Raising Chickens – Why Not?
Theres something nice about keeping your own chickens and its no wonder that so many people choose to keep a few chickens.
Those chickens will keep you supplied with fresh eggs each day, and possibly even enough to sell on to local shops, or at the local market.
They are one of my favorite foods, without a doubt. You can beat the taste, and you can have so much variety with eggs. The common uses are of course, boiling, frying and poaching. But there are so many other applications, in baking cakes, quiches etc.
I live in the city and I am a regular consumer of eggs. I get mine in the local grocery store or supermarket. They are OK I guess, but have you ever tasted real free-range eggs?
I usually spend a weekend in the country with my mom, every five or six weeks. And she always seems to have a supply of “free free range” eggs at the ready. She gets them from a local farmer who calls to the door. Now these eggs are about as far from battery eggs as it’s possible to get.
And those eggs always pass the taste test – they get my vote every time. The taste is far superior to shop eggs – even top those ones marked as “free range”.
I suppose that I have this discerning taste because I was reared on delicious eggs like these. On the farm where I grew up, we kept our own chickens, and I think I got the taste for the “down-home” eggs. It never leaves you!
And you know, keeping a few chickens is no big deal ” if you have a reasonably-sized back garden, you can build your own chicken coop and start your own egg-laying factory.
But its not as if the chickens are just there to turn out the eggs, day in and day out! Personally speaking, I like chickens and I would find it difficult not to get attached to them.
I’m not joking when I say that I could watch chickens for the longest time. They are just so amusing – whether it’s the way the look at you and at each other, or the noises they make.
Each one has their own particular traits – some are loud and and boisterous, while others are more laid-back, or timid. And when they lay an egg, they let you know, loud and clear!
Not to mention some of the beautiful colors they come in ” such as the Blue Andalusians, Golden Campines, or just a plain white Leghorns.
You can treat them as pets if you wish, but they will keep laying eggs anyway. I can’t think of another pet that will give “something back” to you!