When we choose to give life to a chicken farm in the garden, we are not only choosing a somewhat out of the ordinary pet that gives us an egg every day, but also a healthier lifestyle with a lower environmental impact, which will make our life richer not only for the experiences that we will live, but also on health and money. Hens don't lay golden eggs, but they sure do give us lots of gifts.
6 reasons to adopt laying hens
The reasons for building a garden chicken coop and producing your own eggs are many, we list those with the most evident positive impact.
- Having fresh eggs every day: it seems obvious but a domestic chicken coop of only two or three chickens in a week will yield you a dozen eggs, and of excellent quality since you control their feeding. Ideal to integrate into your recipes and you won't need a rooster to get them.
- Starting a chicken coop is cheap: if you decide to build a chicken coop using only recycled materials you will significantly reduce the cost of construction and remove materials from the environment that would have ended up in the garbage. Please note that recycled materials does not mean poor quality materials; better to make a project and carefully choose construction materials. If you don't have the patience or the time to do this, you can always choose prefabricated structures such as i cucciolotta chicken coops. Even chickens can come at affordable prices or even for free! Try to contact the centers for the recovery of wild animals or the Lipu oases, sometimes it happens that some good souls bring them injured hens, but clearly they are not animals that can be released into nature and end up staying in the comfortable cages of these centers. If you prefer to know the origin of your animals, there are groups of breeders and amateurs who exchange and sell birds through social networks and are an excellent support group if you are a beginner.
- You will make your chickens happy and that's no small thing. A free-range chicken farm done respecting the regulations takes into account the animal welfare, which the large and polluting intensive farms do not do.
- Have a lower environmental impact: self-production of eggs will allow you to do without those of the supermarket, reducing the amount of packaging you throw in the trash. And speaking of garbage, chickens can dispose of some of the waste that is thrown in the wet, such as table scraps, old bread, fruit and vegetable peels and even egg shells! Such a varied diet will also improve the quality of the eggs they produce.
- Have high quality fertilizer available: le chicken droppings form the basis a fertilizer called droppings; these are diluted and composted so that they lose the part of urea nitrogen and ammonia they contain. In fact, these substances could damage plants and increase the salinity of the soil. The process of creating manure is not particularly complex, but it requires patience and is not suitable for the most delicate noses, but if you manage to complete the process you will have an organic fertilizer and used in the right doses will do wonders for your garden.
- Keeping animals and pests under control: It seems strange to say for animals that seem to be on every predator's menu, but chickens are excellent hunters. They are particularly fond of insects, spiders, larvae, ants, ticks, helping to keep these annoying creatures away from our home. They don't even disdain small snakes and mice.
Are 6 reasons not enough to convince you? We have 3 more
Raising chickens, as well as living with any pet, it is an incredible experience for an adult, but absolutely extraordinary for a child. He is given the opportunity to see the cycle of life up close and by involving him in the care of our feathered friends he will learn to commit and get busy. Moreover, hens are very intelligent animals, to the point that they are used in pet therapy, and they could make great playmates.
La maintenance of the chicken coop it is also a hobby that keeps the mind trained and makes us stay outdoors while also training the body. Taking care of our chickens will force us to get away from the computer, stretch our legs and get busy, freeing ourselves from the stress of the day and giving us some relaxation. There are many studies that say how the green of nature rests the mind and outdoor activities extend life.
Finally, you can choose the best breeds of laying hens or preserve biodiversity of your area and breed hens of ancient breeds, saving them from extinction.
