The Trump administration announced in late December plans to reject humane-treatment regulations of cage-free chickens that were proposed during the previous administration. This reversal doesn’t come as a huge surprise since the USDA repeatedly delayed the enforcement of those regulations.

In April 2016, the National Organic Program, under Obama’s administration, proposed a new rule called the “Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices” (OLPP) rule. The rule would require basic animal welfare for a food producer to receive the organic label. The OLPP rules state that animals need to have the ability to sit, walk, stretch out, and stand up without having to be in contact with another animal or the walls of the enclosure. The animals require year-round access to the outdoors, which has to include space with nature like plants and soil.

For more on what this means for organic eggs, check out “Why the hell am I paying more for this?” Major egg operation houses “USDA Organic” hens at three per square foot.

The agribusiness industry is generally opposed to OLPP because the proposed rules would have forced chicken factories to make expensive changes. Not surprisingly, animal welfare groups are furious,

The Obama administration’s rules for animal welfare under the National Organic Program set basic, common sense standards that not only alleviated the most egregious suffering of animals, but also aligned the actual standards in the $30 billion organics industry with consumer expectations of how cows, pigs, and chickens are treated.” – Vandhana Bala, general counsel for Mercy for Animals

Recommended Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Start Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet
• How to Make the Healthiest Smoothies – 4 Recipes
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones
• How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System

Sources:

• Trump Administration Cuts Law Designed to Ensure Organic Animal Welfare – Modern Farmer
• Trump Administration Runs Afoul on the Organic Animal Welfare Rule – Huffington Post
• Trump administration moves to kill regulations on animal welfare – NY Times

Whether you consider yourself to be urban, rural or somewhere in between, keeping chickens offers a wide array of benefits. As it turns out, chickens are not just fluffy and fun, they are good for you! With nutritional benefits of free range eggs, garden benefits of pest control and fertilizer, and health benefits addressing a variety of issues and disorders, it’s no wonder backyard poultry has gained popularity and led to city ordinances allowing urban flocks. With the rise of the locovore movement, there are more resources out there than ever before with information on how to keep and care for chickens, and plenty of support for getting started. These fine feathered friends are not just a fad, they are an asset to holistic health and sustainable living.

Fight Factory Farming with Farm Fresh Eggs

It can be challenging to make sense of labels on supermarket eggs these days. When terms like “free range,” “cage free,” and “naturally raised” can mean all kinds of different things, it’s important to know what you’re really eating. In factory farming, hens never see the outdoors. They are treated inhumanely, they are fed the cheapest possible diet filled with additives, and they produce eggs that are lower in nutrients.

There are many loopholes that allow farms to use the title “free range” when their hens are anything but. When you raise hens in your back yard, you know exactly where your eggs came from, and you stop supporting factory farming with your grocery dollars. True free-range eggs contain higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, beta carotene, Vitamin E, and Vitamin A. They are also lower in saturated fat and cholesterol than conventional, store-bought eggs. Really, there is no comparison.

Natural Pest Patrol for the Garden

Rather than using harmful chemicals and pesticides in your yard and garden, use chickens instead. Chickens are known to reduce or eliminate populations of grasshoppers, termites, fire ants, slugs, fleas, scorpions, and even rodents by cleaning up food sources that might attract them. They eat various beetle pests like the Colorado potato beetle that can do a lot of damage. Beneficial nematodes and earthworms live far enough below the soil surface to escape chicken scratching, while the unwanted surface pests are eliminated. Chickens can also do a lot of damage to newly planted gardens with their foraging and dust baths, so it is a good idea to let them range around the outside of the garden or in garden rows with chicken wire protecting the beds.

Chickens are Master Recyclers!

Table scraps, unwanted weeds, and garden clippings can all be cleaned up and broken down into soil nutrients by your chickens. While you can’t feed them everything (coffee grounds, avocado, raw potato, and onions are on the “no” list), you can give your chickens most of your table scraps to supplement their food every day and keep that waste out of the landfill. Whatever scraps you can’t feed your chickens still make a great addition to the compost pile. Chickens are master recyclers because the nutrients in whatever scraps and weeds the chickens eat end up being recycled into an extremely valuable substance for the garden… manure!

