Benefits

When I started reading about chickens and learning about them from other chicken owners I discovered that there are a lot of benefits to owning chickens beyond eggs and possibly Sunday dinner. Here are just a few of the benefits:

Bug and Weed Control

Chickens like to eat a lot. They like the feed you give them but they also love to eat bugs of all sorts. Some of the bugs they like include: slugs, sow bugs, yellow jackets (you can get them from restaurant traps), and worms.

Chickens also like to eat weeds, too. When they scratch at the ground they dig up weeds, which they'll then eat. Grass forage and garden clippings make for good sources of food for your chickens.

Improved Gardens

Chickens love to scratch at the ground making them excellent at breaking up the soil allowing for better drainage. They also help mix up the soil and encourage composting. Their composted manure makes for an excellent fertilizer, which can be made even better by adding worms. If you have a coop that can be moved around your yard you'll find that these benefits can extend to your whole yard.

One note of warning though, as much as they like weeds they also love fresh goodies right from the garden. This isn't a problem if you keep them in the coop but if they're free range then you may find plants missing or deflowered.

Less Garbage

Chickens will eat a wide variety of scraps from bad fruit to carrot or potato peels to fish. This cuts down on how much chicken feed you need to buy, the amount of garbage you put out on the curb every week and helps provide your chickens with the a wide variety of nutrients they need to stay healthy.