Is Keeping Chickens Even Worth It?

I am not naming my hens, for me they are just chickens. One died quite fast after I got them, I was shocked about loosing a chicken but nothing personal. Just trew her in the bin.

I haven't experienced any health issues yet in just the month or so that I've had my 3 hens, but I did read that putting diatomaceous earth and/or Saturday Lime in their dust bath can be a great way to prevent/treat mites, etc. Have you explored this or have any feedback on this? Also, apple cider vinegar in their drinking water is recommended by many. Lastly, using herbal blends mixed into their feed has been recommended as well. Are you doing any off these things? Have you found any/all of these helpful?

I saw ur video about the double Dutch door n I started cracking up bc I'm from Philly so my mind went to double Dutch bus "gimme a hoe" get it gardening luv u guys

I grew up with chickens and loved having the eggs and meat. Trying to convince my husband to let me get some now that we’ve moved to our own land.

Maybe a sign of my dark humor, but I'm naming my chickens: cacciatore, broiler, roaster, crispy, etc. Now what my 4yo names them is up for debate.

I've been raising chickens over 25 yrs. I'll say they are worth it. First of all I live outside of town so nobody tells me I can't have a rooster or how many I keep. Second bird flu scare had egg and meat prices triple in price. Didn't affect me. Chick prices climbed to $8-$9 ea. Did not affect me. I had birds plus rooster. I just hatched a bunch then kept some for egg laying butchered the rest. Freezer full, more eggs than I need. Takes less than 6 birds to create all that. 6 birds endless supply of food. No money. Yes they eat garden leftovers, they eat bugs, they eat grain even if they tell you they don't. Wild mulberry grows like weeds around us. Those leaves are 20% protein to them birds. Even if your buying feed 6 birds only need 50 pounds a month or less if you feed grass clippings and stuff to them. Cost of feed around $12 how much are eggs $5/ dozen or more. Well you get $15 worth a week. Butchered chicken what $8-$10 in store. Hatch out what you need and there goes that cost. Easy to raise main thing is protection from predators dry place that blocks wind all they need to survive.

i clicked on this video knowing i love chicken keeping and i only just begun gardening. there's nothing more zen than hearing the happy cooing as they forage around.

I love my chickens, they are my favorite part of my homestead. Mine are pasture raised and unfortunately I lost a ton of my flock this winter from predators. There is a female mountain lion with a den on the next property over that had kittens and they did a lot of damage. I made changes to my fencing around the chicken pasture and haven’t lost a bird in over a month. They make me eggs and their waste has been used to make a barren plot of my garden the most fertile of the whole place. They are entertaining as well. If I had a long day, I come home and hang out with them and the goats and it puts a smile on my face.

What breed was it that died randomly?

Midnight was VERY offended by the suggestion you not name your birds!😂

16:12 rhat was midnight saying "DONT SLEEP ON MY NAME"

Nice Job you guys we started with 5 now have 3 so it is sad😢 We love them and are attached, now adding new ones , not sure !!!!!!

This may be slightly morbid but in the naming of chickens i had a friend who 4 chickens. They had names but we only called them by their nicknames

FG

KF

GT

And CFR

Now its what thise nicknames meant that was morbid 😅 flame grilled, Kentucky fried, general tsaos and chicken fried rice

I've always found them easy to take care of if you have a garden, they can just eat the bugs that come by, and then you eat their eggs, free food for me and them!

so yes or no???

My first pet as a child was a rooster I raised. Eventually he had his own flock of hens lol He was a Rhode Island Red/ New Hampshire mix and lived to about 8 years old. Dude was massive, sweet, and extremely smart. Wish I could have them again, but I live in an apartment, so that's not feasible at the moment.

