Backstory: I purchased eight chicks in April and have been raising them in our home. For about a month they lived in our mudroom and were in a big tote box with their heating lamp. They grew surprisingly fast, and before I knew it, they were too large for their box, so I needed to get them outside ASAP.
In May, I took a week off of my regular 9-to-5 job to build their chicken enclosure outside. I’m not especially handy or apt with saws and such, but I managed to build them a small space that is safe and comfortable. It is surrounded by chicken fence, has a nice roof on it, and the posts are cemented into the ground. I even fashioned a door, so I can get in and out easily for cleaning and egg-retrieval.
Now here we are, in later July, and they are pretty much fully grown. I’m excited about them producing their first round of eggs. These chickens will be egg-layers only, I don’t intend to use them for meat or any other outcome. Personally, I eat a lot of eggs. I cook every day and also bake regularly, so I usually go through about a dozen or so a week.
Homesteading and Eating Healthy
I am a firm believer that food can be a form of medicine, at the very least, I consider it preemptive medicine. We should strive to get as close as we can to food in its natural form, as intended by nature, for I believe it paramount to our health and wellbeing. Ingesting chemicals and carcinogens and plastics is not conducive to healthy living. Eating processed foods is not good for our mental health. These processed foods have been shown to influence hormones, which can have a direct effect on how you feel.
According to the Journal of Metabolic Health, “Insulin, another hormone involved in regulating blood sugar levels, also plays a role in food overconsumption. Insulin helps the body to convert glucose into energy and promotes satiety. However, the prolonged consumption of ultra-processed foods can lead to the development of insulin resistance.”
Consuming foods that are good for us is paramount to our emotional and psychological wellbeing. We cannot think clearly and practice mindfulness if our bodies are busy working against an influx of chemicals and hormonal disruption.
In order to feel good mentally, we need to feel good physically, and consuming healthier food is a cornerstone to that idea.
I understand that not everyone can afford to eat 100% organic foods all of the time, or cook from scratch every night, but my point is this: try to learn more about the foods that you are putting into your body and your family’s bodies, and try to identify healthier alternatives. If you’re currently not eating the best, you don’t need to go out and throw your entire pantry away and go buy all new food; but I would suggest to try something new either each week or each day.
That can mean something small, at least to start. Perhaps instead of eating a non-organic store-bought loaf of white bread, which contains a lot of sugar and additives, you could try baking your own bread with some organic flour. Or, instead of going to the diner on the weekend for breakfast, you could make your eggs at home.
Cooking at home is a foundational skill that everyone should learn how to do. It connects you to your food and you have full control over what ingredients you put into your body. Restaurants are not your friend. They exist to make money off of you; and how do they do that? By making the food as healthy as they can? No, by making it as tasty as they can, which often means increased calories and increased macro-nutrients like fat (very likely in the form of low-quality oils like kitchen grade Canola oil).
Growing your food at home is the next step, after you’ve gotten used to cooking at home. Again, I recommend you start slow, unless of course you’re ready to hit the ground running. Even if it’s just a small raised garden that has some sweet potatoes in it or a few seeds of zucchini to start. These plants are pretty easy to grow (depending on your climate) and don’t require much attention aside from quality soil and water.
After you start growing and cooking your food at home, you will deepen your connection to food. You will know where it came from, how it grew, what was used in its growing process, how it was harvested, then later how it was prepared for dinner.
Back to Chickens, and Other Livestock
As we discussed, growing your own produce and raising your own animals are very important steps to connecting with the food you eat and the planet at large. Having livestock will greatly impact your understanding of meat and how it gets to our dinner plate. Personally, I do not like the food industry and how it processes livestock, after watching several documentaries like Food, Inc., and Forks Over Knives I am trying to distance myself as much as possible from the food industry.
Preferably, I would much rather purchase my meat from a local butcher or business that handles local livestock only, but it’s difficult to find such businesses as corporations can operate at a larger scale and thus have lower prices, which drives out the local shops. I suggest everyone shop [as much as they can] at local businesses, for they often care about their community much more than corporations do.
Life is beautiful when we’re connected to it, that means connection with local communities, butchers, gardeners, bakers, everyone working together to make our lives just a little bit better. This is why my wife and I started our garden and began raising chickens, because we want to connect with the community. We often exchange favors with neighbors, which fosters a welcoming atmosphere where neighbors become friends. For example, if we leave the house for a vacation our neighbor will take care of the chickens, and in exchange they can harvest anything ripe from the garden (and in the future take any eggs produced, once these chickens start laying eggs). It’s this exchange that brings us together, and we can rely on our friends and trust them while we are gone.
Seek connection, not only with other humans but also with the earth around you. We are all living organisms that are apart of this universe. Let go of your ego and realize that you are the same as the chickens and the trees, we’re all living life together.
Hopefully the Chickens will be laying eggs soon. Good for you, Ryan!