Parents need convincing...

[The Phantom]

Chickens are a girls best friend!
They lay such delicious eggs and are very funny and entertaining!
I have 25 chickens and I love to see all of their lovely faces every morning. Not to mention all the colors of the eggs. Blue, green, brown, white, brown with specks.
If you have a good coop and run they are very easy to care for.
Pretty much check on them when you collect the eggs and make sure they have fresh food and water.
I am gone for 2 weeks in the summer and 3 weeks in the fall. My brother cares for them when I am gone. I also have pheasants, turkeys, swans, cranes, and quail. If you have a good set up that makes it all simple. If you need any help or coop designs I have a bunch of them. My 12 foot by 12 foot run 9 feet high cost $250. It is a very simple sturdy design. Coop would probably be around the same. My 24x16 foot original run is 7 years old and is still very strong and new looking. If you want my instruction sheet I can PM it to you and you can show it to your parents. Let me know and good luck.

 

[Welshies]

OP, just a quick question, you are aware of what kind of work chickens require, right? If not I'd be happy to help!

 

[Rosypetals]

I'm not going to encourage you to go against your parents here. But you need to have a plan. You said you have money saved up to get chickens, but what about a coop for them? And a feeder and waterer, feed and bedding. Depending on the coop you have for them, you may need to scoop it out every day to keep it clean. Ten chickens is a lot for a backyard flock if you are in a city. You'll need a pretty good sized coop for ten chickens How do you plan to protect them from predators? Raccoons, owls, hawks. fox and coyotes all live in cities.

You will need to hire someone to take care of them if you are going to be gone for 2-3 weeks at a time on vacation. You really shouldn't be leaving them unattended for that amount of time What if one gets hurt? What if they run out of food or water? Maybe you can trade them a little cash and all the fresh eggs they collect while you are gone.

I am not trying to be "mean" to you. I love that you want to get chickens. It's a great hobby! I just want you to realize that it's more than just getting the birds. That's the cheap part of the hobby.

Thank you for being so honest! This is very helpful and I do need to consider all those things.

 

[Q-tip the indoor chicken]

First off, listen to your parents They have a lifetime of experience and their concerns are valid. However, I totally understand where you are coming from, so try to be mature and negotiate with them. Explain why chickens are a good idea, and plan ahead. Consider:

• Why you want chickens, and why they are good. You want them for eggs- explain how much tastier and healthier home-raised eggs are.
• How easy they are to care for- at my farm, my 10 chickens take half an hour per day to care for. That includes letting them in and out to free range. Go over this with your parents. Tell them what kind of care chickens require.
• Costs- consider that you'll not only need to buy or build a coop, but that you'll need to pay $20/month average for feed, and consider the cost of the equipment you'll need, as well as bedding.
• What coop you want- tell them the space requirements of chickens. Consider predators in your area so you can decide if they'll have a run area or roam the backyard. Decide if you want to build a coop or buy one. Note that already built (prefab) coops are often small, lack ventilation, and somewhat flimsy.
• A rooster- Are you planning on a rooster? Are you allowed to have one? What will you do if you raise up some babies and get some roosters? Sell them? Eat them?
• Local laws- make sure you actually can have chickens, and what kinds of laws there are on them, in your neighbourhood.
• Have a backup plan- if you don't like chickens, will you sell the coop and chickens? Eat them? What about if you have to go away? Will you have someone that can come look after them so your parents don't have to?

You want breeds that have variety. You could consider ordering a "barnyard mix" from a hatchery, although shipping can be expensive. Look for local breeders or feed stores that sell chicks. You might like Easter Eggers, who can be any color and lay blue, pink, green, white and brown eggs. Orpingtons can be any color and are very pretty.
Wyandottes are docile, very gentle, pretty, and great layers.
You might like Sussex or Cochin, as well.

Our first flock contains sex links, ISA Browns, and leghorns. They are easy and fun

 

[AmazingRachel]

Ok, so for a young chicken owner with no prior experience with chickens I would suggest starting off with 4 chickens. That way there are plenty of coops for you to choose from online and you don't have to build one. In two years, if you really like what you're doing then I would suggest building your own coop + run and getting more chickens. Next thing is vacations and unfortunately, your parents have a right to be worried. If you're going to be gone for 2-3 weeks at a time, you need a chicken sitter to come by your house twice a day to open the coop door, put out food and water, and then close the coop door and take in the food and water. Now, theoretically, you could bypass this by getting a solar powered coop door opener and a high capacity feeder and waterer but that's getting complicated and expensive (not to mention that the bedding needs to be replaced or turned). As for breeds that are great layers but are also docile, I suggest: Black Stars, Barred Rocks, New Hampshires, Easter Eggers, Rhode Island Reds (temperament depends on the hatchery) and Australorps.
Another thing, there are people that you will meet on various forums/sites that make chicken keeping into a rocket science and topics such as bedding and supplemental lighting are extremely controversial. Keeping that in mind, there are places called Cooperative Extensions that every county has and are run through your state's agricultural college/university and it gives people info on anything related to agriculture, including chicken care. There is also eXtension.org which is a site where info from state extensions are compiled: here's the page for chickens (scroll down and look at the left side column).
Now, to get your parents on board, I suggest joining 4-H. Almost every county has 4-H and you could find a 4-H club near you with this. In a 4-H livestock club, you learn about animal science and get it show your animals in competitions. So by joining a 4-H livestock club that cares for poultry, you will be recognized for your poultry care and commitment and it might even help you with getting into college. I have a pretty good shot at getting into UCONN (University of Connecticut) because of my work in 4-H and I'm looking into going into animal science as a career because of 4-H. 4-H also helped me do my Girl Scout Gold Award.
So yeah. Here's a presentation I did at my Town's library on chicken ownership if you're interested.