Heartbroken !!!!!

[Andee8302]

Now that I have gotten attached to my babies, must BF has done nothing but complain about the cost of building a chicken coop and the run. He keeps saying it's getting out of hand. I guess he thought we could just basically throw them outside with a very small shed and fence about 3 feet high. When I told him it had to have a roof over it or hardware cloth on top, he again was not happy. (we have hawks and eagles here) I, on the other hand, want them very protected and big enough housing where they will be happy. UGH !!! I don't know what to do. I feel like I should find them a home.

 

[SourRoses]

Fourscore and sixty years ago, this thread was created... I think everyone was still using F-keys to navigate their dialup AOL connection back then

 

[MadHens]

If you haven't done so already, check Craigslist. Maybe someone is selling a used coop/shed. That may help with costs somewhat. If you have a vehicle that can haul something like a coop, expand your search to neighboring states. If you can't find any coops for sale, check the "materials" section and also"free stuff." You'll never know what you'll find that could help you with keeping your costs down. How many chickens do you have?

 

[happyhippiechik]

Re-home the boy friend! Sorry but 33 years of marriage has set my priorities straight and if I have taken them into my care, they are mine to care for. And "I" do the care-taking.
There are also great ideas on this site about how to make simple, inexpensive housing. I made the addition to my coop using 1 x 3s, chicken wire, pvc pipes and zip ties. To make a box for them to lay and roost I've seen them made out of old tables, old console tv sets with the insides taken out and nesting boxes put inside. I do a lot of searching online for ideas. You're bound to find something that will work.
Good luck!

 

[Roark]

Cost... seriously?

We had talked about getting some birds, but being the OCD type, for me that meant we still had months, if not a year of research and prepping before actually getting any birds. Then one fateful day this Spring we wandered into Tractor Supply when they had baby chicks and ducklings on the floor, and as soon as my wife caught sight of them (I tried in vain to steer her away) it was all over but for my crying (she sees cute, and all I see is work for me). Being a well trained hubby, broken of mind and spirit, I stand like a simpering idiot nodding my head up and down - repeating the mantra that has been the cornerstone of our marriage's success for almost three decades... "yes dear... whatever you want".
We left with "only" 6 chicks and 3 ducklings, a me thinking I'd gotten off easy.

The evolution has been steady, but by no means am I tempted to calculated the costs to date. Conservatively, when eggs hit about $30 a dozen, we should break even... about three years later.

First there was the brooder, so of course we needed heat lamps and waterers and feeders and bedding. The chicks were no real trouble at all and soon graduated to a garden cart/coop that was just some vinyl covered wire fencing that I had laying around and tied into a 2'x4' giant bird cage for them. As their feathers grew and the weather improved, they could easily be pulled out of our sun room and onto the patio to get some sun, and later leave to start roaming the fenced yard. The ducks moved from a galvanized tub to a an unused 75 gallon aquarium, but their acclimation to the outdoors was a lot faster. We started with a big shallow bowl of water on the kitchen floor, and very quickly they had jumped to invading my wife's koi ponds. Today they all free range the fenced yard next to the run, but the Mallards have decided that they prefer the solitude of my neighbor's yard - with his three cats - to the cacophony of the chickens, so any time they get the urge (usually when I'm on the roof, up a ladder, or otherwise indisposed, they like to show off and fly over the 4' fence.

This of course results in an immediate and frenzied call from my neighbor to wife, wife to duck herder (yours truly) whereupon whatever progress was being made on "The List" must be abandoned to retrieve the wayward stooges. ( I call this proof that duck pooh can and does roll down hill.)

So after cornering the birds and tossing them back over the fence a couple of times - between shooing chickens out of my peas, and then the beans, and then whatever the heck else they can possibly get into, I am reminded that the duck ponds need to be emptied and refilled. (I could have sworn there was a wife and kids around here somewhere, but I'll be dashed if I can see them...). Not possessing Nostradamian foresight, I neglected to build my backyard shop so that I might actually get work done there whilst keeping one eye on Hogan's Heroes and the fence line, one eye on the sky for winged predators that see a lot better and move a lot quicker than me, one eye on the marauding chicken horde, and one eye on the power tool (stuff like saws - big saws and bigger saws) that my hands are being fed into. What could be expected of me, I'm just a stupid husband.

