Backyard chickens have surged in popularity recently among homesteaders as well as everyday Americans just wanting a little more control over what they eat. The appeal of fresh eggs and your own control over where your food is coming from has driven many people to start keeping their own backyard chicken flock. Understanding the pros and cons of keeping chickens is essential. Is keeping chickens the right choice for you?
Raising chickens has many benefits but it also comes with a lot of responsibilities. I will share with you the pros and cons of keeping backyard chickens to help you make a decision that’s right for you!
The Pros of Keeping Chickens
1. Fresh, Organic Eggs
The most obvious benefit to start raising chickens is for the fresh eggs. There is absolutely no comparison between farm fresh free-range eggs from your backyard and store-bought eggs. Your eggs will have a nice rich dark color to the yolk, will taste better and be packed with more nutrients.
We let our chickens free range in a pretty large area where they can forage for insects and dine on weeds and other plants as they like. The bugs provide extra protein to their diet and the plants increase the omega-3 fatty acids in the eggs. This all results in healthier and better tasking eggs than you will find at the store.
2. Sustainable and Eco-Friendly
Chickens are the ultimate food recyclers! They will devour pretty much any kitchen scraps you give them so you will lower your food waste. Many people don’t realize that chickens are omnivores, they not only eat plants and vegetables but also meat scraps, dairy, and grains.
Giving your chickens a diverse and well rounded diet helps ensure they get a wide range of nutrients that they need for optimal egg production and for all around healthier chickens!
Chicken poop is an amazing natural fertilizer and will supercharge your compost. You’ll have plenty of chicken manure you can use to help your flower and garden beds thrive.
3. Natural Pest Control
Pest control is definitely a chickens forte! They are amazing at reducing your pest population including ticks and mosquitoes which makes them very good for your yard. One of our main drivers for getting our chickens when we did was to reduce the tick population. We had just moved into our new house and the property had a bad tick problem. We planned on getting chickens eventually but sped up the process due to this. Our free-ranging chickens quickly reduced our tic population to the point where we rarely see them anymore.
Not only is this a great chemical free solution to help manage pests, it greatly benefits your chickens by foraging on the insects.
4. Fun and Educational for Families
Backyard chickens can actually make great family pets! They are a great educational opportunity for kids about responsibility; from the baby chicks stage to the challenging parts of raising them as well as learning about loss.
Chickens are very friendly and get a bad rap sometimes, but it’s the male roosters that are mostly temperamental, not so much the hens. Once in a while you might end up with a broody hen that might be possessive of her eggs, but all in all they are very friendly animals and happy to see you.
Chickens each have their own unique personalities, which was a bit of a surprise to us. Our OC (Original Chicken), an Easter egger we named Snowball is a perfect example of this. She is the sweetest girl and always ready for attention. When I built our new chicken coop, she was right there with me inspecting everything as I went. When I was shingling the roof, all the sudden she flew up there and perched on my shoulder.
5. Healthier Lifestyle
Raising your own chickens definitely encourages you to spend a little more time outside. Their care isn’t super demanding but you definitely need to give them the TLC they need.
Your fresh backyard eggs will also most likely be richer in essential vitamins and Omega-3 fatty acids thanks to their natural diet, being in the fresh air and out in the sun.
Also, chickens have been used in recent years as visiting pets at some senior homes because chickens have been shown to lower anxiety and blood pressure. Their clucking and cackling noises have a calming effect on you when you go down to visit them. Some people are even able to pet chickens as they are generally quite friendly animals.
6. Self-Sufficiency and Food Security
With the skyrocketing price of eggs at the grocery stores and the constant threat of food shortages, having your own supply of eggs can definitely give you some piece of mind. Your chickens will help you be more self sufficient and not rely 100% on commercial food sources. That in itself is a big plus!
7. Low Maintenance Compared to Other Livestock
Chickens definitely require daily care, but overall they are significantly easier to take care of than other livestock.
Many of the daily tasks can be automated to reduce your workload. For example, we have an automated coop door that opens and closed on it’s own so we don’t have to trudge down to the coop twice daily. We have a large rain harvesting watering system that keeps fresh water for the chickens constantly in the summer months. Also, we have large feeders inside the chicken coop that holds many days worth of chicken feed for them.
We also have cameras in the coop and outside so we can keep an eye on them and make sure the door has closed and they are all inside at night.
The Cons of Raising Chickens
1. Noise and Neighbors
Although hens are usually quieter than roosters, they can still be a bit on the loud side sometimes. This is very evident after they lay an egg. They do an “egg song” which is a series of loud squawks and clucks that they use to alert the world that they just laid an egg. I’m not sure of the origin of this, but maybe to distract predators from the nest or just to brag maybe…who knows.
