If you’re bored looking at the same old patch of lawn every time you use your garden, there’s an increasingly popular pastime you should consider: chicken keeping! According to ChickenGuard, there are an estimated 1 million households across the UK keeping chickens, all enjoying a host of benefits – here are four of our favourites.
Cluck-on and tuck-in
According to a 2017 survey by ChickenGuard, 91% of people in the UK that keep chickens as pets do so to gain a steady source of eggs. Not having to buy eggs is a top way to cut down the price of your food shop, and you can be sure that yours are totally free-range. Plus, you can keep rare breeds that are known for their eggs, such as White Leghorns, that can lay up to 300 eggs a year, or Ameraucana chickens, which lay pretty blue eggs that’ll add style to your mealtimes!
Great for your flock
If you want your kids to learn about nature, keeping chickens is a great idea. As well as getting them to help you construct a chicken run with the help of bird cage netting, they can learn about keeping animals and how to feed them. Seeing where their food comes from is a great lesson too – food doesn’t just magically appear in the supermarket, after all!
Egg-stra good for your garden
Do a lot of gardening, have plenty of weeds, and don’t fancy starting a compost heap? Chickens can help! They will chow down on all sorts of garden weeds, as well as eating raw fruits and vegetables from your kitchen, including peels. If you let them loose across your outdoor space (after putting up plenty of netting around the boundary to keep them from running off) they will also take care of pest insects too, saving you the need to use chemicals.
Chicks are treats!
Like all animals, chickens have plenty of personality, so within your brood, you’ll definitely be able to know who’s who. Some are shy, others bolshy, but all in all they’re surprisingly quiet and timid creatures, making them great fun to admire. They are social creatures though, so make sure to get more than one chicken, and consider letting a few eggs crack open on their own if you choose to put a rooster in the mix – chicks are super cute!
Chickens are on the up in gardens across the country. If you want to keep a flock, just make sure to do your research, get your garden ready, and care for them properly. Best of cluck!
