I would like to have a few chickens for eggs. I have done all the research and found out that we can have up to 5 in our area. I talked to DH about it and he said no. I even told him that we would be able to have better quality eggs for less and he still said no. His reasoning is that we are not living on a farm and it is one thing to turn 1/4 of the back yard into a veggie garden (which he will not knowingly eat from), but a whole other thing to raise chickens. He then asked me if we were to have chickens would I want a cow next year. How ridiculous! I don't understand his thinking.
I have not really pushed the issue and I would like to know what others might add to help me convince him. I really thought the saving and quality thing would do it, but that is not enough. Oh, he is not a big pet person either so that will not help.
Need Help Convincing DH to let me have a few chickens.
Sounds like my DH....it took me almost 2 years to convince him to let me have ducks. Unfortunately I still don't have them....too many unexpected things have come up that required money....like a new water heater, dentist, etc. Hoping to get the little quackers next year.
You could tell him that otherwise you were considering adopting triplets.
That's a good one porkpal, but since I already do child care I don't think that would work.
Loreen, what was it that finally made him cave? I hope you get your ducks soon.
Why will he not knowingly eat from your garden?
Onyxwar, I did extensive research first, so when he kept asking questions like...what happens if one gets sick? (I found a vet that deals with backyard poultry)....where am I going to get feed, etc? (there's a place that sells organic feed just a couple of miles from us)....I was ready with all the answers. He says he's still not all the way sold on them, but if having ducks will make me happy then he's all for it :-)
We live in Portland, Oregon and we can have up to 3 hens, 3 ducks, 3 rabbits, 3 pot-bellied pigs (not over 75lbs a piece), 3 pygmy goats, and 3 doves without permits. I don't know if that means one can have ALL those at the same time but I know I will only have ducks....though I may have 4 or 5, we have a 6 foot fence around the yard so no one can really see in. We've already talked to our closest neighbors and they have no problem (they shouldn't, they used to have chickens).
I even told him that we would be able to have better quality eggs for less and he still said no.
I'm not saying I think your husband is right to say no to chickens, but I wouldn't use this particular argument. Better quality, yes, they will be. But not for less, most likely. Especially if you want to use organic feed, which at least around here costs about twice what regular feed does.
You'll have the initial outlay for the chicks or hens themselves, then you need to build or buy housing for them, and a waterer and feeder. They will need a layer mash or pellet. You can let them range, but they will destroy your grass eventually (and dig up your garden). So if you keep them penned to prevent that, they won't have access to grass and bugs. You can supplement with scraps from your kitchen, but still, I doubt that you will be able to call the eggs economical.
Not that you shouldn't do it if you want to. But realize that it's going to cost more to get your eggs that way than buying them elsewhere.
I agree, gallesfarm...but you can work hard and do it as cheaply as possible and the safety and quality will then be in your own hands. And the eggs will be much nicer to eat.
Plus you can recycle the litter to make really super compost!
Actually, the chickens themselves are the cheapest part. Housing depends on your climate and scavenging abilities. I suspect that the feed is the most expensive component. Some people are good at getting leftover veggies from restaurants, supermarkets and farmer's markets. There are interesting older publications on feeding chickens during hard times which might also help bring the costs down.
I have to agree with the above also,my dh turned our playhouse that he had built for our granddaughters into a small coop big enough for 10 chickens,and he told me lets see how you like taking water out to the chickens when there is 2 feet of snow and the wind is blowing and its below zero.I did it and liked it so now I have this.I now have 12 silkies in the little coop and about 30 in the big coop.I sell my eggs and that buys my feed and that is it.The only reason I got the ibg coop was my Dad passed away and left me a little mony and thats what I did with it.If its cold where you live you need to think of a heat lamp also,so you have to have electricty in the coop to keep the water form freezing to.Now my dh likes the chickens as much as I do but he wouldn`t say that to anyone.
green04735, LOL, that is almost exactly what my DH said! Now he like the chickens (and the peacocks) as much as I do. Thanks for posting the photo of your coop set-up. I do love to see everyone's coops! I always linger over the "let's see your coops!" threads that get posted in the winter. I really like the idea of the multiple runs. I've been trying to explain to DH that I need another run as I keep mine "contained" to keep them from being carried off by the various varmits and hawks/eagles we have in our area. I would like to rotational graze the hens. DH says no one does that. Now I can say "yes they do"!
Also like the swing for viewing by the coop. DH has high blood pressure and finds sitting out with a glass of red wine and watching the hens in the evening very chathartic (did I spell that right? doesn't look right to me). He's been wanting to get one of those swings but doesn't know where to put it. I'll mention the coop to him. All of that outdoor stuff in on sale now in our area--I bet I have one my the end of the weekend!
Come to think of it, onyxwar, that might be a good selling point for the hens: quiet, calming outdoor activity! Helps to lower the blood pressure. A small group of hens is really a pet rather than a farm animal afterall. Perhaps he might find that he would chickens enjoyable just to watch. Mine aren't very noisy--I have Brahmas. They kind of coo to each other in the evening. The eggs are more of a bonus than anything else. But a nice bonus indeed! You might also point out some different types of coops that don't take up half a yard. There are some websites with some very attractive coops out there. Maybe if he sees that his backyard won't end up looking like Ma and Pa Kettle's front yard then he might be more open to the possibilities.
Good luck to you!
Gallesfarm,
My DH says that homegrown organic veggies will probably have bugs and it has been exposed to dirt and other stuff. What he does not realize (and nothing will convince him otherwise) is that all veggies are grown where bugs can contact them and dirt too.
