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NFDing0880

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11 Years
May 5, 2008
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I have been searching the web today looking for everything I could find about raising chickens for laying eggs. This is the best site out there so good job.
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I'm a 16 year old guy and I want to get started in raising chickens for laying. Both my parents homes are zoned to allow a small number of chickens and at this point I only was 2-3 anyway. I've made blueprints with help from what I've seen and read on this site for a good sized coop and my father said he would help build it.

The only problem is that my mother does not want chickens in her yard, even though I was planning on bringing them between my parents homes (surprising as she is from a farming family). She thinks that all they would do is cause a horrible smell. And since I'm at my mother's house 70% of the time, I don't want to just leave them at my dad's because he has a condition that keeps him in the hospital for extended periods at random. So i guess my first question is...What kinds of things could I explain to my mom to help convince her? Second, Do chickens smell all that bad? I've helped at my friends large farm, and the chicken coop didnt seem so bad to me.

And third, if I was able to convince her, what types of hens are both good for beginners and for laying? I don't want to overwhelm myself and cause any unnecessary deaths of the birds.
 
First....Welcome
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Second....before we started our flock, I heard a lot of negatives too about smell however, I don't think they are horrible at all!!!

There are plenty of things you could do to help keep the scents down and unless your ma is sitting inside the coop all day with windows and doors shut.....I couldn't see there being evidence of scents.

The summer (baking sun) is usually worse, when the smell picks up a bit, but even with that I do not smell the coop at all during the day. Not until I walk into it and even then... I still don't think it is awful.....but I suppose I am partial to chickens...
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Good luck to ya...
 
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Welcome !!
Maybe try a couple of small breeds, small bird smaller poop!
less smell maybe... lol
anything to get her to let you try it.
K
 
thanks for the feed back. I'm thinking of good arguments to use, liek using the manure for her garden she wants. etc....
 
Promise your mom that you will keep the coop clean and use lots of good pine bedding. That's the best secret to keeping the smell down. Then there's also zeolite which kills the smell and isn't supposed to hurt chickens. I use it under my shavings.

Good luck! And
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welcome..okay, your Mom wants a garden...so..

If you build a tractor-coop the chickens can help with the prep work and fertilizing of the garden. The pecking chickens do to the ground will help arriate it. Also, they will eat the seeds distributed by weeds which would eliminate part of the weeding. The smell probably won't get too bad if you move the tractor every couple of days. That will also cut down on your cleaning of the coop. And, she gets FREE natural fertilizer.

Hope she lets you have the chicks
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Deb (another new chick owner)
 
Good idea about the chicken tractor.
What breeds are smallish but still lay decent numbers of eggs?

Thanks for the help everyone.
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