There are many reasons for beginning a new hobby. Maybe you’re looking for a way to fill up free time due to retirement or you have some other reason for an increase of more available free time. And there are so many different hobbies to choose from.
Some people take up building racecars, knitting, collecting baseball cards and others raise chickens. Yes chicken raising is an actual hobby, and it’s becoming increasingly more popular with everyday families.
It’s actually pretty amazing how easy it can be to raise chickens in your own backyard, and there are many people raising chickens that live in a city setting offering them minimal space for the coop and free ranging.
Chickens are amazing animals that will offer you so many things you probably would never have imagined they could. Please don’t get me wrong; there are things you will need to provide for your chickens. You can’t just buy chickens and throw them in your yard. They will need proper shelter, which is called a chicken coop or sometimes a hen house.
A coop is going to give your chickens the much-needed protection from Mother Nature, such as weather and predators such as raccoons. Protecting your chickens is one of the most important things that you must plan thoroughly. This will include a secure chicken coop, and proper placement of the coop.
There are many do’s and don’ts that you will need to know also. You don’t want to wake up one morning only to find that a raccoon found its way into the coop and not a single one made it out of the grips of this nasty creature. It’s sad, and this is not something that’s uncommon.
The cost of a chicken coop can range from affordable to expensive, so how much you’e willing to spend will be determined by your budget. Another consideration in the coop will be how many chickens that you plan on raising. You will want the chickens to have enough room.
A good way to keep the cost down for the coop is to build one on your own. It’s much easier then you think when you follow along with a step-by-step guide. You can find many different designs in books, as well as chicken coop plans available to purchase and download right online.
One nice advantage of keeping chickens is the fact that the cost of feeding your chickens is not going to be like feeding your dog or cat.
Chickens will eat nearly anything – grass, leaves, berries, insects, and even field mice. The things that they eat are also another major benefit to raising them because they are the ultimate home pest control.
Of course there are things that you are going to want to learn about proper feeding requirements for your chickens, and if you are looking to get organic eggs from your chickens then it’s even more important for you to put proper nutrients into their diets. After all you’ll be putting those same nutrients into yours when you start making use of their eggs.
A good hobby will help you to maintain your stress level because of the enjoyment that it has to offer to you and it’s really easy to wash away your stress when you sit watching your chickens clucking and plucking around the yard.
Raising chickens is a simple hobby that has so much to offer. So if this sounds like something you’re interested in, be sure to learn all about chicken keeping before you take the plunge for maximum enjoyment.
