Pet Chickens: The Next Big Thing?

I cannot believe how much time has passed since my last post. I spent the past 2 months working on two college courses with hardly any time to spare for anything else. Alan’s been getting ready for his new assigned position teaching 7^th grade reading, writing and U.S. history in the fall and our kids have been having fun in day camp. Before my next classes begin, I wanted to get in a few more posts about our little backyard farm, which is fast becoming a jungle. We ran out of time to really take care of our vegetable and flower gardens and now they’re both in disarray. Oh well, we’ll try again next year. Our chickens, however, don’t seem to mind the weeds and have been happily scratching in the dirt.

Apparently, it’s becoming more popular to have chickens in Chicago, based on anecdotes from friends and relatives. There’s also a lot of websites out there about raising chickens, which seems to indicate that it’s becoming more common in other areas as well. I don’t remember how the idea came to us that we should get chickens, but knowing someone else who has them in the city helped make it a viable option. If you’re considering getting some, you might want to talk to someone who has had them for at least a year to see what it’s really like.  

Now that we have had our chickens for about four months, I have a better sense of the kind of commitment involved in raising them. The first month or so, when they were chicks, they had to be kept inside and we had to make sure that they were kept warm enough. When they were about six weeks old, we put them out in the coop (chicken ark) Alan made for them. I’ve put together a list of pros and cons for having pet chickens for anyone thinking about it:

Pros:

1. Most kids like holding chickens.

2. They live outside, so they don’t make your house dirty.

3. Their poop is full of rich nutrients for the soil.

4. You don’t have to bathe, groom, or take them to the vet.

5. They’ll let you hold them, but they aren’t clingy.

6. Chickens are just fun to watch.

7. They aren’t noisy, at least compared to our kids.

8. Their food and water lasts a long time.

9. They put themselves to bed at night.

10. You only have to let them out once a day. (We let them out more frequently.)

11. They lay eggs for you to eat.

12. You can eat them, if you choose, when they get too old to lay eggs.

Cons:

1. They poop a lot, so you have to watch where you step and spray and clean out their coop regularly.

2. If you don’t watch them, they can tear up your garden and yard.

3. If you have a mobile coop, you have to remember to move it every other day.

4. They can scratch and peck you (without meaning to).

5. You have to remember to let them out to get their food in the morning and close up their coop at night so animals can’t get in.

6. They can be less tolerant of heat, cold and disease, all of which can kill them.

7. You do have to keep an eye on them when they are out because cats or hawks can snatch them.

8. If you have a dog or cat, they might be tempted to eat the chickens.

9. Chickens aren’t as interactive as dogs and are kind of dumb.

10. We can’t really take them out of the yard, again because of other animals.

I realize there are more pros than cons, but that’s the way it is for me; I just think they’re great pets.

A major detail that I have overlooked in the list is what it is like keeping the chickens in cold weather. Once we’ve made it through a winter with the chickens, we’ll be sure to share any insights with you. Chicago winters can be brutal, so I’m curious to see how it goes.