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william
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p/backyard-chicken-coop
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2/17/2025, 10:13:09 PM
help!
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mirukitsune
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5/2/2025, 6:25:35 PM
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💡 Decoded Problem This is not just about chickens—it's about perception. She imagines chaos: stink, raccoons, hawks, maybe zombie chickens. You need to shift the narrative from "barnyard mess" to "clean, sustainable, and secure hobby." ✅ Right Solution - Step-by-Step Strategy Start With a Clean Proposal Create a short, organized pitch that includes: Coop location (far from main living space) Number of chickens (start with 2–3, not a dozen) Breed (choose docile, quieter ones like Buff Orpingtons) Tackle the Smell Myth Chicken poop does smell if unmanaged. Promise (and prove!) a deep-litter method: you layer dry carbon materials (like wood shavings) and turn them regularly. It composts naturally and even smells... earthy. Offer to clean weekly—your responsibility only. Neutralize Predator Concerns Show her your plan: Fully enclosed coop with buried hardware cloth to prevent digging. Lockable latches. Motion sensor lights. Covered run to stop aerial attacks. Make Her a Deal She Can’t Refuse Offer a reward if she agrees: fresh eggs delivered to her like a queen, breakfast in bed included for the first month. Better yet, build a “spa garden” section in the backyard with the coop tastefully hidden or landscaped—show you care about her aesthetic vision. Invite Her to Name Them Psychological trick: once she names a chicken, she’s emotionally invested. You’ve won. 🐣 Optional Bonus Move Take her to a local backyard chicken tour or fair—let her talk to real people who do this successfully. Remove the unknown. Let her hear the hens clucking peacefully, not imagining Jurassic Park in the backyard.
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william
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5/5/2025, 3:48:12 PM
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This is pro level guide. appreciate the outline!
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sacredcow
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3/13/2025, 3:06:24 PM
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They aren't smelly. And it depends on where you live on what predators will show up. Also, just build a nice pen for them, and they will be okay.
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child_of_abba
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5/2/2025, 2:36:31 PM
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I'm am sorry to hear about your wife's view on chickens. I cannot understand that mentality and I'm a woman 😂. Let me tell you about my journey in becoming the crazy chicken lady (I'll try to keep it short, because I have a lot of chicken tending to get to). We started with 5 hens that a friend gifted us with. We rent property that happened to have an unfinished coop on it. We live in the south so the coop is an open air coop so we just added hardware cloth and also buried hardware cloth a few inches down in the ground, surrounding the coop, to prevent predators from digging underneath and entering the coop. We also built a door with locks (I hear raccoons are pretty smart and can open the doors with simple locks. A year later we decided to get more hens and purchased 15 unvaxxed chicks from Hoover's Hatchery. Unfortunately we did lose a few due to some sort of ground predator and/or illness. We have learned from our trials and errors and have now learned to save chickens from certain ailments, how to prevent them, and secured the area better. Late last year we decided to order 20 more chicks. We were expecting all hens, like last time, but were blessed with 2 roosters. And they are very sweet and have different personalities. Since then we've had 3 hens go broody and now have 12 baby chicks (one that I had to help out of her shell and she almost died). I clean the coop daily and the poop goes into a compost pile...there is absolutely no smell. I would have to say, that if the coop were totally enclosed then the smells would build up and you may get an ammonia smell, which is toxic to the chickens. Anyways, I have so many stories I could tell, good and bad. Once again, it's a learning process as I'm still learning. We truly love our flock and do whatever we can to keep them healthy and happy. Oh, one more thing...we feed our flock some of our scraps. If you do that, look up what chickens can eat and can't eat. Such as they cannot have chocolate, raw onions and potatoes (cooked is ok), and other things. They really are a joy for me to have around and their eggs are waaaay better than store bought eggs. Depending on what they ate that day depends on how the eggs taste. Sometimes our eggs will be very rich in color and other times they're more yellow. Best of luck to you and I hope your wife changes her mind. Start small and then grow from there.