Chickens Are an Excellent Source of Organic Fertilizer

Poultry manure contains all the essential nutrients for plant growth and offers a rich source of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous in the garden. Because of the high nitrogen level and nutrient balance, chicken manure is considered the best type of manure for garden use.

Chickens fully digest weed seeds, so you won’t have to worry about those weed clippings sprouting back up as you would from horse or steer manure. Having a free source of organic fertilizer that doesn’t have to be packaged or transported is not only valuable to the home gardener, it is an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical fertilizers and good for the earth. Every time you clean the coop, the resulting byproduct is a fresh pile of manure that can be recycled in your backyard ecosystem.

Since chicken manure is so high in nitrogen and tends to be “hot”, you will want to either compost, make a compost tea, or till your manure into the soil at the end of the gardening season.

Chickens Reduce Stress

Watching chickens lowers stress levels. Studies have shown that tending chickens releases oxytocin, a stress lowering hormone. Not only that, it reduces blood pressure and decreases feelings of loneliness, which further contribute to decreased stress. There is an excellent book by Clea Danaan, Zen and the Art of Raising Chickens: The Way of the Hen, that delves into the backyard chicken movement and the simple, Zen nature of chickens’ existence. Her book discusses how chicken watching increases our mindfulness skills. Caring for chickens gets us outside regularly, and watching their methodical scratching and foraging around the yard slows us down and grounds us in the present, providing a meditative experience that can be difficult to achieve in our busy day-to-day lives, particularly in urban settings.

Chickens as Therapy

Chickens are now being used as therapy animals for people of all ages to address a wide variety of issues including dementia, Alzheimer’s, psychiatric illness, depression, and autism. Their calming effect helps with symptoms like anxiety, emotional distress and social frustration. There is also some good information supporting the role chickens can play for addicts in recovery.

Organizations are starting to bring chickens to nursing homes to use as therapy animals for memory loss patients. Agitation is a major issue for people with dementia, and holding a chicken has been shown to calm them down.

Short attention span is another issue, where watching chickens forage, take dirt baths, and roam around for short periods of time is a mentally engaging activity that can be dropped and picked back up again later as the chickens will still be doing the same thing.

Chickens have also been shown to reduce loneliness and depression for the elderly. For children on the autism spectrum, chickens have been registered as emotional support animals for their soothing effect. Not only that, they have been shown to increase social skills and play skills, enhance conversation abilities, and promote self-care and independent living skills through daily chores.

Not long after my own son was diagnosed with autism by the local school district, we began keeping chickens as backyard pets and he immediately bonded with them. At a time when social interactions were a challenge, he identified with the chickens as his friends, and would spend time with them out in the yard as a self-soothing activity.

Getting Started with Chickens

If you’ve decided chickens are for you, you can start by reading up on websites like Back Yard Chickens, Fresh Eggs Daily, and The Chicken Chick, or books like Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow, Keep Chickens! by Barbara Kilarski, and Chick Days by Jenna Woginrich. You may have a friend with their own backyard flock, and you could ask them to show you the ropes. Chicken keepers are usually happy to give a tour of their set up and talk about their chickens (trust me, chicken keepers LOVE to talk about their chickens).

Next it is important to check your local city ordinances or neighborhood regulations to make sure backyard chickens are allowed and to find out the limit. Most cities allow 3-6 hens and no roosters. When you’re ready to get set up, you can visit your local feed store for chicks and supplies. Once you get chickens, your life and garden will be richer for it, and you will reap the rewards of delicious, fresh eggs!

Sources:

• Meet Real Free Range Eggs – Mother Earth News
• Gardening with Chickens for Fantastic Natural Pest Control – Mother Earth News
• The Health Benefits of Pets – NIH
• Autism and Therapy Chickens – Autism Daily Newscast
• Local Mother Fights to Keep her Autistic Son’s Therapy Chickens – Fox 59
• Chickens Provide a New Form of Animal Therapy for Memory Loss Patients – Boston Globe
• No Spring Chickens, Hens Help Heal Elderly – Modern Farmer
• I Love My Chickens – Discovering my Own Personal Recovery – Psychology Today

Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet.  A whole egg contains all the nutrients required to turn a single cell into a baby chicken.  Pasture-raised eggs are one of the richest sources of bioactive nutrients that enhance hormone function, reduce inflammation, improve fat-burning, and enhance brain function.