I had already built some raised beds for our expanding veggie gardens, but had also already ordered about 40 fruit trees that we were going to adapt to a micro orchard in some more raised beds. Somewhere in the midst of all of this it was decided that everything should be put under one roof so to speak (we have deer, hawks, eagles, coons, fox, feral cats, possum... pretty much a game preserve). This has now grown into a 1300 sq.ft. pen surrounded by a 7' varmint proof fence (with 18" buried into the calliginous cement we call soil here) and an electric fence surrounding that. Today I get to string the cabling that will support the wire "roof"... between trying to finish the chicken tractor, complete the permanent attached coop, replace the duck's original large pond (yeah they only have two... so far) with a larger one, and oops - almost forgot - cut the grass, edge the yard, mulch the beds, fix the hot tub, paint the pergola, build another 700' of fence for the dogs, and finish planting and putting in transplants. I've been up since 4 am and the love of my life is still sleeping. I hope I live long enough to see the first egg.

My suggestion would be to take a page from my owner's manual (which I've never seen, but I'm pretty sure the woman who owns me got one).
First - keep him busy enough that he never has time to think, complain, or pull out his calculator.
Second - sex is a very strong motivator, as is not having to bunk with the dogs... so you've also got that workin' for ya.
Don't mention all of the wonderful "free" eggs and fertilizer that will soon appear I'm already workin' on my third new compost bin and the mere thought of eggs just makes me wanna join a monastery and go Vegan.

 

[7 Biddies]

RE: "I feel like I should find them a home."

You're almost right. You should've said, "I feel like I should find *him* a home."

Been there, done that. Take the word of an older woman (and psychologist), if he's this grumpy at this age about spending extra time and money over keeping some helpless baby chicks safe, a future with him doesn't look promising. Especially since I'm assuming some of this money is yours, too. Unfortunately, curmudgeons do NOT improve with age. It also sounds like he might be narcissistic (my absolute favorite!)

As they say, the best way to find out if a person is worth spending a lifetime with, is to see how they react in a crisis situation. This isn't even a crisis and he's acting badly. Some things are best found out early.

He's not the only man on the planet. Find one that's more sympathetic to helpless animals (like all the guys on this site), and you'll have found a good man with a kind heart. One worth spending a lifetime with.

 

[AmyA248]

Cost... seriously?

We had talked about getting some birds, but being the OCD type, for me that meant we still had months, if not a year of research and prepping before actually getting any birds. Then one fateful day this Spring we wandered into Tractor Supply when they had baby chicks and ducklings on the floor, and as soon as my wife caught sight of them (I tried in vain to steer her away) it was all over but for my crying (she sees cute, and all I see is work for me). Being a well trained hubby, broken of mind and spirit, I stand like a simpering idiot nodding my head up and down - repeating the mantra that has been the cornerstone of our marriage's success for almost three decades... "yes dear... whatever you want".
We left with "only" 6 chicks and 3 ducklings, a me thinking I'd gotten off easy.

The evolution has been steady, but by no means am I tempted to calculated the costs to date. Conservatively, when eggs hit about $30 a dozen, we should break even... about three years later.

First there was the brooder, so of course we needed heat lamps and waterers and feeders and bedding. The chicks were no real trouble at all and soon graduated to a garden cart/coop that was just some vinyl covered wire fencing that I had laying around and tied into a 2'x4' giant bird cage for them. As their feathers grew and the weather improved, they could easily be pulled out of our sun room and onto the patio to get some sun, and later leave to start roaming the fenced yard. The ducks moved from a galvanized tub to a an unused 75 gallon aquarium, but their acclimation to the outdoors was a lot faster. We started with a big shallow bowl of water on the kitchen floor, and very quickly they had jumped to invading my wife's koi ponds. Today they all free range the fenced yard next to the run, but the Mallards have decided that they prefer the solitude of my neighbor's yard - with his three cats - to the cacophony of the chickens, so any time they get the urge (usually when I'm on the roof, up a ladder, or otherwise indisposed, they like to show off and fly over the 4' fence.

