2 Hens in the basement

kittragsd · Sep 23, 2015

I'm new to this,so call me dumb for thinking of this......but here goes......I have 2 new hens, one Buff Orphington and a Cherry Egger and they are 11 weeks old. I have become very attached to these ladies and just discovered my town frowns upon " poultry keeping". I have built a nice run and coop and now am faced with having to give them up....fat chance !!!! I'm 70 years old and I don't cotton too well to losing these beautiful birds. I'm going to move them into my basement.....any thoughts or suggestions on lighting? Anyone else ever do this? HELP......kittragsd

mixedUPturk · Sep 23, 2015

Hello! Lots of people keep house birds, if you search on BYCs search bar for "house duck" im sure you can find some help with the new setup. Im really sorry your havin zoning issues, i hope your neighbors get over themselves! I think the birds are great for keeping elderly people moving and i wish i couldve gotten some hens for my grandma!

WVduckchick · Sep 23, 2015

I would worry most about the smell, unless you could ventilate it well, and clean their area often. And would you be able to take them outside at all? They need to be able to forage.
Usually places have restrictions only on roosters (noise) so are you sure hens aren't ok? I know you said poultry in general, but maybe you could get an exception for 2 hens?

FridayYet · Sep 23, 2015

kittragsd said:
I'm new to this,so call me dumb for thinking of this......but here goes......I have 2 new hens, one Buff Orphington and a Cherry Egger and they are 11 weeks old. I have become very attached to these ladies and just discovered my town frowns upon " poultry keeping". I have built a nice run and coop and now am faced with having to give them up....fat chance !!!! I'm 70 years old and I don't cotton too well to losing these beautiful birds. I'm going to move them into my basement.....any thoughts or suggestions on lighting? Anyone else ever do this? HELP......kittragsd

Hi Kittrag, Welcome to BYC!

Can't help much because mine go outside at 4 weeks but like Mixedupturk said, lots of people have "house chickens" with diapers and everything. Just search and you'll find lots of threads about it.!

I agree with WV though, they need fresh air and sunshine to be healthy.

kittragsd · Sep 23, 2015

the basement is heated and cooled with humidity control.... The pen I put down there is large with vinyl flooring and about 2-3 inches of pine shavings. They will have a roost and nest box. my real worry is how to light them up and for how long. and yes, they can go outside, I built a nice coop and run before I found out about " the rules"....I like these chickens and want to keep them, but only if I can do it right for them

FridayYet · Sep 23, 2015

Any natural light in your basement? If not, I'd get daylight bulbs or full spectrum bulbs and have them on sunrise to sunset - just like outside.

WVduckchick · Sep 23, 2015

Well maybe if you can let them out during the days, chickens usually go inside at night anyway, so I'd say give it a try!

Mutt Farm · Sep 23, 2015

Hi!

Not dumb at all! Good on ya!

I wouldn't cotton to that either. Couple basement hens sounds awesome! I'd strongly suggest you invest in full spectrum lighting, the same they use for plants, tortoises, etc. on timers. Lots of chickens don't have access to foraging. I live in the desert. No bugs or weeds here. I supplement with meal worms and alfalfa leaves and veggies. You'd need a nice sized dust bath area and a scratch area to dig up bugs and such. What a fun thing to do! Keep me posted K?

mixedUPturk · Sep 23, 2015

WVduckchick said:
Well maybe if you can let them out during the days, chickens usually go inside at night anyway, so I'd say give it a try!

Xs 2 give it a try! Sound like you have a nice brooder setup.

Lime can/will keep the stench down.

Lighting cycles can be up to you. If you want year round constant eggs, lots of people light their coops to simulate the 14-16 hours of sunlight they would otherwise get during the summer, thats a start on your lighting needs...

enola · Sep 23, 2015

Chickens do not HAVE to forage. My chickens are in their coop all of the time, due to predators. Some of my chickens have never been out of the coop.

2 Hens in the basement

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kittragsd

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mixedUPturk

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WVduckchick

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FridayYet

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kittragsd

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FridayYet

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WVduckchick

🐓🦆For the Birds!🦆🐓

Mutt Farm

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mixedUPturk

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enola

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