Some people may find this sound charming, it can be very, very loud and pretty annoying at times. If you have neighbors close by, they may not be quite as enthusiastic about it as the chicken is. This is just something to consider based on your own situation.
2. Local Laws and HOA Restrictions
Before you get your chickens, you need to check your local zoning laws and/or homeowners association (HOA) rules. Some cities and residential areas prohibit backyard chickens completely or limit the number you can keep. This is actually how we got our first two chickens Snowball and Brownie. We were wanting chickens and someone we knew was needing to get rid of a couple because they exceeded their maximum number allowed by their city.
3. Daily Care and Maintenance
Chickens are low maintenance as far as animals go, but definitely not no maintenance. They need a constantly supply of fresh clean water, food and a nice clean coop.
4. Initial Costs Can Be High
Your backyard chickens are most likely going to cost you more money than just buying eggs at the store, so if you’re doing it just to save money you might want to rethink that. Sure, you can sell some eggs to get a bit of your investment back, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on that. It might just cover a small portion of the cost of the chicken feed.
Initial setup can be a bit expensive if you do it right. ย You need a safe and secure chicken coop, possibly some fencing (depending on your setup), food and some assorted supplies. Chicken coops can range from a couple hundred dollars for a fairly small and cheap one to thousands for a nice one. ย We started out with an old shed and upgraded to a DIY chicken coop that I built which cost about $900 (early 2020 prices) in total in supplies. That did not include the price to build the run which we added on a few months later.
Also, if you want quality chickens, I’d recommend getting them from a reputable hatchery instead of a local farm store. That way you know what you’re getting and there’s more care put into their well being; from egg to hatching and safe delivery into your hands. It might cost a little more but you’re paying for better quality and healthier chickens.
5. Predator Risks
Predator protection (and crime scene cleanup) is definitely another part of keeping chickens. Potential threats are going to be something you have to deal with as part of raising backyard chickens. You can take all the precautions in the world but nature will always find a way. We have lost many chickens to predators since we began with backyard chickens many years ago. We are constantly working to step up our predator protection game but there is always a potential threat out there.
Chickens are natural attractors of raccoons, coyotes, neighborhood dogs and our arch nemesis hawks! It is always heartbreaking to lose a bird, however it’s just how nature works. The predators aren’t doing it as a personal attack on you, they are just trying to survive and take care of their own families.
Lastly, you need to train your house pets to be kind to the chickens. Your domesticated family pets can also become predators to your flock so you must train them to be kind and not become predators toward the chickens. Your neighbors’ pets are another story.
6. Egg Production Declines Over Time
Chickens are not an infinite supply of golden eggs. This is very breed dependent but peak egg production is in the first couple years. After that, their egg production will start to gradually slow down. Typically by around 5 to 7 years old they will stop laying completely or very seldom.
Once the chickens stop laying, you have a decision to make. You can either cull them from the flock (you can look that one up on your own) or you can accept them as the wise ancestors of the flock, which is what we do. They may stop laying eggs but our older chickens are their to help maintain continuity of the flock. Our oldest chicken Snowball has survived every single predator attack on our flock in about 6 years at this point. I look at her like our early warning system to get the others running for cover!
7. Can Attract Unwanted Pests
Chicken food and the chickens waste can attract rodents like rats and mice. They can also attract a lot of flies. By keeping your coop clean and storing your food properly in well sealed containers and you can help minimize this.
How to Decide If Backyard Chickens Are Right for You
Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you take the plunge and start your backyard chicken journey:
- Do you have the space required? – Give your chickens enough safe space to have a happy life.
- Do you accept the commitment? – They require daily care, even in bad weather.
- Can you afford the startup? – A coop, food and supplies require initial investment
- Are chickens even allowed? – Check your local regulations before you jump into this.
Final Thoughts: Is Having Backyard Chickens Worth It?
Raising backyard chickens definitely has a lot of benefits, however they also require care, attention and enough space for their needs. If you aren’t ready to make this commitment you may want to hold off.
If you are ready to invest your time and effort, you will definitely have a rewarding and fun addition to your backyard or homestead.
On the fence if it’s right for you? You might want to start with just a few hens and a small coop to see how keeping chickens suits you. There are almost always people willing to take them off your hands if you decide it’s not for you. I will say from talking to other chicken keepers that most want to keep their flock once they catch the “chicken tending” bug. If you have the means to have a backyard flock, most people want to keep them as long as they feasibly can.
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