Owning chickens has become a more popular trend in the past years and for very good reason. Chickens are very sweet and charming animals with diverse personalities. If you give them patience and are gentle with them as they grow, they become very sweet pets and will even cuddle with you. They offer an educational opportunity as well as an opportunity for fresh eggs, having fresh eggs that are collected daily is much healthier than store-bought eggs.

Chickens are great for the environment because they compost food into fertilizer. Chickens have natural foraging habits which can help control pests that may feed on your garden. Chickens are natural pest controllers and produce great fertilizer for soil–a win for gardeners.

Chickens offer opportunities for children to learn about animals. Raising an animal from a chick to a hen/rooster grows that sense of connection and teaches them responsibility. You can teach them to be gentle with animals and how to be patient with them.

Although, there are risks to owning chickens, especially predator risk. Lots of predators hunt chickens for sport, so it is important to check on them when they are out of the coop. Another risk is the cleanliness of chickens. Chickens’ digestive systems are basically a straight line, so they poop a lot. If you plan on having them in the house, be mindful of what will happen. Washing your hands after tending to chickens is a very important thing to do because if you were to handle the chickens, then eat something without properly sanitizing you could get very sick.

While chickens do require commitment to feeding, cleaning, and maintaining their coop, the rewards of keeping them as pets are substantial. As long as you treat them well, they will stay with you for the rest of their lives.