If you live in an urbanized area (like much of SW Ontario) you likely don’t have acres of land to raise your own cattle or pigs for food. However raising chickens requires very little land, and only as much investment as you want to put into it.
You can raise your chickens either for meat, for eggs, or both. It sounds like it’s much more cost-efficient to raise chickens for eggs for personal consumption. That will obviously change if the world ends tomorrow, but either way, the feathery little dolls are a good source of protein. Eggs would be an excellent barter as well.
It is interesting to note that chickens also feed on bugs, so allowing your chickens to range free in your yard (see the precautions about animals, especially dogs) may be an excellent natural way of protecting your vegetation and yourself from pests. They don’t stop at eating bugs, either… they will apparently consume just about anything, from kitchen scraps to weeds. This provides an even richer diet for your flock, producing richer eggs to boot.
One further aspect that shouldn’t be ignored is their manure. Although very hot, meaning it will burn plants if applied directly, their manure is an excellent fertilizer. Apply it to a future garden to prepare it for next year, or let it mellow in your composter. Either way, there seems to be no end to the good stuff that comes out of these fowl.
GatewayToVermont.com is packed with great information about raising chickens, including raising the chicks, the infrastructure you’ll need, care for your birds, and even their take on how to process the birds destined for your stomach.