I know what you might be thinking - don’t they stink? aren’t they a mess? Well yes, they are a bit of work. But I want to talk about the joys of having them. The internet is full of conditions for raising backyard chickens, so I want to throw a little sparkle into the webs and algorithms to remind anyone who’s been thinking about having backyard chickens, how much joy there can be found from them.

I was very young when I started dreaming about the joys of having backyard chickens. I consider myself a lucky girl to have grown up with my Dad making a fresh breakfast of my favorite omelet & a slice of our homemade Applebutter on toast for breakfast most week day mornings. I’ve loved those omelets. I remember thinking “how great would it be to go in the backyard for eggs just like we do the herbs and vegetables from our garden!” . As an adult and avid from-scratch baker, I can confirm to my younger self that having them in my backyard is indeed just what the dream felt like.

The joy of ordering your backyard chickens…

The simple joy of backyard chickens really starts the day you order them. You see, when you buy chickens from a reputable farm, you buy them at one day old and typically have a calendar slot on when to expect them. This particular flock of hens & roosters came from a sort of “mystery bag” deal from the hatchery we use that grows hundred of varieties! We had no idea what type of chickens we were receiving, the thrill of the mystery ahead of us was so fun.

The joy of the post office visit…

Once these backyard chickens hatch at the hatchery, the chicks are sexed (not in this case with the mystery pack!), vaccinated, and tucked into a tiny box to make the quickest trip possible to their new home. As a curtesy, the post office will call you personally so you can pick them up right away. It’s a little nerve wracking in terms of these babies being on their way to your home, but once you hear those little peeps the moment you walk into the post office it’s incredibly worth it! I also love that those little peeps make everyone smile.

The joy of those first few hours…

An easy way to feel like a real farmer—someone connected to the land and the little creatures around you without committing to a full farming life—is to teach your baby chicks where to find their food and water. It’s in their nature to figure out where to scratch for their food, much like an infant instinctively rooting when they’re hungry, but there’s a real joy in guiding them and helping them master the important first steps in finding a water source. Gently pick them up and dip their tiny beaks into the water. They adorably shake the water off their beak and you watch to see if they go back for more.

The joy of watching your backyard chickens grow…

Now, I mentioned all of the conditioning the internet will give you, but I must give you encouragement because the months in between your chicks arriving and actually laying eggs might feel grueling, but watching them evolve is entertaining. In the case of our mystery bag of chicks, we started noting to many differences between each chick. One had a hawk-like beak, a few had feathers growing on their legs, this one chases that one, and so on. Weeks of observation is pure entertainment (amittedly…about 20 weeks for us!)! But then one day…

The joy of finding your first backyard chicken egg…

I’ll share one joy before we get there, and that was sending a funny text to a buddy of mine: “Hey Jeremy! Can I borrow a few of your golf balls for my backyard chickens?!”. I told him I’d read somewhere that leaving a few decoy “eggs” around can encourage hens to start laying—so cleverly, I figured golf balls would do the trick. Two things I know: within a few days, we found our first egg in the coop…and Jeremy didn’t want those golf balls back (you can imagine why!). The thrill of finding your first egg is something you’ll never forget. But it gets better…

The joys of raising backyard chickens

*found some eggs for an afternoon bake under my kid’s little red wagon*

There’s the joy that comes from the skills you learn—like keeping them in their coop for a few weeks so they understand it’s their safe place if you choose to free-range, or watching them evolve as their feathers change patterns and they flock together across the yard. There’s even the very dramatic “mating” ritual of our rooster, where he performs a little flamenco-style dance in front of the hens. And the very real perk of significantly fewer - if any - tick bites on my family in the warmer months. Since we free-range our chickens, there’s joy in finding where they find nesting spots all over the yard. Oh, and the joys of tracking which colorful eggs come from which chicken.

As a baker, I especially admire the deep golden yolks—everything from my madeleines to my pâte brisée and pâte à choux turn such a gorgeous yellow compared to store-bought eggs.

There’s absolutely a romanticism to having backyard chickens, and when you start noticing these small joys, you’ll find yourself a very happy chicken keeper.

The Joys of Backyard Chickens