Convincing my mom

[ThatOneWeirdPerson]

Im sixteen and trying to convince my mom to let me get chickens. We have a huge backyard and a garden, plus we throw away tons of food scraps we could use to feed them with. I currently own a cockatiel who lives in my room, but she still thinks having chickens outside would be nasty. Any tips???

 

[Burnttoast5475]

I've owned chickens since I was 5 and now I am 19 going to college and still caring for chickens. They are very easy to take care of when they're chicks and when they're adults. Not only that, but you get eggs! They eat grass and bugs in the yard and scraps you don't need. They're so simple and leave no mess. (Unless you have backyard furniture) Other than that theyre really simple you just gotta watch out for stray cats or racoons and etc.

 

[nuthatched]

They absolutely can be nasty and they shouldn't eat food scraps in any moderate quantities.
Why do you want chickens?
Have You thought this through to present your mom a good representation?
They are completely different than cocketiels.
Are you prepared for 6-12 years of caring for livestock?
Is their a vet available that not only takes chickens but actually knows about them?
Are you prepared to doctor them when they need it or even put them down?
Have you checked out your regulations for poultry? Neighborhood? Town? County?

 

[Burnttoast5475]

They absolutely can be nasty and they shouldn't eat food scraps in any moderate quantities.
Why do you want chickens?
Have You thought this through to present your mom a good representation?
They are completely different than cocketiels.
Are you prepared for 6-12 years of caring for livestock?
Is their a vet available that not only takes chickens but actually knows about them?
Are you prepared to doctor them when they need it or even put them down?
Have you checked out your regulations for poultry? Neighborhood? Town? County?

Those are good reasoning for sure. Maybe they've never been too nasty for me because i've only cared for 3 hens at a time

 

[nuthatched]

Those are good reasoning for sure. Maybe they've never been too nasty for me because i've only cared for 3 hens at a time

3 is definitely a more manageable number. I have 1 roo, 6 hens, 5 six-weekers and 5 that hatched Tuesday. And one hen is sitting on 4 eggs.

 

[C Siena]

3 is definitely a more manageable number. I have 1 roo, 6 hens, 5 six-weekers and 5 that hatched Tuesday. And one hen is sitting on 4 eggs.

I would have thought you had more. Did you have more at a time?
We have grown from 1 roo, 7 hens to 2 roos 17 hens, 6- 8 wk pullets and 15- 4 week (of course, I'm figuring half to be cockerels).

 

[nuthatched]

I would have thought you had more. Did you have more at a time?
We have grown from 1 roo, 7 hens to 2 roos 17 hens, 6- 8 wk pullets and 15- 4 week (of course, I'm figuring half to be cockerels).

I've had more in the past, but not in the last, meh, 6 years or so. My flock generally stays around 15. My coop can hold about 18.

 

[C Siena]

Im sixteen and trying to convince my mom to let me get chickens. We have a huge backyard and a garden, plus we throw away tons of food scraps we could use to feed them with. I currently own a cockatiel who lives in my room, but she still thinks having chickens outside would be nasty. Any tips???

nuthatched had some good items to think about.
Why do you want chickens? Do you like to awake early? You will have to care for the chickens before you go to school. If you do awake early, you can let your mother know that an extra 30 minutes caring for the chickens in the morning will work.

You will Need to put up a fence for the garden. It can be a simple one, plastic or mesh. It will need to be at least 4'T. Posts every 6-8' can work to hold it. Your mother will not want the chickens to destroy it...and they will if allowed in.

Ours are fed scraps but no more than 10ish % of their pellet diet.

How close are your neighbors? If the chickens free range, they could (probably would) go into the neighbors yard.

Do you have an income to help pay for their coop/shed and the run? Then for the feed?

Just things to think about besides what others have written. Not to turn you away but for you to think through and if you still want chickens, present these solutions.

We had parrots and their care, in a cage, in the house, was easier than chickens. Think of questions about care of them and ask us more questions.
I'm glad we have chickens.

 

[RadEggs]

Im sixteen and trying to convince my mom to let me get chickens. We have a huge backyard and a garden, plus we throw away tons of food scraps we could use to feed them with. I currently own a cockatiel who lives in my room, but she still thinks having chickens outside would be nasty. Any tips???

Do not feed them only food scraps unless that is your only option financialy. It is not healthy for them to eat only food scraps and no chicken feed. Things to not tell your mom:
Chickens will destroy your yard and garden
They are a lot of work (an hour a day at least)
Things to tell your mom:
Chickens are cute, they purr when they are super happy
Chickens will help turn over soil
Chicken poop is great fertilizer for a garden
Chickens can be quite cheap if you buy a used coop off of facebook marketplace or craigslist
Fresh eggs from backyard chickens are super healthy and eggs are expensive
a few things to think about:
You can get pullets or chickens needing a new home off craigslist so you can be sure they are hens
You will need to be willing to do a lot of work to take care of them, and it will be hard to balance them and a cocoteil and school
Also chickens are smarter than you think and will bully you.

 

[RadEggs]

I've owned chickens since I was 5 and now I am 19 going to college and still caring for chickens. They are very easy to take care of when they're chicks and when they're adults. Not only that, but you get eggs! They eat grass and bugs in the yard and scraps you don't need. They're so simple and leave no mess. (Unless you have backyard furniture) Other than that theyre really simple you just gotta watch out for stray cats or racoons and etc.

How are chickens easy to take care of????? Mine are far from easy. They need me to let them out of the run for at least an hour a day (usualy more), they get mad if I clean their coop or move ANYTHING, they have eaten all the plants in our entire yard, and they are so picky about what they eat but need to be bribed to do anything. They also steal my food and like to steal my beads. One of mine pulled off part of my shoe and tried to eat it a few days ago.
Eddited to add one is also currently broody and I was bitten earlier, and I ONLY HAVE 4. How do 4 chickens cause so much chaos??????