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Money and Time Savings - 

Properly raised pastured chicken eggs are hard to come by. While going the extra mile (sometimes literally) is well worth the effort for procuring this nourishing food, now that I know the ease of pulling them out of the nesting boxes in my own backyard, I can’t imagine going back to my old ways. Not only do I save money on gas and the premium prices per dozen from my farmer, but if I trade my eggs for other goods, I am actually making money for my family! Also, if you get friendly with the organic produce manager at your local health food store, you may be able to score some veggies that are too old for the dinner table, but perfect chicken grub.

Chickens are also an asset to your garden. Chicken manure is high in nitrogen, which is great for soil. The henhouse’s bedding makes terrific mulch (be sure to explore the deep litter method for your henhouse). The nitrogen-rich bedding should be allowed to break down and compost for at least a year before it is added to the garden. When allowed to peck and forage in the garden (once seedlings are established as well as after your produce is harvested), the girls will clean up pests, naturally fertilize the soil and mix everything up with their scratching.

With chickens, nothing goes to waste. Chickens need a goodly amount of calcium. One way to provide this is to feed their shells right back to them. Different chicken farmers have their own ways of accomplishing this—some just toss the shells right back to them after the egg is removed, while others dry them in the sun or oven and grind them up so that they don’t look like egg shells. One thing to consider: if chickens get comfortable eating eggs they may start to eat what they lay, which would not be good for you and your family’s supply.

There is even talk about the use of egg shell powder as a calcium source for humans too. While I haven’t gone there yet, I will toss a shell or two into my water kefir brew for the added nutrition. (See the article “Who Needs Soda Pop with These Bodacious Beverages” from the Spring 2008 Wise Traditions issue on lacto-fermented beverages for more details.)

Another waste-saving benefit of chickens is their appetite for your kitchen scraps. What better way to use your carrot shavings, cabbage cores, meat and fish leftovers and over-mature veggies from your garden (i.e. cantaloupes, cucumbers and zucchini ) than to put them back into your meals via the eggs produced by your pastured chickens? Some of the most gorgeous orange yolks come from “zucchini-fed” chickens. Beware: feeding onions and garlic may make your eggs taste a little “funny!”

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