Whilst pets are wonderful to have they do have their problems. Dogs will bark of the neighbours, some pets can be very expensive and veterinary bills can be very expensive and what do you do with your cat when you want to go away for a week’s holiday?
But the perfect pet may well be chickens. They aren’t expensive to buy and they aren’t expensive to feed, they won’t bark at the neighbours, they don’t get sick often and if you organise it right you can go on holidays for a week or 2 quite easily.
And as well as that chickens are very productive providing you with a fridge full of wonderful free range eggs, and the result can be some delightful omelettes for dinner. There’s many reasons why chickens may be the ideal family pet.
Sadly you can’t quite put one of your chickens on your lap at night when you’re sitting on the couch, but even so adults and children love chickens. I know our children love theirs.
But as is the case with other pets you need to research a little about keeping chickens before you buy your first one. The primary consideration is where you will keep them. They live in a chicken coop, which is occasionally called a henhouse or a chicken house. There are many chicken coops available for sale although the cheapest way to get your coop is to build it yourself.
Your chickens will sleep in the chicken house at night however they much prefer to roam around outside of the coop during the day time. It’s perfectly possible to let your chickens free range around the garden during the day cleaning up the bugs, though you may get a little scratching and pecking of your flowers.
They particularly love to peck at ripe tomatoes.
And if some pecking of your tomatoes is unacceptable then you merely build a chicken run around the coop and allow them to roam throughout their run.
It’s important to learn a little more about feeding chickens as they require certain minimum levels of calcium and protein to lay eggs regularly, so you will need to source high protein foods and shell grit to add the protein and calcium to their feed. You will also need to find good appliances for water and food.
And when holidays come it’s quite possible to provide your chickens with a large reliable supply of food and water and to go away to enjoy yourself.
There is no doubt that keeping is a wonderful occupation for young children, and for adults. There is lots to learn but the learning process is enjoyable and rewarding. Begin your learning before you buy your first chicken, spend some time researching the requirements for chicken housing, and familiarise yourself with the correct feeding of chickens. Then get out there and buy your first hen.
And then you’re on your way to a lifetime of healthy free range eggs delivered to you by some happy healthy hens.
Tags: chicken house, chicken houses, hen house, hen houses
