Cheap pets

Chickens! Even Madonna, Jeremy Clarkson and a host of other celebs have them, and they are becoming increasingly popular, even among city dwellers with little space. I personally have three (large) hens (in Bristol), and the hens are very quiet (only boys crow) and don't need a cockeral to lay eggs. They can be confined to a run so that they don't dig up your garden, stray into the neighbours or get eaten by a fox, badger or dog. They also have amazing personalities, and know exactly who feeds them, and get quite excited about you coming to see them.

Now, the moneysaving bit: I buy 20kg of non-GM no animal-byproducts complete feed at £6.15 every seven weeks. That's about 88p a week for three chickens. I also buy a MASSIVE bale of compressed woodshavings (about 1m x 0.5m x 0.5m) for £5 once every six months. That's 21p a week, so up to £1.09 a week. Treats are usually VEGETABLE kitchen scraps, but not potatos as they are poisonous. So, that's free.

You also have to consider the start-up cost, which is usually around £100 if you make a nice one yourself, or £200-300 if you buy the coop, plus the cost of buying the chickens in the first place, the price of which varies by location, breed and age. However, chickens live for 5-8 years on average, often longer. The housing will last 20 years or more (For a £200 house that lasts 20 years, that's 19p a week.

Vets bills don't happen very often, because if you do your research and learn something about them, and ask someone, either in real life or on the internet, you can usually find out what the problem is and treat it yourself. On friday I had to take one to the vet for the first time in 18 months and it cost me £65 inc. meds.

It only takes me 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening to care for them out, and 20 mins once a week to clean them out.

Also, chickens eat bugs if you have a problem with insects in your garden.

And, think of what chickens can teach you and your children
- Responsibility
- Where food comes from
- Get the kids involved in cooking with the eggs
- DIY (if you make your own coop)
- Treating your chickens yourself will provide the perfect first step for kids wanting to become vets.


Now, compare this to your average cat or dog. The savings are immense, and chickens don't need walking, and don't bring in dead birds as 'presents', they give you eggs.

Here's a few sites to get you started:

Backyard Chickens forum, it taught me all I know:
http://p072.ezboard.com/bbackyardchickens

All About Chickens, an excellent site for getting started:
https://www.allaboutchickens.tk

I can answer pretty much all questions about the keeping of chickens, just PM or post here.