Creating Self - Sufficiency with Chickens

Keeping chickens is a big step on the path to self sufficiency.        Just one look at the news lately will tell you that many things we have always relied on is on shaky ground. Food shortages, supply chain problems, inflation like we've not seen in a very long time.

How much peace of mind would it give you to know that with a small garden and backyard chickens your reliance on "the system" is minimized. 

This is the main reason I got started with chicken keeping. I know with confidence that if I cant get food from the grocery store all I have to do is be a good steward of my garden and my hens so I will have protein (from eggs) and vegetables to sustain me. 

 My first two eggs on the first day of hens arrival. I was so excited!

Swiss Chard from my garden

Gardening and keeping a small flock of hens really compliment each other well. The garden helps feed the chickens with garden scraps and weeds and in turn the chickens help feed the garden with their waste after it is properly composted and becomes fertilizer. Synergy! 

The garden can help cut the cost of feed by growing certain crops like Sunflowers.

When you take control of your food sources you place yourself in an empowered position instead of being controlled by your food sources. 

 

 Chickens can play an important role in managing insects and pests in the area they are in like your backyard or garden. I will only allow my hens to roam the garden after the last harvest so they don’t destroy the plants still producing. They dig up the larva in the top soil, eat any bugs they find, eat weed seeds, and leave behind manure that compost over the winter and enriches the soil. 

 

Egg production:

Not only are you getting a versatile protein for yourself and your loved ones you now have a valuable commodity to sell or trade. Eggs are a necessary ingredient in so many recipes and a foundational breakfast food. When the economy really takes a dive your eggs will be in demand. These days I’m getting 3-4 eggs a day in December. That’s 21-28 eggs per week. I expect a lot more in the spring when all the hens are producing. I have already preserved enough eggs to last throughout winter. 

  

Meat Production:

I have dual purpose birds so in the event that if we had to; we could slaughter a chicken for food. This is an unpleasant idea and it would have to be a dire situation but at least I know that if it comes down to not being able to access food any other way and the hen no longer produces eggs then it is a possibility.

Other people have no issue with killing a chicken for food and my hat is off to them. In that case they have another asset to sell or trade.

Creating Compost:

As I mentioned earlier chickens and gardens go hand in hand. A valuable by-product of chickens is manure, feathers, and egg shells. These ingredients make wonderful compost for your garden.  When combined with kitchen scraps and piled up in a compost heap the manure heats up the pile and after turning the pile once a week you end up with great compost after about 8 weeks. This helps replenish the lost nutrients from your last harvest. 

  If you’re concerned with food security it makes sense to provide what you can yourself. Raising chickens and gardening has given me a sense of security and accomplishment.