Raising backyard chickens can be an enjoyable experience. These eight reasons to raise chickens are some of our top picks.

Keeping chickens at home is a fun, engaging way to connect, and care for, your food. To improve the health of your flock and nutrition in your eggs, consider a large enough chicken run or safe access for them to free range and expand their diet. Just be sure that areas where you don't want them are properly closed or have restricted access.

Are there any benefits you’ve found in raising your own flock of chickens? Any struggles or downsides of raising chickens that you've experienced? Let us know on Facebook. And, don't miss our San Diego regulations for backyard chickens info!

8 Benefits of Backyard Chickens

Eggs!

Our team can attest to the superiority of fresh eggs! Laid mere minutes before being fried sunny side up in our cast iron pans, fresh eggs are delectable. Truly free range, well-loved eggs taste so much better. You also don't need to wash off...

Keeping a flock of backyard chickens in San Diego is easy, so long as you follow the law, communicate with your neighbors, and properly protect, house, feed, and care for them. Here's how!

Backyard Chickens: Done right, they yield many rewards

Chickens are a wonderful gateway drug to livestock care and maintenance. While not as efficient feed-to-meat-ratio as rabbits or guinea pigs, they do offer something more: eggs. And not just eggs, but their omnivorous appetites devour kitchen scraps, their excrement is an excellent plant food (which is actually pee+poop in one shot, hence why it's known to burn plants when applied fresh), can control some insect and weed pressures (but will also annihilate other plants, so watch out), and can provide meat and feathers if your dietary preferences lean that way. Since January 2012, the City of San Diego has relaxed decades-old laws regarding chicken ownership for single-family residences. You can dive into the current municipal code regarding...