Submitted by Jessica Cheek
Have you ever considered keeping your own chickens? Chickens are an easy way to begin your homestead. They are low-cost (until you learn chicken-math!), low-maintenance, and such fun!
I’ve kept chickens for years now. They bring such a rich contentment to my soul and a peace to my mind when I’m watching them scratch about the yard from my cedar front porch rockers. Being able to witness a creature simply exist is one of the best things I can imagine.
Chickens have many benefits in addition to the “free therapy.” I live in the land of the pines (truly!), yet rarely do I see a tick in my yard. They kick the pine straw up daily to find delicious grubs, worms, and other bugs!
My chickens free-range every week, but I supplement them daily with an organic soy- and corn-free feed– and all the dried mealworms and kitchen-scraps they could ever dream of! My beautiful red rooster, Goldie, in particular LOVES fruit!
My daughter and I choose to eat the eggs that our chickens offer us. We eat the sunshine-yellow yolks along with the whites knowing just how many nutrients our sweet chickens are helping us to bring into our body.
In the evenings, my chickens go back to their coop and we close the gate behind them until the next morning when the sun rises! Then, they are back at it til sundown.
If you are on the fence about getting your own chickens, go on and hop off the fence. Just do it already!
Jessica is a small-time homesteader living down south in Mississippi. She raises herbs,
veggies, chickens, and her free-range daughter! When she’s not outside, she can be found sewing whatever idea the day brings her way or relaxing in a hot bubble bath with a good book.