Chickens are designed to naturally graze on grass, weeds, worms, and insects.  When they are able to do this, they bioaccumulate omega-3 fatty acids, carotenoid antioxidants and major minerals like magnesium.

It is a great idea to consume pasture-raised, organic eggs. Unless you have an immune sensitivity to them (lab test) or feel tired, have to clear your throat, feel inflamed, etc. than you want to have these as a staple item in your diet.

Eggs Are a Dense Source of Bioactive Compounds

Eggs provide nutrients that help to prevent human health degeneration. One study released in 2005 provided that eggs contain 18 vitamins and minerals, some of which are commonly deficient in the western diet.  Carrots seem to get all the credit for its carotenoid content, but this pigment also gives yolk its yellow/orange color.

Carotenoids have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that play a role in the central nervous system and are responsible for eye and vision wellness. Carotenoids are required for vitamin A production, assist in neural retina function, and provide protective macular pigment (responsible for field of vision in the center of the eye). Lack of this key nutrient is linked to macular degeneration and cataract formation.  A study published by the Journal of Alzheimers Disease released in 2014 states that a link exists in carotenoid intake and cognitive function observed by Alzheimer’s patients.^1-4

Lutein and Zeaxanthin

Lutein and zeaxanthin are two types of carotenoids and are an essential dietary component because the body’s tissue does not synthesize these compounds on its own. Specifically, aside from being found in the yolk of eggs, lutein and zeaxanthin are naturally occurring in dark leafy greens.

Providing more reason to not limit egg consumption to egg whites, egg yolk is a source of lecithin, choline, and phosvitin. Lecithin provides cellular support and aids in the secretion of bile, which inhibits the buildup of stones in the bladder. Among metabolism promoting factors, choline is essential for brain development. The choline content alone in egg yolks is one reason why pregnant women supplement their diet with eggs. Phosvitin is a protein that chelates iron ions, or in other words behaves as an antioxidant in the removal of metals, and assists in detoxifying the body. Specifically, phosvitin aids in inhibiting excessive melanin synthesis in skin.^{3, 5}

The choline content alone in egg yolks is one reason why pregnant women supplement their diet with eggs. Phosvitin is a protein that chelates iron ions, or in other words behaves as an antioxidant in the removal of metals, and assists in detoxifying the body. Specifically, phosvitin aids in inhibiting excessive melanin synthesis in skin.^{3, 5}

Eggs Are a Nutritive Powerhouse

Eggs provide a valuable source of protein, especially for individuals with gout because it does not contain purine (3). One entire large egg contains 6 grams of high-quality protein and is a good source of protein for vegetarians.⁶

Mostly found in the yolk, biotin is a B-complex vitamin that contributes to metabolic pathways by serving as a transport mechanism for vitamins and minerals into eggs during development and makes eggs an excellent source of this nutrient. Also responsible for the vitamin and mineral transportation, riboflavin and iron are two other nutrients found in trace amounts in both egg whites and egg yolks.⁷

Sources:

1. Nolan JM, et al. Macular pigment, visual function, and macular disease among subjects with Alzheimer’s disease: an exploratory study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2014 Jul;42(4):1191-202. PMID: 2502431
2. Shapira N. Not All Eggs Are Created Equal: The Effect on Health Depends on the Composition. Canadian Journal of Cardiology. 2011 Mar-Apr;27(2):264. DOI: 10.1016/j.cjca.2010.11.01
3. Miranda JM, et al. Egg and Egg-Derived Foods: Effects on Human Health and Use as Functional Foods. Nutrients. 2015 Jan;7(1):706-729. DOI: 3390/nu7010706
4. A 2010 Report and Scorecard by The Cornucopia Institute: Scrambled Eggs: Separating Factory Farm Egg Production from Authentic Organic Agriculture  Link Here
5. Iishikawa S, et al. Egg Yolk Phosvitin Inhibits Hydroxyl Radical Formation from the Fenton Reaction. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry. 2004 May; 68(6): 1324-1331. DOI: 1271/bbb.68.1324
6.  Berkeley Wellness: The Sunny Side of Eggs
7. White HB, et al. Biotin-binding protein from chicken egg yolk. Assay and relationship to egg-white avidin. Biochem J. 1976 Aug;157(2):395-400. PMCID: 1163865