"Discussion" with husband about owning chickens

[SandraChick]

Hit him over the head with a frying pan. Maybe that will straighten him out!

Just about fell out of my chair when I read that.

It seems to me- a vehicle is worth way more than any ONE animal and should be worth at least 20 chickens! Really, the only real horror stories (if you take care of them properly) is from keeping them safe from predators. It IS the most aweful thing when you find a dead chicken. I just caught the neighbors dog yesterday with one of my ducks in its mouth!!!! SHe's ok....but I know I was VERY LUCKY.

I clean out my coop twice a year....with a little up keep ( I use the deep litter method with the addition of DE and Sweet PDZ). I have no fly problems, no stink problems, no parasite problems. My biggest task -=literally- is making sure they're locked up safe EVERY evening no matter what--and finding people to take care of them that I trust when I need to leave town--well and keeping the neighbors dogs OUT (If I lived in the "true" country, I would have shot them- problem solved).

Anyhow- HERE ARE just a few of YOUR MAJOR BONUSES!
-EGGS --THE BEST EVER--never buying store eggs again....NEVER
-bug patrol.....they're constantly on bug patrol
-Fertilizer...they've kept my garden plot fertilized, tilled, and weed free all fall/winter, as well as my flower beds. DH recently noted the lawn is greener than ever and the only thing we can attribute to that is the constant "fertilizing" from our fowl
-STRESS RELIEF....I cannot overemphasize this bonus.
-entertainment...yup, their antics are hilarious, and they'll never cease to give you joyful little surpries.

ENJOY YOUR CHICKENS_-Good luck with your hubby----and I'm with Mr. Dad...make sure that pan is cast iron!

Sandra​

 

[snewman]

I agree that I should have several animals for each vehicle. Pound for pound, that only seems fair. My husband came home the other day (a couple of days after the initial blow-up) after talking to someone at work that had chickens, and this person told him that free-range chickens will dig up flower and vegetable gardens and that they poop everywhere. I guess he's trying to build counterarguments. I'm thinking that this first year, I'll fence them in somewhere and see how that goes, and take it from there next year. I kind of wanted them to be able to wander the horse pasture and eat bugs, but without additional fencing (currently three-strand electric tape), they'd have no reason to observe that boundary. Hmmm. I'll just try some chickens and deal with what comes, learn as I go. I'm glad I found this site so I have somewhere to go for help. You'll all be hearing more from me, I'm sure!

 

[BeckyLa]

Ah, yes, the husband thing. Let me tell you about mine. Four years ago we lived in a subdivision with a small backyard on the edge of town. I wanted chickens, at least a few hens, and dh did not. So I got on the net and did my homework and found BYC and it's instigators and worked out all the bugs, so to speak. Since we had a 6' wooden privacy fence he could not give me a good reason not to. So we built a little coop and got a little flock of 5. Guess who would let them in the sliding glass door to nibble treats in the living room? Hep, dh. Now we've moved to 12 acres, brought our little flock and coop and set it up in a dog pen. Ok, 5 in the dog pen, he could handle that. Then one day while he was at work I came home from a flea market with a trio of OEGB. Bantys. Dear Don't-Need-Any-More-Chickens fell in love with them and the zillions (it seems) of babies since. Last Thanksgiving I was given a flock of 30+birds and, of course, I couldn't say no. Dh said we have no place for them. So we asked a neighbor about an old playhouse and he just gave it to us. Instant coop. He absolutely did not want them to free range, poop all over the yard, etc, until he heard from someone else that homes that have free ranging chickens do not have termites. Or spiders and lots of other bugs. In the free flock are 6 EE hens. They quickly became his "little grannies", his pets. Now, today, Mr Don't-Need-Or-Want-Any-More-Chickens just got off the phone from ordering 25 Americauna chicks.

Don't give up. There's hope. All you need is for him to fall in love with one breed, or hen. If he has a heart at all, there's hope.