I am going to make the house out of pallets and some other scrap wood that I have. I also have a bunch of chicken wire, cattle panels and a heat lamp( from our lizard that passed away) so I will not have those expenses. As for feed, I read that if I can get a 25lb bag for 7.00 it will cost .80 a dozen eggs. Even so that is not my reasoning for having the chickens, but I thought I would put that out there.
As for the lawn I am going to build one that I can move around the yard so they don't destroy the lawn too much. I don't think he cares about the lawn anyway, if I forget to water and it turns brown he never says a word and doesn't like the idea of spending money on fertilizer because "it's just grass".
I have done a ton of research and read over 10 books (have 5 more on the way from the library) and am prepared to answer most of his questions. The problem is he doesn't ask any. He did mention last night that he does not want to disturb the neighbors, and I told him I already talked to them (did that before I talked to him). I think I might be on my way... hopefully I will have him convinced by next spring.
Thanks for all you input. Feel free to keep it coming.
Your DH sounds like my mother; she won't eat home grown eggs because of where they come from (where they come out of the chicken)....and just where does she think the ones in the store come from...lol. Ditto for home garden items too, too many bugs because some people don't spray for them, birds poop on them, etc., etc.....GAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
Good luck to you, hopefully your DH will eventually give in. :-)
LoreenH,
That is it exactly! I didn't realize there were others out there like him, he even has our 12 yr old daughter questioning the cleanliness of what we grow. I told her that she eats that or nothing and she still eats okay.
Terri this is the back part of the first run we built,
This is the front
This is the back of the new run so I can switch the chickens and be able to keep green grass in one at all times it worked great for me this summer.The potatoe barrel is covered with plastic and they lay there eggs in there,right now I have four new buff orpingtons that stay in there at night untill they get used to going in the coop with the others.
This is another view of the new one
This is what is in between the two coops,right now I have three 3 month old silkies in there and will intergrate them in with the bigger ones in a few weeks.That little door is where they are,that little one comes in handy for newbies or babies or sick ones that need to be alone.
This is the back of the silkie coop you can see where there divider is.
OMG!! is your DH a city boy? sure sounds like he was kinda pampered by his mother..sorry, but it seems that way to me..most men dont even think of doing the work themselves..they let their wives do it..my DH will go out in the winter and feed and water my girls when it is cold..he is not an animal person either. he grew up on this farm and has no compassion for animals. they butchered and sold the meat here..he has gotten somewhat better in his old age. but he still knows that the eggs and the hens themselves(when they are butchered) are ALOT better for us because we know how they were raised and what went into them..
yes they are alot of work and expense, but i wouldnt trade mine for anything in the world..
cindy
My dh is a penny pincher and if he can do the work himself he will and he does a good job,I help him anyway that I can because I appreciate that he can do the work and save us a lot in labor and he really likes doing it.I`m going to work on him this winter into building a new silkie coop because you have to bend over to do anything in there because it was a playhouse for short little girls.I would like to build up because I really want to keep that silkie coop.He says it would to hard to raise the roof and build onto it.I guess I`m pretty lucky to have him
Your dh sounds worse than mine, and that is going some! LOL
Mine refused to have chickens but I've been telling him since he married me I was getting them. After 23 years, the time was right and I just up and got some one day. He loves them. This is how he is with absolutely everything in our life. Doesn't want anything to do with it at first and then loves it to death. Doesn't matter if we're talking chickens, children, couches, you name it. So I just ignore him and get whatever I want.
I really have no idea how to argue with a person that wouldn't eat home grown produce. Maybe you can withhold sex or something til he agrees to the chickens. Or give him the silent treatment. That's how I got my first child. (Since withholding sex wasn't going to work in that case.)
I don't ask either...my mother taught me it was better to apologise after than ask before.
She also taught me not to learn to do anything (e.g. change the oil in the car) unless I was willing to be responsible for it from then on.
Her finest however, was:
"When in doubt, speak with authority."
Unfortunately my younger son takes after her.
LOL Love your mom!
Gwen, your previous post really cracked me up!! There's always AI....
You guys really crack me up--and brighten my day! If DH won't do it, I just go to the library and read up on how to do it. Then I just do it. Half the time he doesn't even notice what I've done ie. installing ceiling fans in every room in the house! He has learned over the years to just let me go as things usually turn out fine anyway.
green04735, thanks for posting those photos! I think I will have a couple more winter projects now.
your lucky you live somewhere where its nice most of the year,but I could not stand the heat in the summer it was in the 90`s here for a few days and it was awful.Would you like to see the inside of the coop?DH made the nesting boxes and the poop boards for under the roosts,which really helps with the condensation in the winter,we had to put bigger vents in this spring in hopes that will help with the condensation this winter.
Cat...I like the saying... "it was better to apologize after than ask before"
Maybe that is what I will do next time!
Green...please post pics of the inside I would love to see.
Terri, all the people at the library know me by name and always ask what my next quest is going to be. Right now I have several carpentry books checked out as well as chicken books. We are going to build a greenhouse in a month or so (if his back holds out) and I want to build a chicken coop too. I did find a really good pattern in one of the chicken books that I plan on using.
DH building poop boards under roosts wit his helpers
The feed box on the wall hold over 50lbs of feed,and the nesting boxes,they have two windows with perches on them to sun themselves in the winter
Inside with the back door open
Other side and the roosts before the poop boards were in.barn boards on the wall and lanolium on the ceiling
He put a nesting box on the wall high up and they all want that one,they wait in line for it
The other poop board
The coop is 16x14
This is how we keep the water from freezin in the winter,he made a box and put blue board in it and a light bulb fixture and a 40 watt bulb and then put the waterer on top of that
It works great
Wow, deluxe! Lucky chickies.
Wow! Thanks for all the photos! I think the poop board will be my next project! =D
Wow, that is huge! How many chickens?