Raising your own chickens is a great and easy way to ensure you are eating the best quality eggs (and meat), instead of the ones from the grocery store, which are not only full of various toxins (due to commercial chickens being raised in horribly dirty and crowded quarters, and fed all kinds of crap - literally), but also much lower in nutrients than they should be. There are actually several reasons why more and more people are starting to cultivate chickens in their backyard.
Image via WikipediaReason # 1 – Chickens love leftovers
A chicken’s appetite is incredible. They can eat almost everything, even their own kind! (Which is pretty gross, but is one of the reasons you don't want to eat commercial chickens!) You can now say bye-bye to those unwanted leftovers being left rotten in your fridge. You feel less guilty now that you're not just throwing them away. Plus, you can save on chicken feed. But do be somewhat careful what you feed your chickens - keep in mind that you're eating what they're eating - either in their eggs or in their meat. And you might want to tone down the onions and garlic - they're not so good for them.
Reason #2 – Eggs!!
Who doesn’t love eggs? Have them boiled, scrambled, sunny side up, etc. Admit it, pets that live comfortably inside your houses are fun, but they don't generally produce yummy food! (Fish, of course, can be eaten, but who would want to eat Goldie?) None of these domesticated animals produce something edible. Well, chickens, on the other hand, have lots of benefits - one of the best ones being eggs.
You can eat fresh eggs right from the source. Eggs taken from chickens minutes or hours ago are much more tasty and nutritious than those purchased in the grocery store. (For some of the extra benefits of eating eggs from pastured poultry, see this post on our
Cooking From Scratch blog.) You’ll immediately notice the texture and color is way different than the store-bought ones you're used to.
Reason #3 – Source of natural fertilizers
Your lawn or backyard may have never looked better! Chickens love to freely walk around. Chickens also love to peck on anything they see that can be considered as food. And what is food to them? Possibly anything that’s organic. If you let your chickens roam around your space, you’ll find out how reliable they can be. They eat pests living in your backyard – grubs, beetles, insects, earwigs, and anything that comes close (this is what makes their eggs so much more tasty and nutritious).
After the digestion has set its due, they will transform what they’ve eaten into poop. But this is not just any kind of poop but a treasure called natural fertilizer. And you know what natural fertilizers do right? They keep the soil healthy for plants to grow. Cool. (If you haven't already, be sure to check out our
Sustainable Gardening blog for some ideas on how to use all this fertilizer!)
Image via WikipediaReason #4 – Low Maintenance Pets
Unlike dogs that need combing and brushing, and walking everyday, chickens doesn’t need such time-consuming treatment. All you have to do is provide them their daily needs like food and water. You also have to clean their pad at least twice a month and change the beddings too. In return, you can gather all the eggs. Aside from just gathering, you could even start a small business of your own by supplying poultry stores with fresh eggs or chicken meat. And if you raise them from chicks and handle them often, they are usually quite tame, and kids love them!
Reason #5 – Grass and weed clippers
Got that right. Now you can save on mowing your own lawn by getting yourself chickens! For chickens, grasses, weeds, and leaves are treats. It’s like a lifetime dessert offering. It’s like having a cow in your own backyard (only without the huge cow-pies). They will dig through whatever it is without even complaining about the hard work. Chickens will clip it then clean it all at the same time.
When you raise your own chickens, you can have a pet, a lawn mower, a supplier of organic fertilizer and an egg producer all in one. (And maybe a tasty dinner one day, if you decide you need a big pot of chicken noodle soup!)
Image via WikipediaA Couple Of Organic Skin Care Product Recipes
Image via WikipediaOrganic fruits and vegetables are the most popular ingredients in home-made organic skin care routines. For example, cucumber is a great soother of the skin. Turmeric, apple, papaya, ginger are others that find wide use in organic skin care routines. Many of these items have a very refreshing and vitalizing effect on your skin. Almost every skin care book/guide has section on organic skin care (including the actions of various fruits and vegetables on skin). So choose the ones that are more suitable for your skin type and start experimenting with them until you finally select the ones that are most suitable for inclusion in your organic skin care routine. It’s important that you use fresh organic fruits/vegetables. Don’t try to save and use the ones that are going bad, for your skin -- use those instead to feed your compost pile!
Image via WikipediaWheat germ is another common ingredient in organic skin care procedures. It is rich in vitamin E and is known for its exfoliation as well as moisturizing properties. Wheat germ, in various combinations with other organic materials, is used to prepare facial masks for normal and dry skin types. Wheat germ oil is sometimes also used. 
Image via WikipediaReason # 1 – Chickens love leftovers
Image via WikipediaReason #4 – Low Maintenance Pets
Image via WikipediaWhen it comes to buying many organic food products, such as fruits and vegetables, directly from organic farmers, many individuals wonder why they should do so. In all honesty, there are a number of reasons, as well as benefits to buying organic foods directly from the source. One of those benefits is the assistance that you will be providing to local farmers. It is no secret that many farmers find it difficult to stay afloat financially. In fact, hundreds of small farms shut down each year. Instead of shutting down, many farmers are now making the switch to organic foods.
Image via WikipediaIn addition to visiting one of your local farmer’s markets to see if organic foods are for sale, you can also visit local farms in person. To help you decide which farms should be visited look for signs or advertisements in local newspapers. It is also usually easy to spot farms where organic foods are being sold - many set up roadside booths or have a storefront building on their property, which is usually easy to see from the road. If you do make the decision to shop with a local farmer, be sure to bring cash, as many small operations are not equipped to accept checks, debit cards, or credit cards.
Image via WikipediaAs a follow up to Monday's article, here are some other great ideas for "going green," helping keep both your family and the environment healthy, while saving money at the same time. Of course I especially love the one about organic cooking! (If you are interested in more healthy cooking tips, you can also visit our Cooking From Scratch blog or website.) You can also visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/csa.html to find out more about finding affordable sources of local, clean, fresh organic foods, or http://www.newholisticliving.com/sustainablegardening.html for more about growing your own!
Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia3. If you eat out a lot, consider making more meals at home. Preparing food at home can take the same amount of time that it takes to drive to a restaurant and wait for your meal to arrive at the table. The benefits to cooking at home are in using fresh organic ingredients which are good for your body, plus it's cheaper to eat at home and you don't waste gas driving to a restaurant. (See our Cooking From Scratch blog for some great cooking tips, ideas, and recipes!)
Image by amy_b via Flickr 6. Plan your meals to get the maximum usage from the groceries you buy. Think about how much food you throw away each month because you didn't eat it and it spoiled. Leftovers can be given new life by turning them into soups or stews, putting them on a pizza crust, or tossing them with pasta or lettuce. Before you buy perishable food, plan how you will use all the food, even the leftovers. (And for even better benefits to your health and the environment, why not check out a local farmer's market or CSA, and support the local community? Or even better, grow your own sustainable garden!)
