Need to Convince Parents to Let Me Get Chickens!

[crnagora95]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I don't have any hens yet, but I am working on it. I live in a rental house, and we have a gated side yard that we aren't using at all! I think it is dumb for my parents to pay the rent and not use that side yard, seeing that it is 6' by 59', so 349 square feet. I'd like to get chickens in there to make that space productive, but my parents think otherwise. Their reasons went from bird flu to predators to no space. Well, I haven't heard any of my chicken keeping friends getting bird flu, there is such thing as chicken wire and we have that side yard. Now that I have those reasons, what else should I use to argue for chickens? Besides fresh eggs. That's a given. Please let me know, thanks!
-Nick from San Jose, CA

Edited to remove age for internet safety. Please review the rules.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. The first thing you have to do is find out if you can even have them from the landlord. Then if you convince your parents that you will be the one that will be responsible for all their care, maybe it will help. Good luck.

 

[crnagora95]

The landlord is fine with any animals that won't live inside permanently. And I will tell them I'll be the only caretaker of them. Haven't tried that yet. Thanks!

 

[salunra]

As a parent, my kid telling me that he would take care of a pet wouldn't carry a lot of water. OF course, I do not know what responsibilities you hold right now.

But if I really wanted to convince a parent, I would do more than just ask for chickens and say I would take care of them. I would present them with actual research.

1) What type of chickens I wanted
2) Where I would get them
3) How much it would cost
4) What I was going to do for a coop
5) How much that would cost
6) How it would be made or purchase
7) What would work as a run
8) How that would be made
9) How much that would cost
10) What I would feed
11) How much that would cost
12) What care would be involved and how I would do it

There is more to chickens than screening the end of the side yard in with chicken wire and turning them loose. They need a coop, food, feeder, water, waterer. Plus the regular maintenance of cleaning the coop, the run and the chickens. And while chicks are not expensive, the set up can be. So think about all the things that chickens need and how you would provide those and maybe you can convince your parents that this is not a whim that is going to cost them a lot of time and money.

Good luck!

 

[En Plein Air Farms]

have you ever asked for a different pet and gotten it?
who ended up taking care of it? Where is it now?

I think it's great that you would like a few hens, more power to you, My concern from your parents point of view is the fact that you are living in a rental. How many times have your folks moved in the last 20 years? Chickens can actually live 10 years or so, would you be taking your girls to college with you, or to the apartment you and a spouse would be renting down the road?

I worked for years for a shelter so my viewpoint is coming from 1000's of animals being abandoned when their owners moved. It's really sad, and tragic.

My suggestion if you are determined to achieve your goal is put a little ad in the paper volunteering to help out with someone else's chickens. You will learn a ton of valuable information toward the day when you have your own...not only what to do, but what not to do

We inherited a coop we moved home on a trailer and it still cost nearly $1000.00 more to add on the play pen, feeders, varmint proofing etc. have you got a thousand dollars?
Chickens eat non-stop

a 50 pound sack of food is 11.00-15.00. Can you afford that even once a month?

I do wish you the very best, and I hope you'll keep in touch with us about how your dream goes.

 

[crnagora95]

Thanks so all the replies!

@ Salunra: Thanks so the list. I'm glad I got the opinion of a parent, I never thought of what my parents were thinking. I have been doing reasearch on everything, and got an estimate for how much a coop for four chickens would cost to build. A really good friend of mine got chickens, and I helped him build the coop, and setting up the run, so I know how to make it varmint-proof. I also chickensat for him for a few weeks (got paid in eggs, LOL) and I know the basic upkeep and how tedious it is, but I think its worth it. I do have somemore things to look up though.

@ En Plein Air Farms: I never had my own pet, but my sister got a friend's cat once and I was the one who took over taking care of it (she didn't want to) until it died of old age a few years ago. We've moved twice in the last twenty years. I haven't thought about what would happen if we moved....but I would never abandon the chickens. I would have to find someway to get them to a nice home. Like I said above, I have chickensat for a friend ( I've seen them eat- they are like pigs with feathers

). I learned a lot from that, but I know that I have more to learn. $1000...wow. That is money I won't have for a long time. I know if I get chickens I am not going to be able to invest that much money in them. The materials for the coop are going to be $80, plus or minus $10. And the chicks will be about $20. I can afford that, and I have a part time job, so I can pay for feed. I have to figure out the cost for the feeder, waterer and all the other things I'll need. I'm glad I learned some of the not-so nice aspects of chicken keeping

, I'm going to have to incorperate those into my plans.

 

[mgw]

Welcome, from Eastern Wa. from a parent whose children want all kinds of animals let me say this. You need to do the things your folks require you to do without being told constantly. things like keepung your room clean, doing your homework,taking out garbage when it needs doing wiyhout being told, picking up after yourself,doing extra things around the house when you see they need doing. you should make a habit of these type of things to show your parents you are responsible. also the advice solunra gave is a good idea, it shows that it is more than just a crazy kid idea. My children have learned that when they want something they just cannot do these things for a few days to convince me they are responsible, these things must be a habit. Good luck keep us up to date on your progress!

 

[scgamecock]

My son talked me into it 4 years ago and then he lost interest in them. Look what it has done to me now.

 

[crnagora95]

@ mgw: Good point. I do my chores already but I could start doing more extra things.
@ scgamecock: Another good point. The reason I never wanted a pet was because of exactly that- losing interest. But I really do want chickens and even if I did lose interest, I would make sure I still took care of them. It would just be work, not labor of love.
Thanks everyone!

 

[alertbay]

Well, one excellent reason would be their appetite for insects. If you can permit them some additional free range in the back yard that would be excellent for the birds and the yard. You need to worry about dogs, but I'f you've a fenced back yard that should do the trick.
And, they'll fertilize your back yard in an unobtrusive way. I wouldnt recommend a goose for this project.
You can dispose of a lot of your vegetable waste with your chickens keeping down your flow of garbage out.
You probably can't do this in town, but we used to hang garbage in a fishnet sack over a metal sheet. Flies were attracted to it and left their eggs on it; the eggs, in the natural way, hatched and the maggots fell onto the metal sheet where the ladies disappeared them as they fell. The flies liked it too and seldom came around the house. The girls would beeline for this spot every morning.
Eggs from chickens that are raised as naturally as possible are better tasting and better for you.
They're good company and they'll keep you grounded in the sense of feeling closer to the natural world.
They're far less work than a milk cow. Good luck with your project and best wishes for the season. Alertbay