Have to get rid of our chickens after one got killed.

[Chook-A-Holic]

Quote:
I have to agree with this. Everyone is not cut out to own chickens, or any other animal for that matter. They tried it and didn't realize what all is involved in properly taking care of them. I'm glad at least they found them a good home where they will be appreciated and properly cared for.

Ultimatums don't work at my house either. I would never tell the DW that she had to get rid of something. We didn't get married to control or be controlled by the other and we made this quite clear to each other before tying the knot. Besides as already mentioned, if she ain't happy, I ain't happy. I don't care if she brings home a gorilla, as long as she gives me enough warning to properly house it.

 

[scooter147]

I'd get rid of the husband if it were me

just kidding a on second thought no I'm not.

 

[honeydoll]

Quote:
Hear, Hear! I second that! My hubby and I have been married for 17 yrs. I have wanted chickens for two or three years, but my hubby was reluctant about it, so I just waited until we had a better situation for them. He never said NO you can't because he is not my father. He asked me to wait until we lived in a better place for them and after some priorities of fixing up our current home.. When we did all this, I got them. He built me a fine coop too. That is marraige. A little give a little take, and sometimes alot of compromise. If mine died, he wouldn't tell me I have to get rid of them, he would say "That's too bad, can I help you somehow prevent this from happening again?" He would not order me to get rid of them, no way no how. I would not allow that either. I am an adult and I am a person, that's that. Sorry you are in this situation. Without being there for us to really understand what's going on and all the dynamics, and without judging your hubby unfairly, I think this is just not right. Hope you can work this out.

 

[ChooksChick]

I'm concerned about how the chicken died!? This is a big deal- what happened?

 

[Coffee4Me]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. We did care for the chickens. We (my older daughters) and me don't like the idea of giving them up, but we don't feel it is worth the irritation that it causes my husband. He has been spending all of his time remodeling our rental home which is vacant. That is priority. It has been vacant all winter and he has to finish it so we can get the rental income back again. He goes to work at 4 in the morning and comes home at 1:00 then goes to our rental home and works there until suppertime. So he has not had time to build a coop for me. We have been keeping the birds in a large wooden crate in the garage, letting them out each morning and putting them back in at night. He started letting them out three days ago, which is probably when he noticed the smell in the crate. I change their bedding about once every other week. My husband is not mean; he didn't really want them in the first place. I thought he would change his mind after a while. He decided that we should get rid of them on Sunday morning when he let them out of their crate. He only told me about it after we found Lucy dead. I didn't expect so many posters to criticize my husband and my marriage. I don't know why I posted, I guess I just wanted to talk to others who would understand about losing chickens. Whatever happened to Lucy has the remaining 5 birds still scared. Instead of free-ranging they are staying in the garage.

 

[ChooksChick]

I hope it's not a two-legged predator. That's horrible. I'm sorry you guys lost her- it's a horrible thing to come home from church to.

If you change the bedding more frequently, you might find that the smell is significantly less. Also, once you do get them out of the garage, you'll be able to enjoy them more with it less of an impact on him. He might find he enjoys them more. You're only a month away from eggs, so you've put the hard work in. I know he's working too hard to make a coop, but perhaps you can find a way with your daughters to do some work towards one? My girls and I have put together several coops (the same ages as your younger 2) and we have learned a lot and had fun together with it.

I hope you guys don't give up so easily- he's probably wondering if it's really so bad, too, since it's so hard on the younger pair of girls to give them up. Tenacity has its payoffs- work for what you want and you'll be rewarded.

 

[TyrannosaurusChix]

I personally dont think i criticised him, nor did i try to. I just said its weird for a grown up to think chickens poopy doesnt stink, and that one would undertake fowl husbandry so lightly.

I also, and this is JMHO think that a crate for 4 or 5 chickens, even not full grown might be a tad small to just clean every 2 weeks. again, JMHO. That might be why it smells, and in the garage can only exacerbate the problem.


I hope the solution you choose will be good for your family and the chickens.

 

[Coffee4Me]

We moved the chickens to the bottom level of the barn. We cleaned up the garage too. Now they will be out of the way. They don't want to free range anymore, so they are perching on some old ladders that we set up for them down there. Thank you for the recent posts; they have been most helpful.

 

[nonseq]

I'm glad you found a solution!

I was going to add that when my DH gets overwhelmed he starts making noises about my stuff being a PITA and causing him stress. One time he was stressed out over work and he comes home and starts on how we need to get rid of our dog b/c the dog is too much work for me. Our DOG that we got back when we were dating 12 years ago. After we talked about that, he realized that the dog wasn't the problem. His job was, and things started going better.

It just sounded like that might be going on a bit with your situation, too.

 

[redhen]

Why do you have to "listen" to your husband? Is he a King and your his minion or something?
Just keep the birds if you want them... jeesh..

ETA:..oops..i see you solved the problem for now

... good luck with the husband in the future..