Backyard Chickens: Three Reasons to Have Urban Hens

1. Chickens provide fresh eggs.
What could be more satisfying than walking out into your backyard, reaching into the chicken coup, and pulling out fresh eggs? Fresh eggs from your own backyard hens taste better than store bought eggs. It is empowering and almost magical to become more self-sufficient in the production of your own food.

You will wow friends and relatives when you invite them over for brunch and cook omelets made from the freshest eggs possible. After brunch, be sure to go for a stroll with your visitors in the backyard to show them the hens. Children especially love this!

A common misconception about chickens is that hens need a rooster in order to lay eggs. Not true! If you want fertilized eggs so that you can have baby chickens, a rooster is required. However, if you simply want unfertilized eggs to eat, no rooster is necessary. Sans rooster, your neighbors will thank you for the absence of 5:00 am crowing. And, you'll never have to worry whether that fresh egg contains the beginnings of a baby chicken inside.

2. Chickens provide free compost for your garden.
Chicken manure is rich in nutrients. Rake up the chicken droppings along with the grass or hay and begin a compost pile. A compost pile can be as simple as a pile of yard and plant waste in the corner of your yard. No special chemicals or equipment is necessary for the pile to eventually turn into rich compost for your garden. You may wish to "turn" or mix up the pile occasionally to speed up the composting process. Left unbothered, a compost pile will most likely naturally turn into valuable compost in about a year.

If you have children or child visitors, they will love throwing old onion peels and other compostable food waste onto the compost pile. This will provide valuable education about nature and gardening.

3. Chickens "mow" the grass.
It is amazing how quickly a few chickens will clear a yard area of green grass. If you create a moveable pen for the chickens, you can determine what areas of your yard you want "mowed." And don't worry, the grass will soon grow back once the chickens have moved on to another grassy area.