I have quietly watched your channel over the years, back when you were showing worm composting for my garden ( because I was interested and did it a few years back). I have totally moved away from that at the moment, I may revisit it in the future. I have had my chickens for over a year and half, starting with 13, baby chicks in one of bedrooms was a nightmare. But was new, it was a great experience for my granddaughters and I. BUT I will never do it again LOL. One immediately died the very first day I placed it in the chicken coop due to heat. Since I have lost one more this past summer due to heat. I made some changes which did help tremendously. I live in NJ. When I decided to get chickens I tried to pick breeds that were cold hearty and heat tolerant, however as you know weather has been unpredictable across this nation. So every season it has been challenging. But I say all this to say, I love taking care of my chickens. There are ups and downs, but overall they bring my family much joy. I use their bedding to fill new raise beds with a cardboard barrier between the bedding and soil, for compost, mulch and it has saved me in buying soil for the summer or mulch this fall for my garden beds. I can not free range my chickens because I have hawks. So I go to the produce stand at least once a week and buy them produce. I also am venturing in making my own chicken feed also.

Keeping chickens in the Seattle area, any people who are thinking of keeping birds in cooler areas and let them live in a chicken tractor or just simply in a cool/wet area, prepare for each winter for a few casualties, some birds don’t make it through the winter, make sure they have food, water, and a dry place.

Midnight was giving you her opinion of the wouldn't get attached to them like pets part of your comments. 😂

Very interesting topic and let me explain my interest...
I've been researching how we might do a Lunar mission going forward and providing food to the crewmembers on the Moon is a challenge and very expensive, so being able to grow your own food using available resources could substantially reduce the amount of food that would need to be sent to the Moon. Part of this would be building greenhouses to grow fruits and vegetables, but in order to provide the protein and other things it would still need to be shipped from Earth and at great expense.
As far as chickens go my question is ... if the chickens are raised to produce eggs, itself a great source of protein, at some point the egg production declines and they should be replaced with younger hens -- but what about the older hens that are now less productive. Are egg laying hens as good for meet value as hens raised for meet? I presume the size of egg laying hens will be significantly smaller than commercial meet producing chickens using Franken-chickens.
Lastly, what kind of feed to feed them? If its pelletized food like commercial poultry producers then that would need to be shipped from Earth making the value of having chickens much less. But can we grow the food they need and if so what foods would that be? If we can grow what they need would there still be things we would need to supplement their diets?

I would absolutely do it again. I have dekt with mystery deaths, egg bound, water belly, and fky strike. Yes its ugly, but I love my girls and their eggs that nourish my family and extended family.

Rabbit poo is not hot, and can be used immediately in gardens.. I have 15 chickens and 5 rabbits.. i live in panhandle FL that has a lot of sandy soil.. so adding this helps a lot. i love my Blonde Buff Brahamas, but.. i do not like their feathered feet.. i plan on getting NJ Giant Roosters and BBB hens and trying to breed out the bad while keeping the good for my area. I made my coop mobile (on wheels) and large with 2 dedicated runs, alternating.. with the rabbit cages next to the coop, so manure is set to auto dumb to compost pile.. which requires some management, but it is the way to go, if you ask me.

I grew up with chickens, age 3 until I left at 19. I LOVED raising them, both for eggs and for meat. We were told to not name the meat ones, but we did anyway, but because raising livestock was normal to us, living in a farm town, we were not terribly distressed about eating them. Whatever you grow up with is normal. :)

Once when I was about 11 or so, I went out to feed the chickens and found a fisher cat had torn the door open and killed three chickens in gruesome ways. I kept my youngest siblings from seeing it until our father disposed of the dead chickens, but I was proud of my sleuthing to determine cause of death as best I could- scratch marks at the corner of the door, latch torn off, etc.

