| As the world creeps closer to its most disastrous food | | | | kitchen scraps can simply be gobbled up by your new |
| crisis in history, individuals are becoming ever choosier | | | | found friends to make new, fresh food! Life |
| in when they eat, what they eat and why they eat it. | | | | couldn’t get much greener than that. |
| With fossil fuels in decline and seemingly an increase in | | | | But there are additional benefits. Chickens love insects, |
| natural disasters it is only right that we start to look for | | | | snails, dandelions and other weeds that to the average |
| new ways to grow our food, whilst being aware of | | | | gardener become the bane of their lives. Let out of |
| the sources it has come from. An ideal means to start | | | | their coop on a supervised basis your hens can soon |
| this change of attitude and something that most can | | | | help stamp out those garden pests with ferocity. |
| do for small cost in their own backyard, is to keep | | | | Gardeners can benefit too from the droppings, making |
| chickens. | | | | excellent manure with the straw composting down into |
| Once a residential standard for the supply of eggs and | | | | the perfect mulch for your garden borders. |
| meat, especially in the United Kingdom during and after | | | | As with all animals chickens also come with fantastic |
| World War I and II, people’s lives have become | | | | personalities and having hens in your backyard can |
| increasingly faster and busier. The simple art of | | | | soon become an addictive fascination. Friendly, curious |
| keeping a couple of hens in the garden has died out, | | | | and often quite tameable, chickens can quickly |
| and it is only in more recent years, as people look to | | | | become much more than a source of food to the |
| growing their own and eating healthy, that chicken | | | | average family. The joys of keeping pets with children |
| keeping popularity has started to rise. Whilst many | | | | is most rewarding so why not teach them about |
| may be put off by recent bird flu scares, by thoughts | | | | caring for hens and supplying home grown food for |
| of vermin, smell and noise, the benefits of owning | | | | your table….you may just find that getting eggs into |
| poultry far outweigh any disadvantages and with the | | | | them is suddenly that much easier! |
| correct care these clucking, chortling, happy little birds | | | | Coming in a range of shapes, sizes and colours there |
| can become additional members to your family. | | | | is a chicken variety for everyone, whether it is the |
| When it comes to chicken keeping the first obvious | | | | standard Rhode Island Red to the incredibly fluffy and |
| benefit is that of food, of fresh eggs collected in a | | | | flightless Silkie. With most laying daily you’ll never |
| basket, of omelettes produced by simply popping | | | | have to buy eggs again, especially if the not so |
| down the garden for supplies. The more advanced | | | | uncommon occurs and you suddenly find that your |
| keeper may even prefer to raise a small number of | | | | happy hens are producing more than one egg a day |
| chickens for the oven and though horrifyingly cheap in | | | | each. They are cheap to care for, hardy and resilient |
| the supermarket, fresh, own reared meat can taste | | | | and very easy to look after. The only thing you’ll |
| like no frozen chicken you’ve had before. | | | | have to worry about is your growing addiction causing |
| What’s even more satisfying is that left over | | | | you to want more and more. |