elodieunderglass:

penfairy:

• a small backyard, a decent fence and the will to make a safe coop for your fluffy dames is all you need to make it happen
• they will eat your vegetable scraps and gobble down pretty much any kind of food waste, turning discarded crusts and mushy fruit into big fat eggs full of protein!
• and depending on which breed you buy, they will lay an egg almost every day. free, nutritious food every morning! what other pet will do that?
• it’s a misconception that eating eggs is inherently cruel, or that you need a rooster for your chickens to lay eggs! all the eggs you buy in supermarkets are unfertilised, which means there is no chance of that egg ever hatching. you’re not eating a potential life, your chickens will lay eggs regardless of whether there’s a rooster around
• so only buy a rooster to go with your lovely ladies if you want baby chicks – otherwise, just get some girls and enjoy those omelettes!
• the way cage egg farms are run is terrible, and you can’t always be sure that a free range farm is as idyllic as the picture you see on the carton. lots of sad chookies who can’t perch or scratch or eat grass and clean themselves. 😦 
• this way, you will always be certain that your girls are happy, healthy, doing what chicken are meant to do and eating what chickens should be eating, which means bigger and better eggs for you!
• you can give eggs to your friends! give eggs to strangers! eggs for everyone!
• tiny and furious lawnmowers. chickens LOVE grass, especially clover. if you have a small backyard, they will do all the work of keeping the grass trimmed. 
• a caution, pls buy your chicken a friend – they will get lonely if you only buy one. my friend had two chickens and one died, leaving Gizmo all alone. she got depressed and stopped laying, so they put her in the rabbit hutch. now she has a best friend bunny called Jimmy and she’s very happy! she often sits on him and purrs.
• chickens are good around most other pets – cats and chickens usually regard each other with mutual indifference and disdain, but they generally bond with dogs. however, if you know your pooch or kitty is particularly aggressive, make sure you check it won’t be a problem!
• scratch scratch scratch, scratch party!!
• one time I was cleaning out the stables and my chicken came over, saw that I was using a big rake and went !!!! scratch time!!! and she started scratching furiously next to me like she was trying to help
• they’re very clean animals and will clean themselves every day with a dust bath and a thorough preening
• when it starts raining it takes them a good 10 seconds to process what’s happening, then they RUN to shelter
• gloriously stupid tiny velociraptor running
• peck peck peck. is food? I check! peck. not food!
• rip all snails and slugs that live in your garden
• they will also go after mice and spiders
• chicken poop is great fertiliser! when you clean out their coop, spread the poo on your garden and watch your flowers and veggies grow!
• kiddos LOVE chickens!!
• seriously, looking after chickens is a great job for little kids – any little fella can fill up their water and give them some food, and collecting a warm, fresh egg every morning is so rewarding for them!!! 
• hours of entertainment watching their antics
• some (not all) like a cuddle! the ladies will let you know what their preference is. they may also gently peck and groom you because they love you.
• you can give them fancy names like lottie, ethel and lady beatrice so it sounds like they’re a supporting cast in a Jane Austen novel
• in conclusion give a pretty chicken a happy home today

Also: you want a bird friend? well it is PSYCHOLOGICALLY HEALTHY for you and the chicken to be friends! After thousand and thousands of years of domestication, chickens are basically genetically programmed to be happy to live with humans.