It wouldnt seem as if you were really in the country if you didnt have a chicken or two pecking at the ground. Chickens are probably the most recognizable livestock. They are inexpensive, dont take up a tremendous amount of space, and with minimal care, will give you fresh eggs almost every morning. If theres a rooster among your flock, theyll also give you fresh chicks.

With the room that comes with land in the country, you can probably afford more chickens making a home on your range. You can have the pleasure of a greater mixture of chickens for laying, chickens for meat, for show, and some for pets.

If you can have chickens that are used primarily for pets, you may be able to acquire chickens with beautiful bands of colors, or combs that sit atop their heads like hats or high worn hairdos. There are dozens of different kinds of chickens and several will fit under the reason you wish to raise chickens, but if you have the space and can afford the feed, you can have a greater variety and can open your options to include more than one kind of chicken to fit only one need.

With the room to raise chickens, you can offer them a very good life, which is, by nature, going to be short term unless you have chickens for pets and for show. If you have a meat breed, they will only be with you for a few months. If you buy egg layers, they will start to lose their capacity to lay within a few years.

If you have the room, you can start by raising a combination of egg layers, meat producers, and chickens that do both and discover which one suits your purposes and fulfills your needs the best.

If we were going to offer you some advice on which one to start with, we would tell you to start with a few dual purpose birds. You will discover how well you like being a farmer of sorts, and if its something you want to continue. If you take to the hobby, you will already be on a good start towards continuingand you get fresh eggs in the meantime. If it turns out that raising chickens isnt something you care to do, then the entire experiment will be over in just a few months when the chickens go to slaughterand you get fresh eggs in the meantime!