:

 

[CarriBrown]

Chickens are like crack.... Just get a couple and your husband will need his fix just like the rest of us!

 

[snewman]

I am very encouraged by your husband story. I don't know if mine will go so far as to let them in the living room, but I think he'll like having them around, if he can just give them a chance. Do they eat box elder bugs? That could be a huge selling point.

 

[edbama2]

I just bought 101 variety and my wife fell in love with the polish chickens. I think I have to order more of them now, for her. Like what was said, find the right one and your spouse will be ordering some.

 

[SpottedCrow]

My DH can't stand the fact that I have chickens, because I didn't ask his permission before I brought Tom and Jerry home. I just did it and darn the torpedoes, full speed chicken addiction ahead. He's complained and pi$$ed and moaned ever since...BUT, when the crappy neighbour's kid threatened my birds, he told the cops that the kid threatened OUR birds and that we had a permit to keep them blah blah blah. You could've knocked me over with a feather! OUR BIRDS! LOL
But I think if your DH knows that you're happy with them, then he'll be happy too...if not I have a frying pan you can borrow.

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

My wife and I both like chickens and work together, collecting eggs, cleaning the coop, yes it can be a lot of work and it is a responsibility to care for your chickens. My wife has been around chickens all her life in one aspect or another, myself on and off. It is now something that we both appreciate for the fresh eggs; natural healthy lean free-range meat, no antibiotics, hormones etc. and we give them a good life in comparison to a lot of chickens. We enjoy spending time in our backyard in the spring and summer watching the chickens and working in the garden they do give us a lot of enjoyment.

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

Quote:
Just about fell out of my chair when I read that.

It seems to me- a vehicle is worth way more than any ONE animal and should be worth at least 20 chickens! Really, the only real horror stories (if you take care of them properly) is from keeping them safe from predators. It IS the most aweful thing when you find a dead chicken. I just caught the neighbors dog yesterday with one of my ducks in its mouth!!!! SHe's ok....but I know I was VERY LUCKY.

I clean out my coop twice a year....with a little up keep ( I use the deep litter method with the addition of DE and Sweet PDZ). I have no fly problems, no stink problems, no parasite problems. My biggest task -=literally- is making sure they're locked up safe EVERY evening no matter what--and finding people to take care of them that I trust when I need to leave town--well and keeping the neighbors dogs OUT (If I lived in the "true" country, I would have shot them- problem solved).

Anyhow- HERE ARE just a few of YOUR MAJOR BONUSES!
-EGGS --THE BEST EVER--never buying store eggs again....NEVER
-bug patrol.....they're constantly on bug patrol
-Fertilizer...they've kept my garden plot fertilized, tilled, and weed free all fall/winter, as well as my flower beds. DH recently noted the lawn is greener than ever and the only thing we can attribute to that is the constant "fertilizing" from our fowl
-STRESS RELIEF....I cannot overemphasize this bonus.
-entertainment...yup, their antics are hilarious, and they'll never cease to give you joyful little surpries.

ENJOY YOUR CHICKENS_-Good luck with your hubby----and I'm with Mr. Dad...make sure that pan is cast iron!

Sandra

I agree with you 100% Sandra, what is Sweet PDZ? And how do you control your flies I use flytraps with attractants.

 

[SandraChick]

BarnYard Dawg-

To control flies I use mostly food grade DE and when I run out of that I get some sweet PDZ. ( i have to order DE online, but the feedstore has Sweet PDZ or I think their competitor is stalldry) They both act the same as far as drying things out. I mix it into my litter, nest boxes, and my chickens' favorite dusting areas. DE has the additional thing that if the DE gets on them it kills the flies themselves!

So- by keeping everything DRY- including the poops, the maggots can't survive in the poop. I also give DE to all my animals, and their poops are dryer and firmer in general. I've heard it more than once---mostly from people who use DE/Stall DRY/Sweet PDZ.....FLY problem? what fly problem?

Feel free to PM me if you want more details...or we can start a new thread---don't want to hijack this thread.

Sandra