This of course results in an immediate and frenzied call from my neighbor to wife, wife to duck herder (yours truly) whereupon whatever progress was being made on "The List" must be abandoned to retrieve the wayward stooges. ( I call this proof that duck pooh can and does roll down hill.)

So after cornering the birds and tossing them back over the fence a couple of times - between shooing chickens out of my peas, and then the beans, and then whatever the heck else they can possibly get into, I am reminded that the duck ponds need to be emptied and refilled. (I could have sworn there was a wife and kids around here somewhere, but I'll be dashed if I can see them...). Not possessing Nostradamian foresight, I neglected to build my backyard shop so that I might actually get work done there whilst keeping one eye on Hogan's Heroes and the fence line, one eye on the sky for winged predators that see a lot better and move a lot quicker than me, one eye on the marauding chicken horde, and one eye on the power tool (stuff like saws - big saws and bigger saws) that my hands are being fed into. What could be expected of me, I'm just a stupid husband.

I had already built some raised beds for our expanding veggie gardens, but had also already ordered about 40 fruit trees that we were going to adapt to a micro orchard in some more raised beds. Somewhere in the midst of all of this it was decided that everything should be put under one roof so to speak (we have deer, hawks, eagles, coons, fox, feral cats, possum... pretty much a game preserve). This has now grown into a 1300 sq.ft. pen surrounded by a 7' varmint proof fence (with 18" buried into the calliginous cement we call soil here) and an electric fence surrounding that. Today I get to string the cabling that will support the wire "roof"... between trying to finish the chicken tractor, complete the permanent attached coop, replace the duck's original large pond (yeah they only have two... so far) with a larger one, and oops - almost forgot - cut the grass, edge the yard, mulch the beds, fix the hot tub, paint the pergola, build another 700' of fence for the dogs, and finish planting and putting in transplants. I've been up since 4 am and the love of my life is still sleeping. I hope I live long enough to see the first egg.

My suggestion would be to take a page from my owner's manual (which I've never seen, but I'm pretty sure the woman who owns me got one).
First - keep him busy enough that he never has time to think, complain, or pull out his calculator.
Second - sex is a very strong motivator, as is not having to bunk with the dogs... so you've also got that workin' for ya.
Don't mention all of the wonderful "free" eggs and fertilizer that will soon appear I'm already workin' on my third new compost bin and the mere thought of eggs just makes me wanna join a monastery and go Vegan.

Great story! Great husband!
Do you have any seminars for other husbands? Lol!!!

 

[DrHoverbottom]

Another vote for craigslist, thats how we got our coop after I became discouraged at the cost of building (ok the cost of building "the one" I liked best). What we got is not perfect, but it was easy on the budget and the girls seem to like it just fine. Bonus: for an extra ten bucks the seller drove it to our house and helped the hubby get it in the back yard. I got a lot of good ideas from my local meet up group as well (do a search for chickens, urban chickens...stuff like that) there may be a group near you and they may be able to give you some referrals...both for a coop or in the worst case scenario, a home for your chicks (but I am keeping my fingers crossed it will not come to that!).

Good luck and try to not get discouraged.

 

[Kim95037]

Rats! If you were closer Id come and help you finish building your coop! Im in California. Checking Craigs list might be a good idea.

 

[Andee8302]

Madhens - I have 14 chicks. I came home with 6 and he went back and got 8 more, the day after. He thought I didn't get enough. LOL I have been checking craigslist and a few other sites. So far no luck but I still have time. Thanks !!

Thanks Kim, that's sweet of you !!

Thanks everyone for your encouragement !!! I was upset when I wrote this last night but after much thinking last night, I have decided that I am going to keep my girls. I don't ask for much and this is one thing I really want. Besides I have time to try and keep the cost low. Wish me luck !!