I REALLY want to have chickens again someday- you never forget how good those eggs are, or how charming they are, or how convenient of a way to dispose of unwanted food they are! I miss cuddling them- we had Silkies mainly, which are a small bantam breed that lays small eggs. They're fluffy because their feathers lack the "zippers" that hook them together to keep them flat! They also go broody easily, so we sometimes bought fertilized eggs at a local breeder and hatched them that way. We also had aracanas and americanas for their beautiful blue/green eggs, and often other kinds like dominicas, rhode island reds, and buffs. <3

mmmm chicken SO good

I started with 6 Delaware chicks in 2021 and in 2024, I lost 3. The first to a hawk while free ranging, 2nd from prolapsed vent (I had to put her out of her misery), the 3rd I found dead with no obvious cause. I got 4 buff Orpington chicks this spring (smaller eggs). One of my Delaware hens is currently recovering from illness in my bathroom tub. She is improving nicely. Losing your hens like any animal is unpleasant. I name all of my hens. They have color coded leg bands. Which over time I can tell them apart due to personality and the shape of their combs. I enjoy treating my hens as beloved pets. The eggs and manure are a bonus. They have enriched my life. Chickens are not for everyone. They are dirty and require proper care, food, water and secure run and housing. My hens loved to free range but the hawks are here year round. I won't risk losing another one to a hawk. So they stay in their run. I bring them fresh yard clippings and kitchen scraps to eat which they love. It isn't cheap raising chickens but I think the joy they bring me makes them priceless.

In some way i understand. But these guys are too soft to have chickens LOL. They get all teared up when a chicken dies :D Where do they think chicken tenders come from, the chicken tree?

Could you do a video about raising quail and if it's worth it?

This was such an honest and insightful take on chicken keeping 🐔💚 Loved hearing both the good and the ugly — super helpful for anyone thinking of starting!

Had 5 a few years ago. Let them run around the back yard during the day. Big mistake. One always wanted to be around me but then would attack me for no reason. Hawk got one, one just disappeared, one killed in the coop by something. Last two decided they didn't want to go in the pen/coop. After chasing them around day after day i gave up. Pretty sure an owl got them.

I lost a hen on our first hot day of summer. All the others were perfectly fine, one was just dead. I assume there was an underlying issue, heart defect or similar, as she was only 5 months old. It's important to remember chickens are an R selection species- they breed for quantity, not quality or longevity.

As a vegan, who hasn’t had eggs in a decade, and spent like 4k on their coop just for 3 chickens and 3 ducks 😂 I would say it’s worth it, but only if you love animals, composting, and recycling. Not worth it if you’re trying to save money.

well put guys. We enjoy our 20 hen flock mixed with ducks.
I had a 8 week old chick in the coop that I walked up on too fast and she flew into the wall and broke her neck. Died in 30 seconds very un-cool.

I enjoyed having chickens. After a few years it lost it's magic & fun. Why? Rodents. No one talks about rodents & chickens. Chickens make huge messes of food that rodents are too happy to come through and gobble up. I have a theory that, that is the real reason they originally banned chickens in urban settings. Just a theory.

We lost 25 to a mink😢

I think the best way to look at is, your eggs are worth $.50 each apprx. So count how many eggs Xs $.50= whatever your number vs. whatever your costs are and there you go a basis for your question, is it worth it for eggs. You can factor in that you can use chickens for compost and eating scraps if you want too, but your basis is set at your egg price.

I don’t know how you could keep from naming them, they’re such little individuals! I used to “chicken sit” for a neighbor as a kid and I had them all named after one weekend

My bf just bought a good size property that is fenced in but it's only about a 5ft fence and we just found out the entire property is sand 😭 as a gardener this physically hurt me. But now we are talking about soil building and mulch and compost but also we want to get chickens for meat and get layers too. I plan to get a ton of predator balls lol but then they can't fly over the fence, they can scavenge and they'll be safe while they fertilize the lawn 😊

We've had chickens since 2012 and have been through two flocks. Living on a canyon in a San Diego suburb means that predators are around. We've lost a handful to bobcats, coyotes, raccoons. We've found that the smart ones hang out near the dogs. Anyway they continue to be fun and recipients of eggs (friends, neighbors, kids' teachers) are delighted

I started with 8 girls. They are 3 years old now. Lost one in the woods and gained a rooster. We love our girls and The 🐓Professor. We do the deep liter method. Might I say, THE BEST method. For the run, we use crushed river sand and scoop the poop every other week or so.