Raising chickens is becoming more and more popular these days and for good reasons. There are many important ways families benefit by raising chickens. It can improve a families health, wealth and knowledge of where food comes from as well as strengthen the family bond. This is priceless.
1. Increased Family Time
One of the best benefits of a family owning chickens is that it is a hobby that the entire family can participate in. Children as young as two years old can help to collect eggs and participate in the care of the chickens.
You will learn SO MUCH about chickens as a family, especially if this is your first time owning them. I still am learning new things all the time!
Even just sitting in the backyard as a family and watching your flock of chickens interact will bring you great joy and entertainment. Watching their funny antics, like chasing each other around for a mealworm or flailing in the dirt taking a dust bath, it will just leave you in stitches!
If your family is on the fence about the possibility of raising some backyard chickens and you are allowed to in the city you live in, I highly encourage you to give it a try! It isn’t that difficult and the way your family will bond is priceless.
2. Increased Physical Activity
Owning chickens requires daily, weekly and annual care. Many families assign different “chicken chores” for each member of the family, depending upon their age and capability. This gets the whole family not only outdoors, but more physically active too.
The following is a list of different physical activities or “chicken chores” and how often they should be performed.
| FREQUENCY | CHORE |
|---|---|
| DAILY | GATHERING EGGS |
| WEEKLY | CHANGING BEDDING IN NESTING BOXES |
| DAILY | FEEDING CHICKENS |
| DAILY | GIVING FRESH WATER TO CHICKENS |
| DAILY | CLEANING FEED AND WATER CONTAINERS |
| DAILY/WEEKLY | GIVING CHICKEN TREATS |
| ANNUALLY | TRIMMING WING FEATHERS |
| DAILY | INSPECTING CHICKENS FOR INJURIES |
| WEEKLY | SHOVELING POOP |
| WEEKLY | INSPECT COOP FOR NEEDED REPAIRS |
| ANNUALLY | DEEP CLEANING CHICKEN COOP |
| DAILY | MAKE SURE CHICKENS ARE IN AT NIGHT |
For more information on how children specifically benefit with owning chickens, read my article, 11 Important Ways Raising Chickens Will Benefit Your Kids.
3. Farm Fresh Eggs Daily
Getting farm fresh eggs daily is definitely a benefit of owning your own chickens! What other family pet can you say serves you breakfast every morning?
Depending upon which breed of chicken, one hen can provide 300+ eggs a year. Many families like to get a variety of breeds so they will have a basket of colorful eggs with each gathering.
Farm fresh eggs are nutritionally better for you than supermarket eggs. Below is a chart of the advantages of farm fresh eggs as compared with supermarket eggs.
| ADVANTAGES OF FARM FRESH EGGS |
|---|
| ⬆️ OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS |
| ⬆️ VITAMIN D |
| ⬇️ CHOLESTEROL |
| ⬇️ SATURATED FAT |
| ⬆️ VITAMIN E |
| ⬆️. VITAMIN A |
| ⬆️. BETA CAROTENE |
If you currently do not own chickens, I highly recommend that you find local farms to buy eggs and find out first hand how much better they actually taste too!
For more information on how farm fresh eggs are better for you, read my article, Are Farm Fresh Eggs Really Better for You?
4. Chickens Provide Companionship for the Whole Family
People can form bonds with their chickens, just as they do cats and dogs. Many people think of their chickens as part of their family and have names for all of them too!
Chickens can actually recognize their owners voice and will come running when they call out to them. It’s a sight to see how quickly a flock will come running to their owner when they have treats to give them! (they can run as fast as 9 MPH!)
Chickens also can recognize up to 100 faces. This is not only other flock members, but human faces too! They are fascinating animals and their owners very commonly form close bonds with them. It isn’t uncommon for a family to grieve when they lose one of their chickens, just as they would a family dog or cat.
5. Makes You Become More Aware of Where Your Food Comes From
When you start eating the eggs that your hens provide for you, it makes you become more aware of where your food comes from. This will make you want to provide the best nutrition for your chickens. Healthier chickens do produce eggs that are nutritionally better for you!
Even very young children become more aware of where their food is coming from. They see this every single day they go out to the chicken coop to gather eggs that the hens have laid. Many young children that do not have hens think that eggs come from the supermarket.
It’s a good feeling knowing that the eggs you are eating are not coming from a hen that is being fed genetically modified organisms, GMO.
For many families, owning chickens is the start of them realizing how important it is the food they put into their body and they decide to eat healthier overall.
6. Improves Your Family Health
Decreases Stress & Depression
By owning chickens it can alleviate a lot of stress and depression you may be experiencing. Sometimes just going out to the coop and spending some time with the chickens is enough to escape reality.
Owning chickens also forces you to have to get out of the house to tend to them. Just getting outside can be enough to get you out of a “funk.”
Decreases Blood Pressure
This one goes hand in hand with decreasing stress and depression. By eliminating some of your stress and depression, it will also help to lower your blood pressure.
Just sitting with your chickens, petting them and watching them interact will help you to feel more relaxed, helping to lower your blood pressure.
Decreases Chance of Heart Attack or Stroke
On top of decreasing stress, depression and blood pressure, owning a flock of chickens can also decrease your chance of a heart attack or stroke.
The less stress you experience, the better you feel. The better you feel, the less depressed you will feel. Less stress and depression will help to lower your blood pressure, giving you a decreased chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
All of these things go hand and hand. So you can see, owning chickens is really good for your health!
7. Increased Family Income
Owning chickens gives your family the opportunity to earn a little extra side income. Some families choose to sell eggs, chickens, meat or even baby chicks.
This is a good opportunity to help teach your children about earning money and the value of a dollar. Children can get involved in collecting and packaging eggs as well as writing down expenses such as feed, bedding, egg crates, etc. Let your child keep track of selling and collecting money from different friends, family and neighbors.
Some families choose to raise “meat chickens” or broiler chickens and sell the meat. Broilers only take only 6-10 weeks to become full grown and ready for selling.
A third option for earning money with owning chickens is by selling fertile eggs, chickens or their baby chicks. Depending upon how large your property is, this can become a business in itself. A lot of people are interested in purchasing baby chicks in the spring.
Conclusion: How is Your Family Benefitting by Raising Chickens?
There are so many ways that your family can benefit by raising chickens. It can improve your health and make your whole family more knowledgable of where your food is coming from. At the same time it can bring in a little extra income and form a stronger family bond.
If your family owns chickens, I would love to hear how they have positively impacted your family. Let me know in the comments below.
