Two animal shelters report receiving as many as 500 unwanted chickens a year. Seems raising your own eggs and meat behind the house isn’t easy, however humane and sustainable it might sound, says Urban Lehner at The Progressive Farmer. The problem is that after a couple of years backyard chickens sometimes don’t produce eggs. That’s especially true if they’ve been given enhanced feed or light or other encouragements to lay. They may stop laying altogether but continue to live and devour feed.

For more information, click here to read DTN/The Progressive Farmer’s article.