stipulate that roosters are forbidden. Day-to-day chicken expenses are minimal; for three chickens, you can expect to pay around $25 per month on food and miscellaneous expenses. We evolved eating animals which feed on wild fare, and eating them is probably healthier for us than eating factory farm prisoners raised on grain, garbage, arsenic, and antibiotics. So if you buy something through one of those links you won't pay a penny more, but I will get a small commission, which helps me continue to bring you content. Another Benefit of Our Feathered Friends. With next-door neighbor concerns, predators, and the law to handle, we will discuss with you through starting raising chickens in the city!Download How To Raise Backyard Chickens for Self Sufficiency and Extra Income There was a time when chickens were just seen pecking and scratching in the […] Check out these 2 books which can be purchased for amazingly cheap prices. If you live out in the country and have the room for some free ranging, the decision to raise them should be pretty simple just for the health benefits alone. Just make sure to teach kids to always wash their hands after handling or caring for chickens to minimize the risk of Salmonella infection. As the Gidneys have learned, keeping a small flock of chickens in your backyard has many benefits, from supplying you with fresh, healthy eggs from well-cared-for animals, to giving you great fertilizer for gardening, to providing lively pets—as well as being part of the drive to local, sustainable food systems. #1. Raising chickens in an urban space allows a perfect opportunity to educate your family and your neighbors about chickens, eggs, and agriculture. Where “Power to the Poultry” is much more then a catchy tag line, Chicken Whisperer Magazine is a publication and multimedia asset dedicated to the passionate culture of chicken lovers everywhere. You don't have to take them out for daily walks and buy them toys and teach them tricks. If that is the case, as soon as you realize you have a rooster, you’ll need to either find him a new home or butcher him for meat. Raising chickens in urban areas can be a great experience. Ever hear of oxytocin, the love hormone? Trees and other plants love it, too. Unless you work for one of the major egg factories, you may not know what went into the store bought egg(s) you ate for breakfast. Then read on. So if you buy something through one of those links you won't pay a penny more, but we'll get a small commission, which helps us continue to bring you content. Free Organic Fertilizer. Even without a rooster crowing early in the morning, chickens still can make noise that might bother someone else. They also love to eat many weeds, and serve as post-harvest garden bed gleaners, potentially making your work as a gardener very, very easy. Dual-purpose chickens are both good producers of meat and eggs. While there are several benefits to having your own chickens, raising chickens inside city limits can be challenging, too. Please sign this petition asking the city to update the ordinance to allow its residents to keep chickens. The soil in a garden is always loosing nutrients as plants fruits and veggies … In about 6 months’ time, you will accumulate about 1 cubic foot of manure per chicken. You will most likely end up taking your birds to a local butcher shop and letting them do the dirty work—and hefting those costs, as well. Home grown organic chickens are allowed to run free and eat their natural diet, which means pecking at worms and insets and putting all those good omega-3s into their system as a result. Pros of Keeping Chickens in the City Very Few Chicken Predators in the City. These animals offer many benefits for your home that include reducing food and yard waste, providing organic eggs or honey, minimizing backyard insects and pests, and producing fertilizer for your garden. That is often not the case today. Commerce City restricts residents from raising chickens in their backyards. Guide to Raising Chickens- Benefits of Raising Chickens. City officials expect to recover a significant portion of the $600,000 a year the city spends on dealing with this type of household “trash.” According to Foreman, a single chicken can biorecycle about seven pounds of food residuals in a month. Thank you, Keep Chickens! Their natural scratching and digging tendencies serve them well and can help you create top-notch garden beds. The Benefits Of Raising Chickens Welcome to the first chapter in our guide to raising chickens! Chickens create excellent fertilizer. The health of our food is tied directly to the health of our soil. In fact, in Belgium, one city is actually giving three laying hens to 2,000 homes in an effort to reduce landfill costs. The highlights are: 1) home grown organic chickens are allowed to run free and eat their natural diet,  2) home raise get exercise, they’re not as fat,  3) they are free from the growth hormones and antibiotics that the poultry industry uses on factory farmed animals, 4) chicken manure for your garden, 5) and the five reasons to raise them if you live in the city. Increasingly, people are finding the benefits of raising their own chickens worth the small hassle and expenses involved. Chicken manure can be composted and added to the soil of your garden, flowers, trees, shrubs, and lawns. I’m dedicated to making changes in my life for a healthier lifestyle and am hoping to inspire you to do the same. That’s something to cluck about! The Chickens Enjoy an Enclosed Free-Range Space. The average consumer is at least three generations removed from the farm, so the majority of people do not have an understanding of where their food comes from. Since most backyards are fenced, or … Happy, healthy hens produce nutrient-dense, healthy eggs. And anyone who has raised backyard chickens can probably contend the same effect holds true for hens. Read on to learn the nutritional value of eggs, how pastured eggs differ from conventional eggs, the basics of keeping backyard chickens, and some FAQs about owning chickens. Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces Now I’m not going to sit and pretend to know the first thing about raising chickens because I haven’t a clue. And because you’ve raised them, they are free from the growth hormones and antibiotics that the poultry industry uses on factory farmed animals. Even though chickens present a great opportunity to teach people about food sources, you may also have neighbors who just aren’t fond of chickens. Organic Eggs versus Store Bought – what a difference an egg makes. Backyard hens are especially vulnerable to predation. Interested in learning more? And what better way to raise the nitrogen level than with chicken manure. Raising backyard chickens is becoming an increasingly popular hobby in the United States—and for good reason! Luckily, chicken poo can be composted, aged, and eventually added to the garden. Interested in raising chickens in your city home? (OK, they’re not completely noise-free, but hens sure do make cute noises, adding entertainment value for the whole family!). City chickens as a backyard organic exterminating service. It’s important to supervise small kids when they are handling baby chicks especially, so the chicks don’t get dropped or injured, and teaching kids to handle the chickens gently, not to chase them, how to pick up an adult hen, and so on, teaches empathy and compassion. While city ordinances may allow you to raise chickens within city limits, they may also put restrictions on the number of hens you may have. Because they get exercise, they’re not as fat. There was a time when chickens were only seen pecking and scratching in … Here are some of them: Chickens are low-maintenance pets. Chickens are inexpensive and easy to maintain (compared to most other pets) They lay fresh eggs, which are delicious and nutritious; They provide a chemical-free big and weed control in your garden (saves you money on chemical supplies too) They can. Raising the coop up off the ground allows for an even smaller footprint for the total space needs of chickens. Eggs- Ok, that’s kind of obvious but it is the number one reason most people raise chickens, to get … They are expert in mixing manure with mulch to create raised beds, which allow you to grow more produce in a smaller space and use less water, which is particularly useful to urban gardeners. 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