Reply #7: Chickens [View All]

[izquierdista]

I recently got three hens and I have a new found respect for their place in the natural world. Chickens have evolved to be probably the best commensal organism for the human. They turn garbage into food (eggs). Modern suburbia is devoid of chickens, and each house turns out pounds of edible garbage per week (at least edible in the eyes of a chicken, i.e., vegetable peels, coffee grounds, stale bread, moldy cheese, etc.) in addition to grass clippings and other yard trimmings that could be recycled by chickens instead of sent to the landfill. The goat is a poor second, as the egg is much more versatile in cooking than milk, and goats require more care than chickens.

We shouldn't be buying our eggs from huge poultry concentration camps, which use first run, not recycled feed. The amount of space needed to keep a few chickens is small indeed for the recycling service they provide. Visit 'The City Chicken' at http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html and do your part to opt out of big agribusiness.