My New Chicken Friends: Benefits I Wasn't Expecting.
When my husband and I started house hunting last year we began to discuss the possibility of having chickens. Three, maybe four hens would be plenty to provide a small amount of eggs for our family, nothing crazy. What a surprise it was when we discovered that our new house would be coming with eight of them! Truth be told, had the house not come with a head first dive into chicken ownership, we might not even have them yet! With the move and pregnancy it's likely we'd still be in the initial design phases, plus, the hubby is a planner. The “Look at it from 16 angles, shop around, then look at it at 16 more.” type of planner. I'm more of the “Dive off the cliff” type. (Which I guess makes the way it turned out much more up my alley.)
The appeal of having fresh eggs every morning and the relatively small amount of space needed to keep hens makes them an attractive option for homesteaders, particularly those of us who are on the urban or micro scale of things. I was actually quite surprised at the number of properties, even the ones in the heart of the city, that had small coops on them. Even though we ended up jumping in on the deep end, I'm glad things worked out the way they did. The hens have been a happy addition to our family and have benefited us ways I had not foreseen.
Eggs are the obvious benefit, as well as the potential for cash if you want to get into selling them, but there are a number or other benefits my family stumbled upon. For example, pest control. Chickens will eat all kinds of things I don't want in my garden or in my kid's play yard. I feed my ladies the caterpillars eating my crops, they delight in ridding my yard of things like earwigs, thank you very much ladies, and they even take out spiders.
Now, most spiders I don't mind, but when I moved to Southern California I moved into black widow territory. Let me tell you they...are...everywhere. Generally they are shy and slow to bite, (thank God) but I have a three year old. Three year olds love to explore and stick their fingers places, nooks and crannies that are ideal for widow homes. Of course I teach my kiddo to not flip rocks, not to blindly place fingers, and not touch spiders, but she's three, so the worry is there. The ladies help me worry a bit less. I let them in the playground area, and clean up after! Woo! Free bug control.
Similarly they can do weed control and tilling. Yes, I would like that flower bed cleared up please! Please note, only let your birds tackle your weeds if you are 100% sure you know what the plants are and they aren't toxic to your ladies. There are a number of plants (and human food scraps) that are not safe, so please please please, check and cross check before feeding your ladies anything new. Once you are sure it's safe, let them at it! You thought dogs were good diggers? Hah! Watch a chicken. I thought my yard had hard intractable dirt. My ladies dug in like it was sawdust.
Physically I have gotten so much stronger since moving here. Being postpartum I'm still regaining my strength, but I can tell you all the raking and lifting chicken feed sure helps. Lifting a 50lb bag again with ease after who knows how long feels darn good!
Then we move on to the less tangible, but arguably the most valuable benefits I wasn't expecting, the educational and mental health benefits. Since getting the chickens my daughter has learned how to feed and care for animals, how to gather the eggs and even how to cook. This girl is three and, with supervision, she can make scrambled eggs all by herself! She knows all the ingredients, how to put them together and dang if she can't crack an egg clean in the pan! So, she learns great stuff, and I learned not to underestimate a three year old.
I now have two kids, a three year old and a five month old. Those of you with kids know there are days that will make your head spin. There are days that will have you jetting back and forth across the house trying to catch your breath. Once one kid is set, the other starts. On those days, the last thing I think I want to do is go outside. When the kids finally settle down all I want is to sink into my couch and turn into a pile of warm goo, but I can't. I can't because those ladies out there depend on me for fresh water and food. They need to be let out to stretch their cute chicken legs. So out I go, into the fresh air and sunshine, and do you know what? No matter how much I may have desired to be couch goo before, it fades away the second I'm out that door.
When the outside air hits my body it instantly begins to relax. The tension leaves my shoulders, my body calms. I can feel myself breathe more deeply, and my brain slowly gets off the hamster wheel it's been frantically running on. We all hear that humans need to be outside more, that we need to connect with nature. For me at least, it's definitely true. Having the chickens means that for some time each day I have to be outdoors.
When I'm outdoors, my stress level drops and no matter how hectic or crappy the day was, it gets a little better. Knowing I need to go out to keep them healthy and happy gives me the motivation to get out that would be much more easily ignored without them. That is the biggest benefit I never expected. Eggs? Sure. Less stress, improved mental health and happiness? I had no idea that was even coming, and for that my ladies are irreplaceable.
**Soapbox note: Chickens are AMAZING! That being said, like all other animals they are a lifelong commitment. PLEASE be prepared to provide adequate food, lodging, play space and protection from predators. I highly suggest putting in your research and due diligence before bringing any new animal home.
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