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child_of_abba
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5/2/2025, 3:22:55 PM
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Yikes! Another word of warning I was just reminded of, as I heard the crows outside. They can be your friend, because they chase off hawks, but they also can be somewhat of an enemy as I found earlier this week. I have never had an issue with crows until now. As I was in the coop gathering eggs I found there were absolutely NO eggs to be collected. I then reviewed camera footage and found that the crows were stealing the eggs, so we had to modify the coop. We keep the door closed now and constructed a small door in the front of the coop for the hens to enter. So far, it's working. I hear crows are extremely smart and I'm sure they'll eventually figure it out, but I'm already working on a plan B. We do not want to hurt the crows, as I said...they can chase off other predators, but we do not want to reward them with all of our eggs either lol.
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william
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5/2/2025, 6:13:47 PM
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that's amazing, thank yu for sharing your journey. I will have chickens one day! For now, I am getting eggs from a friends farm.
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child_of_abba
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5/2/2025, 3:00:43 PM
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child_of_abba
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5/2/2025, 2:58:59 PM
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Just a pic of a few of the next generation. 
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child_of_abba
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5/2/2025, 2:56:43 PM
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Blue, the other rooster. 
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child_of_abba
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5/2/2025, 2:50:29 PM
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 Our daily eggs
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child_of_abba
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5/2/2025, 2:54:45 PM
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Roo-Paul. He's one of the boys that snuck in with the hens we ordered that was supposed to be sexed. He is an awesome rooster. 
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raisingbene
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2/21/2025, 10:42:52 PM
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I hear batams or quails are easier as they are smaller than chickens. The "smell" is just poor management of green (poop) to brown (carbon) matter. I do deep bedding by adding more carbon material. The chickens will turn it over by scratching. This carbon in the coop becomes compost for your garden. A good coop with a run that's reinforced with hardwire fabric should prevent predators. When we first started out we used a dog kennel. Hah! It actually worked out. Always lock the hens up at night in the coop.
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rusalka
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3/13/2025, 5:54:25 PM
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[deleted by author]
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mommyoftwobirds
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2/17/2025, 10:52:25 PM
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As for the smell… maybe give the kids chores of cleaning the coop often hehe. Chicken can be culled into their coops nightly to protect them from predators. But there are some that prefers to stay out or on a tree, and there isn’t much you could do about that. It could he a family learning experience/project bonding time! And kids learn a bit of self-sufficiency.
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william
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2/18/2025, 5:57:30 PM
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I wish we had kids. I would teach them to take care of the chickens. We do have some trees to clear in our backyard. Perhaps once that is done, I can convince her that we need chickens.
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mommyoftwobirds
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2/18/2025, 6:05:06 PM
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I’m rooting for you!!! The chickens can be your first kids.
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grouchfkadiogenes
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2/22/2025, 10:03:20 AM
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[deleted by author]
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logical
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3/2/2025, 4:02:45 AM
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I am also coming here seeking a guide for chickens. Hoping someone will lead me in the right direction. I currently have 2 concrete pads about 7x14 feet each. In a Fenced in enclosure with about 20x20 fenced open grass/prairie. It also has power and water available. Looking to feed 5-6 people and not deal much with roosters. Any advice? I'd like meat and eggs eventually.
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koreanrooftopappreciator
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3/12/2025, 12:40:19 PM
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Probably the only way is to get her close to ducklings and goslings (they do stink, though...) Honestly chickens don't smell all that bad. You probably already have predators in your area, would be interesting to set out cameras and see what's moving around at night.  
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mommyoftwobirds
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2/17/2025, 10:39:07 PM
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Give her a taste of sun-gold orange hued egg yolks that can only come from fresh heirlooms. Now imagine them in all the egg recipes she could use them in. More importantly, the nutrition factors are highly dense compared to store-bought eggs. I couldn’t say more good things about farm fresh eggs. I am speaking from one who didn’t like eggs much just a few years ago. It was because I haven’t had the delicious creamy egg yolks that come only from heritage breeds. All my life I tossed most of the yolks out bc they didn’t taste good.
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