Convincing Husband

[ruby]

You need to feed your husband Fresh Organic Farm Eggs, the best way to convince a hubby is though his stomach! Yes, my chickens are pets! Yes I have two Rhode Island Reds that are over 10 years old. My girls are pets just like Henry was my buddy. By the way my grocery store Kroger has Fresh Organic, hand gathered eggs for $5.00! A 50lb of laying pellets are $9.00 at the most. It does vary.

 

[3baymares]

I will try that angle! Thanks.

 

[Roosteroops]

Chickens are supposed to live for about 5 years - but they only lay eggs consistenly (depending on breed) for about 3 - I think. Then the eggs just come less often. As much as I've cared for and loved my hens and roosters - I've never reached old age with any of my small flocks. We have a predator issue even here in the suburbs. Fox and raccoon and possum. So, now we have the Fort Knox of coops. Ours free range during the day but MUST be cooped at night and right as the sun goes down. They always return though - always. Yours will too. Oh, but the dogs next door. .....That is too bad - tell your neighbors to get an electric fence for their dog. That is not cool that your neighbors dogs could stop you from having chickens. They should stay off your property if you want them to. I would say this:

"Hi there! Im getting chickens and I'll need to be reimbursed if one of your dogs kills or hurts one. Here is some banana bread I baked for you...bye now (smile hugely)..." That will work I bet!

In the fall go to your State fair and purchase or during a chicken swap (check the forums on this site for your area) ask for pullets that you know are female. Don't hatch from eggs bcs. you could get all roosters or 3 roosters. And if that unnerves you - avoid it.

Have fun!

 

[amamaofmany]

I got my husband to agree to get chickens by having him talk to different people we know that own them. One of them was his sister & her husband. They live 8 hours away so we seldom see them. At Christmas was our first chance to chat about it & they couldn't say enough about the ease of chicken ownership (in that they need watching but it isn't usually greatly time consuming unless they all get sick), the economy of letting them eat kitchen scraps and bugs & the praises of fresh eggs.

Once my husband heard from people he trusted & got the same story from each, he started working with me to build the coop.

Edited for s grammar mistake & dumb speillinggg arrors.

 

[FrenchHen]

They'll break even on feed if you can house them for free.
We're breaking even on feed and bedding, but we have a long way to go in paying for the run and the initial cost of the chicks.

 

[Beekissed]

If you are serious about having chickens and want to justify the price, you can sell eggs and use your culled older hens and extra roos for meat. You can also replenish your flock with broodies hatching new replacement hens and roos. If you seriously manage your flock and approach it in a business-like manner, there is no reason they cannot pay for themselves.

For starters, I would show your husband you won't just have a new bunch of pets (insert free loaders) by selling/rehoming some of your existing pets who are not paying for themselves. Then I would give serious thought to getting tough enough to kill your own chickens or have someone kill them for you (like your husband).

If you approach this like they will be pets and cannot face ever killing or selling one, you are doomed from the start. It sounds as if you already have too many pets and I can understand his concerns.

 

[3baymares]

Quote:
That is it BeeKissed. You summed it up very correctly. I would love to keep adding animals(pets) and we do have plenty of room but my energy and our money suffer.
The horses will have to go first and then I'll get some chickens. One of our horses is in her final days and the other it not being used at all here so she needs to have another home. She is too young and too nice of a horse just to spend the rest of her life in our pasture soon to be alone.

 

[FarmerCarl]

Hi 3baymares. I have one bay mare and one sorrel mare.

LOL

If you just got two or maybe three hens, they wouldn't eat much and would provide you with eggs. You should be able to get a dozen eggs a week with three hens. If they can eat bugs and grass your feed bill would be very reasonable.

A chicken tractor might be a way for them to be pastured while keeping them safe from the dogs and other predators around. Three hens would be easy to manage and you could get away with something pretty small and easy to move, cheap to build or buy.

After a few years go by and they slow down production, you could sell them as pets to someone else and get new ones.

If you can talk your husband into it, he'll convert, I'm sure. My husband loves the chickens! He holds them and talks to 'em. He even pets and cuddles them. Shhhhh.... don't let him know I told you that. It would embarrass him.

He even takes their pictures and doctors them up in Photoshop. See my avatar? He did that. Tee hee, I snicker just thinking about how he is with his "girls".

 

[amyquilt]

Have your hubby come hang around BYC for a while, he'll realize, with all the info here, that chickens WILL pull their weight.

Also...as far as culling, you can always find someone local to process your birds for you. That is our plan.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
That is it BeeKissed. You summed it up very correctly. I would love to keep adding animals(pets) and we do have plenty of room but my energy and our money suffer.
The horses will have to go first and then I'll get some chickens. One of our horses is in her final days and the other it not being used at all here so she needs to have another home. She is too young and too nice of a horse just to spend the rest of her life in our pasture soon to be alone.

I understand this exactly! I have one income, so keeping more pets are not an option for me either...I think its going to be hard enough in these days to just keep the family fed! I have two dogs....they guard the house, the chickens, the garden and apple orchard from predation. If I had only one, it wouldn't do as well and it would be lonely....so two it is.

I have two cats....they keep mice, moles, rabbits out of the buildings and gardens....I keep two for the same reason as the dogs.

I have 30 chickens, 3 roos and 27 laying hens. This insures that I will be able to sell 2 doz. eggs each day at my roadside, still have fertilized eggs for hatching replacement hens and roos for extra meat, fertilizer production, and de-bugging of my orchard. These animals will pay for their keep.

I know lots of people on this forum keep chickens as pets, but some of us have to prioritize our lives around our income. My dogs and cats are what I call dual-purpose pets. If they could not function in their work capacity, I would have to rethink their position on my place. They have a place with me until they die but I would have to re-evaluate their length of life if one were suffering and no longer able to perform their roles as a worker or companion.

Chickens? While cute and quirky, they provide four functions here.....eggs,meat, insect control and fertilizer. I cannot have them hop in the truck and go down to the river for a swim and fun with the family, nor can I bring them inside for a snuggle on the couch.....my hens just aren't housebroke!

And wouldn't some of them feel left out if they all didn't get to come in to watch TV?

When you have to worry about money, why create more worry for yourself by getting animals that drain your pocketbook even more? I think you are wise to consider all the ins and outs of getting chickens and trying to reduce your "pet" liability.