In that parlance, hens make better pets than cockerels since they are more docile in nature. The fact that hens are capable of providing you a steady supply of eggs without the requirement of fertilization only fuels that premise. Sexing the chicken is not as easy as it looks, so you are better off asking the help of a chick sexer if you're not well trained to do it on your own. Building your own chicken coop shouldn't be expensive. Some owners spend up to $300 by purchasing a ready-made chicken coop, but keep in mind that you don't really have to spend that much if you are aware of all the important elements that a fully functioning coop requires. More often than not, you can get everything that you need in your own house! Keeping Chickens For Meat Chicken meat has always been a popular food choice to us consumers, and while it is easily accessible in any supermarket, keeping chickens and raising them yourself for future meat consumption has been common not just in the farm, but also in urban areas. Aside from getting free eggs, an owner can have full control of the flock's dietary intake, giving him full confidence that the chicken meat he produces are free of harmful chemicals. Normally, healthy foraging chickens will swallow small pebbles. They know what to select and what is good for them. However if the chicken is not let out of the coop for long periods, they miss this digestion aids. Another thing that is common to most animals is to eat a particular grass for a particular illness. You might do well to call your municipality and ask about the city laws that involve the matter of housing poultries. Doing a research on the internet can also yield some results. There might be limits on how many fowls you can keep, or how many square meters your hen house can occupy. You should also take into account the designated locations where you are allowed to raise poultry. Keeping Chickens Healthy As the old adage goes, "health is wealth", and it brings home the point when one considers the importance of keeping our bipedal companions free from diseases or any debilitating illness. After all, we constantly require eggs and chicken meat from them, so it goes to show that the general health of the poultry can be important to sustain our own.