Chicken Pickle

I think that chickens would be a nice addition to my backyard, but I'm not sure that my parents will like the idea. As parents, what are the benefits of backyard chickens? Also, what are some good commercially made coops for 3-5 hens that aren't able to free range?

Hi and welcome to BYC!

I think it's great when a young person takes a genuine interest in learning and caring for a chicken or any other animal. Being successfully in charge of another life teaches responsibility, thoughtfulness and dedication. By learning as much as possible about that animal, a young person learns something about animal psychology and biology. While reading about the animal they are interested in, a kid is stockpiling information that can be applied toward other areas (for example, expanding their vocabulary by learning new words and phrases). If there is a 4-H Club in your area, you could join, meet new people and participate in those activities. Having an animal gets a young person outdoors and makes them be more active so there is a physical benefit as well as an intellectual benefit. All these things can help a person in some fashion down the road...anything learned is never a waste of time. You may decide chickens are the most interesting thing ever and end up in vet school, or become a county agent, or a breeder of a diminishing breed. You can also gain the know-how to grow and supply some of your family's food, whether that be eggs or meat.

When a young person takes on such a responsibility and performs it well, the parents should feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing they are bringing up a responsible and competent kid.


I hope you get the chance to have chickens, please let us know how things work out for you. Good luck!

P.S. Don't forget, everyone benefits from all those eggs, lol!

P.P.S. I can't give you any recommendations for a pre-built coop. We remodeled an existing shed to make ours.

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. NorthFlChick has stated the benefits of having chickens very well. As far as buying coops goes, I have always built my own coops as I can save money, and make sure they are large enough for the number of chickens that I want. The minimum recommended coop size is a floor area of 4 sq. ft. per bird, and for the run, 10 square feet of ground area per bird (in both cases, more is better), and given those dimensions, most commercially made coops just aren't big enough to house many birds. Overcrowding can quickly lead to aggression, fights, biting, feather plucking, stress, reduction in egg production, and even serious injuries. Murray McMurray's Premium Chick N Villa (https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/premium_chick_n_villa.html) is advertised as housing 4 to 6 chickens, but given the dimensions of the coop/run, I wouldn't keep more than 4 in it unless I expanded the run by adding Murray's Premium Chick N Pen (https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/premiumchick_n_pen.html) to the Chick N Villa run. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Do you have any breed preferences?

Good luck on getting your chickens.

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

You have received some great advice from the above posters. So I will just wish you the best and welcome to our flock!

Welcome to BYC! We're glad to have you.

Hi and welcome to BYC. it looks like you are already getting great advice.

Glad you joined us!