Chickens have been domesticated for 5000 years or so. They make really great pets and are also perfect for starter small farms. If not just for their eggs.

The chicken was first and foremost a jungle dweller until man domesticated it. This was in the Far East and since then chickens have become the most popular bird on the planet. Numbering in the billions at any one time around 9 Billion to put a figure to it.

Chickens are a poultry breed all of their own. They give you a constant supply of fresh eggs daily, some breeds can lay around 250 – 320 eggs per year. This in its self is a good reason to keep a couple of hens around the farm or home garden.

Chickens are different from other poultry types. If you want to rear them just for eggs you can. If you want to rear them just for their meat you can. Also if you want to rear them for both of these you can. Chickens are truly multi-purpose birds.

But most people who keep chickens as a hobby keep them for their eggs.

They also make excellent pets for children and older people alike. You don’t need lots of land to keep them happy. They will be just as happy in your home garden as they would on a large farm. The fact is that chickens don’t roam far from their chicken coops anyway. So a small garden will keep them happy and interested all day looking for bugs and grubs.

Once they are kept as pets and given names then there is no way you are going to put little old Betsy in the oven for a Sunday roast.

People who farm them tend not to get to close to the birds and certainly don’t give them names.

How Many Chicken Breeds Are There?

If you are thinking of keeping chickens for pets or breeding of any sort. then you are spoilt for choice really. You should do a little research first before running out and buying the first breed you see. This will then give you the best chance of getting a nice gentle bird that lays plenty of eggs.

On the other hand, you might want to be looking for a dual-purpose bird that you can raise both for eggs and meat. Only by doing your research will you be able to make the right choice.

In the Uk, there are 93 Chicken Breeds that are standardised in the British Poultry Standards Association and 53 in The American Poultry Association. These are what are classed as pure breed chickens and can be shown at pure breed chicken shows.

Other countries around the world have different breeds that they class as pure breeds in their own right.

They can lay lots of different colour eggs from Blue, chocolate, Light Brown, baige even Green or Olive as they are called.

Not to mention the number of Hybrid Chickens out there.

This could be into the thousands or hundreds of thousands. Who knows how many times chicken breeds have been crossed and recrossed?

Hybrid Chickens where created: which is a way of saying bred for their egg-laying potential. These are mainly the brown chickens that everyone thinks of when they think of chickens. These are pure egg-laying machines and are tuff little buggers.

But they are also the ones that you see in the battery cages in the news. They are in small cages all their egg-laying life. Which in the industry is around 2 years but these hens could still lay several eggs per week.

If you are thinking of rescuing ex-battery hens then be aware that these birds can be hard to fit into a normal flock. but some will also thrive. It is totally up to you where you find your hens.

10 reasons why chickens make good farm animals and pets?

• You get fresh eggs daily and is satisfying in itself.
• They are easy to care for in fact they take care of themselves. Just give them a little water and some feed.
• They even put themselves to bed at night.
• Chickens help with keeping pests under control like Slugs, Beetles, Anything that may become a pest on your land or in your garden, even mice.
• They can be very tame. So do a little research before you choose which breed you want to keep. That’s if you want to hold them, etc.
• You can sell their fertile eggs for a good profit if you have a cockerel. I would advise only raising one breed of chicken if you go down this route. You do not get much money for the eggs if they are a mixed breed.
• They help fertilise the land or your garden with their manure.
• I guarantee they will make you laugh at times, just the way they run makes me laugh.
• They get you out of the house and into the garden more and are a joy to watch messing around.
• You can also show your birds at chicken shows if you choose a pure breed. These are fun days out for the family.

But there are so many more reasons to keep chickens. They have funny personalities and not one is the same. You will have shy ones and you will have cheeky ones. They will sneak into the house if the door is open and steal your dog’s food. Even chasing your dog off if they are brave enough.

Silkies The Best Mother Chicken

Some breeds, like the Silkie make excellent mothers. So if you have a cockerel then you can expect a few chicks now and then. This is because Silkies seem to go Broody more than other chickens. Hybrids very rarely go broody, but sometimes they do just not that often.

Raising a few chicks is a good experience for your children to watch. They can see the cycle of life and how a mother takes care of her babies.

This is excellent in the age of technology. The fact that your children can watch and see how life is created. It is a brilliant way to get them away from their tablets or mobile phones. Not to mention the Silkie Chickens are really funny looking and cute hens. They are my daughter’s favorite with their fluffy feathers and funny haircuts.

Chickens Are Great Pets For Older People

Chickens also make great pets for older people who maybe have little chance of getting outside much. They can sit in the garden and watch the little hens scratching around looking for bugs, getting into little scuffles over who’s found a big juicy worm.

Then the race to get it eaten before another steals it from them but they will do their best to keep that worm. It’s like having a big juicy steak to the chicken that’s found it and she will not give it up easily.

They are very entertaining and are easy for the older person to care for. Not like dogs that need walking. Chickens will happily sit around picking up titbits of seeds they may be given. Plus the older person gets healthy fresh eggs daily which will make them happy.

Chickens Are Also Great Pets For Children With Disabilities

If you have a child with disabilities, then chickens are also excellent pets. The child can feed them little bits of corn and the chickens will come running when they see the child coming. They know when there’s a treat on the way.

Overall chickens as pets are excellent for all people. They give back what they eat in their feed bill which is very little if you only have a couple. You should keep a minimum of two hens as they are sociable animals and would not like to be alone.

They take very little to care for. You very rarely have to take them to the vets. Just make sure they are locked away at night in their coop and that they are cleaned out weekly. This task is not hard and they with be happy as a Pig In S–T so to speak…

If you are looking for a more in-depth look into how you can make a decent income from raising chickens. Then why not check out my article How To Profit From Your Chickens you will find that there is a pretty penny to be made if you do it the right way.