The benefits of raising chickens, other forms of poultry, and game birds in your home can be summed up in two words.

Freshness. traceability.

“Fresh as the moment the capsule burst”

As a famous advertising slogan for freshly picked peas claimed. Well, every day you will have the opportunity to choose your own fresh birds. Freshness is a vitally important feature when purchasing most food supplies.

The fresher we get our vegetables, short-lived dairy products, and of course poultry, the better the end result of our finished meals will be. Raising poultry in your own home allows you to achieve this goal. Imagine the freshly ugly egg for breakfast.

Traceability is another key factor. You will know the origin and breed of your day old chicks, if you are not raising them yourself. You will be aware of the food, nutrients and medical treatment that your herd receives. You will be in charge of the living conditions of your birds to ensure that they have a healthy and safe life.

Can you make these comments about poultry products purchased at your butcher or supermarket?

To be sure, most top-tier suppliers of poultry products go to great lengths to ensure that they are purchased as fresh as possible and, upon receipt, are stored in the correct conditions. But unless they are producing the products themselves, which is unlikely, they rely on several steps before taking delivery.

The provider of birds and eggs for one. When were the eggs ugly? In most cases today, eggs or their containers are batch coded or date stamped. However, this print could be from eggs laid several days before.

The fresh meat supply, whether in the form of whole birds or portions, when was it slaughtered? At open meat counters, there will usually be no indication of the age of the meat. With some packaged fresh products, a best before date may be indicated. This date will have no relevance to the date the bird was shipped.

After leaving the farm gates, your poultry is now in the hands of the carrier, possibly an auction, probably a wholesaler before reaching the point of sale. In all these stages there are standards established by the governing bodies, regarding the temperature and conditions that must be met. But do they meet all the time?

With your own supplies practically on your doorstep and waiting to be used in the kitchen, you can be in complete control of all of those variables.
Raise a diverse range of poultry at home

The choice is great, and you don’t need to limit yourself to just chicken. On a scale to suit your needs, try raising turkeys, ducks, geese, or some of the game birds like quail, pheasants, ptarmigan, grouse, and of course, the occasional pigeon. For the cook, it will be like discovering an oasis in the desert. A rich abundance of fresh food at your doorstep.

Raising poultry at home will give you a new hobby.

To take your mind off the stress of everyday life, watching poultry grow and develop is exciting in its own right. Taking a little time to understand the process, starting with creating your own breeding room and coop, to possibly breeding specimens to bring to shows and exhibitions, will enrich your life. Of course, after the initial setup costs, you’ll also save money.

Deciding to raise your own poultry is a step worth taking. There are many people and sources of information from which to obtain advice. Starting with DIY chicken coop manuals, to detailed instructions on keeping birds. It’s not difficult and can provide great fun for you and your family and friends, as well as fresh food at your doorstep.