Chickens are really super to keep as pets. They are low maintenance, fun to watch, and they make eggs – which you can eat. I got introduced to the world of backyard chickens earlier this year when a friend of mine gifted my family some chicken coops. Our hens are all Orpington Chickens, which are a fairly laid back breed, and good egg layers. The buff one is Matilda. The three other white ones are Constance, Esther and Coraline; I have no idea which is which. They really like eating zucchini, scratching in the dirt for bugs and standing on top of their feeding station.
We had no idea what we were doing when we were getting started, however we quickly learned that backyard chickens have a pretty active social media community. Shortly after we got our hens we joined a backyard chickens Facebook group which has been a great resource for asking questions and/or getting help about our new pets. We can also find other chickens to purchase or adopt via the group. Roosters are often being given away. This is how we got our rooster Hei Hei. He makes a bunch of noise, all day long. But he will also protect the hens from dangers as best he can, which is good to have.
I wouldn’t have thought that backyard chickens were such a big deal on social media. But since we have started keeping them as pets, I’ve found a whole new network of people that share this hobby. It has been really great for learning more about different chicken breeds and how to care for them. We’ve gotten some great ideas for how to improve or modify our chicken yard, and low tech ways to keep our chickens occupied and prevent them from getting bored. We’ve also found a lot of entertainment hearing about the antics of others chickens and looking at the pictures people post of them on Instagram.
I think that one of the really great things about taking up a new hobby now versus twenty years ago is that it most likely has a social media community – and this can be a great resource for sharing advice, information and stories with others. This is so valuable for beginners who can meet new people that live close to them. The presence of online communities can make adopting a new hobby seem much less daunting. Have you taken up a new hobby, or been following along with one you have been thinking of trying on social media? Have you joined any online communities to help support your new hobby? Let me know in the comments!
Facebook: Thinking of raising backyard chickens? There’s a Facebook group for that: https://bit.ly/3Dn1LkG
Twitter: Getting chickens? Make friends here: https://bit.ly/3Dn1LkG
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 
Thank-you for this informative blog post! Your title immediately grabbed my attention. I love that backyard chickens have their very own social media community whereby you can glean all sorts of care and other information for their wellbeing. Great use of photography in your post, as well.
thanks for your comment! Yeah, I’ve learned a lot from the online chicken community :D. People who keep chickens seem to find it very rewarding and are very eager to support others in learning to keep chickens as well.
Really interesting post. I would have never suspected that there is such an online community for such a niche hobby like this. Social media has made it easier for people to not only find communities but get advice on certain or learn something new. I think this is an example of one of the positive impacts that social media can have.
Hi Theresa, I completely agree. After a few years of using social media I’ve figured out how it is useful to me and how it can have some positive impacts. Online groups centred around common hobbies is definitely one of them!
Your title forced me to read your blog. I had heard of this but didn’t realize it was that common. With the price of everything these days, eggs are as good as gold. Great blog
Indeed, with four chickens we have more eggs than we can eat!
Hi Natalie, I had not even read your blog, only the photos, and I loved it, ha-ha. I was excited to read ahead, it looked humorous, and I love comedy and laughing. What a great blog! I appreciate reading something fun and out of the norm. My husband has wanted chickens for as long as I can remember and always thought there was no way we were getting chickens, considering how small these Ontario backyards are. Maybe I will reconsider. It’s humbling to know there’s an extensive network of people out there who have chickens, not just farmers. It’s so true about the chickens digging in the dirt, too; I had no idea. I took out dog to doggy daycare a couple of weeks ago, and there is a chicken coop where the chickens have dug decent-sized potholes in the dirt.
What a great blog. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Marianne, thanks for your comment. If you ever decide to get started with chickens there are plenty of people on the socials that can give advice, and help you find chickens too 🙂