Food, Water, Energy Nexus : Chickens - 2

The first three chickens.

Are they worth it? Yes.  Here is why.

1) They eat your kitchen food scraps--even meat, seafood and eggs!
2) Their manure the best form of high nitrogen natural fertilizer on God's green earth.
3) They eat bugs: mosquitos, flies, hornworms on tomato plants and basically anything that flies or moves and will fit in their beaks.

4) My personal favorite: they eat parasite larvae!
5) They eat ticks, fleas and fire ants!
6) They are surprisingly lovable (dare I say therapeutic?) to interact with and watch.
7) They are profitable.  I know a retired couple who made $30,000 last year raising and selling chickens.
8) I almost forgot. They also lay eggs.





Here is my personal story of how an unlikely family ended up with....30 (?) or so chickens.  I was raised on a farm and we always had a few chickens.  That all ended when I was a child and I have not had them since.  Flash forward 30 years to 2017, when we moved to a small five-acre farm.  I planted some trees, got a used chicken tractor from Craigslist and purchased three small hens as a 2017 Christmas present for my daughter, age 3.

Luna with Sploradora.

They were so cute, and so useful.  As chicks, they can go in your garden and pick off tiny pests without harming food and, of course, leave behind little drops of fertilizer as they work.  Then came the eggs and more chickens.  My daughter got really into being a "chicken mama" and I, being a homeschooler from way back, decided this was Science class and encouraged her.

Baby Coop, built 2/6/19

This morning, my daughter and I built a "baby coop" for the newest set of little chicks.  My now 4 year old little girl confidently uses hammers, screw guns, drills and a host of other tools.  She told me she thinks she could build a house someday, and I'm sure she could.  We planted a purple possum passion fruit vine on the sunniest side, which will climb the wire mesh and provide shade, beautiful flowers and amazing fruit. We will angle the roof slightly to give the passion fruit the heavy water it loves when it rains. 





As I mentioned, the chickens eat even parasite larvae, which is great, because they free-range during the day with the horses and decrease the parasites in the pastures: equestrian permaculture at its finest!


So, what are you waiting for?  Get some chickens and hatch your own.  You could have a smile as big as this girl in no time!

Luna with Sweetheart, her favorite chicken.