Secret Chickens?

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

Tell her that the chicken poop will acctually make your plants grow better. Its true. Its good fertalizer. And if your letting them free roam you wont have to feed them as much. But I wouldnt suggest that cause preditors could get them very easily. If you just section off a part with some chicken wire, put a top cover over it, or perhaps make a chicken tractor, you can easily keep your yard healthy. You can look for some examples of a chicken tractors on this site.

Also. You should tell your wife that your a grown man now and if it was something dangerous or hurtful to the family's well being, then you could understand her saying no. Just get what you want. Don't let your wife treat you like a child. Thats just my two cents. A marriage is suppose to be equal. You can't keep letting her make all the decisions. Or else you will just be misrable and want to leave her in the future. If she won't let you have a freaking chicken then what else will she decide for you later on in life?

 

[Wifezilla]

Somebody built a frame with hardware cloth over it that kept the chickens just above the ground. They couldn't scratch up the dirt, but they could eat the tops of the grass blades. Can't remember what thread that was on though.

 

[Brelansmama]

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[Chickndaddy]

I think that maybe she thinks chickens and they area are going to be gross looking. If you take the time from the get-go to make a nice coop and beautify it perhaps she will be more inclined to see them in the backyard. After-all you want them to be a permanent fixture in your yard/garden.

You can plant vines around the wire to help disguise the chicken coop and add some color to an area that won't have much green when they are done with it. Grapes or other fruit producing vines like raspberries, black berries, or blueberries can be trained to grow up the fence as well. She might like the fact that they are helping to fertilize vines that are producing food. Wisteria, morning glory, cardinal vine, Carolina Jasmine, or any other blooming vine would look nice as well, but not have the added benefit of producing fruit. I have kept dogwoods, hawthorns, crepe myrtles, peaches, pears, plums, and figs in my chicken yards as well. So long as a the saplings are protected until they are taller than a chicken can jump they are fine. Fallen fruit provides extra food for your chickens and you can pick fruit to can, jelly, or eat fresh.

Also in my opinion chicken wire looks bad/trashy unless it is pulled tight over a wooden frame and even then I don't think much of it. I prefer to use welded wire which is about 2" by 4".

Like you can see here:

Sometimes I put a sheet of corrugated metal around the bottom to prevent roosters fighting through the fences, being able to reach more delicate plants outside their fence in flower beds, or to chicks from escaping into the unknown world outside. It has the added benefit of keeping predators out as well.

Like you can see here:

You also don't have to let your chickens free range. I had a very large yard so I never saw much in the way of damage from scratching. You can always throw grass clippings over the fence to the girls on days you mow. They appreciate the greens. Or you can turn them out of the pen for an hour or two in the evening right before it gets dark. They will catch bugs, eat a bit of grass and as bed-time approaches they will meander back to the coop to go to bed.

Remember to check out the section of BYC devoted to coops to get ideas that your wife might like.

 

[jjthink]

Re: your original descrip and questions, it might be easier to get a different wife!

(these feathered life forces love to scratch, to explore the world, to chat amongst themselves and to be louder still when circumstances inspire!!)

JJ

 

[toletiquesbysam]

 

[tdgill]

what "little girl" wouldn't like a chicken dollhouse? Seems like she has a bad memory of chickens and needs a different outlook. Also, the fencing idea instead of chicken wire is a good suggestion. I am wondering if I can incorporate some inexpensive lattice with my chicken wire. They don't have to be all over the place either. Would she show any interest in looking at the coops and chicken breeds?

Does she have an interest or hobby that you've been ignoring or not real keen on? If so, maybe you can share a little more of her interests in the meantime?

But yeah, look at the coop designs and pictures...I spent HOURS enjoying those and also the chicken breeds.

Tell her if it doesn't work out, you can just eat them. hahah not funny. But PEOPLE DO. ;-)

MMMMMm tastes like chicken! because it IS CHICKEN silly!!!

btw, my feed container in the pc room is a KFC bucket - JUST to keep them behaving. hahah

 

[OrpingtonManor]

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Such an evil sense of humor! I love it!

 

[DiVon80]

Start with Bantam cochins and silkies. They are the cutest babies ever.

Then, after they are excepted get a couple of standard Buff O's. They are big, buff and friendly lay a big beautiful brn. egg. The sm. ones will lay a small very usable egg I call them 2fers. My husband did not want poultry. He has not touched a one and I had them now for 11 years,non stop. Comming back after Katrina- we now have a cage full of standard B.O's, Sil.Laced Whyandotts and Dorkings(26 total). With 27 bantam cochins and silkies comming in mid may. I just went crazy.

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[77horses]

Buff Orpingtons are very calm and mellow.