Chickens as House pet's- A guide.

Ohhhhhh Gorgeous !!!!!!!! What a girl!!
Thank u for your help dear!

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Oh my dear- I contacted Rosa and she told me you make sweaters!!! I showed her a photo of Muffy in the diaper I liked and she told me that Muffy had a diaper and a sweater on that you make.... Now, it was honestly the sweater that caught my eye not the diaper! Lol- tell me about these sweaters!

hahah I just looked up croche patterns and made my own
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What are the...need to knows...in having a house chicken

Lots of Clorox wipes..

Hackles said:

Imagine sitting in front of the crackling fireplace, your book cracked open, and a big beautiful Buff orpington sleeping silently on your lap,Or you and your favorite chicken watching tv on the couch.on a cold winter day

If these thoughts are appealing to you, Congratulations! you're ready to take the next step in owning chickens , as house pets.

If you are thinking of keeping a chicken as a house pet,there are a few thing's you need to consider first. Most Importantly is Potty training See:https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=125001 for a guide to potty training your chicken. You will also need to consider the gender of your house bird, for pets sake you should never mix two sexes of chickens. A rooster should be kept as a solitary house pet, and will get hormonally in-balanced if hen's or other bird's are around. Whereas you can keep a few hens. and not have as big of a problem.But remember rooster's are apt to crow but hens are ASSURED to sing the egg song!

Also consider if there are other pet's in the house, make sure that they are chicken compatible.

You can enjoy the company of your favorite chicken , and make him/her extremely tame while keeping them as house pet's. They are inquisitive and follow you like a puppy dog, and want to be part of everything you do. Take your chicken outside often, so he/she is getting appropriate sunlight levels to ensure good health.

As for sleeping provisions a small dog cage works well put something warm,and machine washable in the bottom and, cover the cage over with a sheet, so the chicken feels secure. and if he's a rooster he wont be as apt crow in the early morning if the light levels are kept low.

-Mark
(A.K.A. Hackles)

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I have two male pekins that i recieved on christmas. Do you know if they can be potty trained? Currently they are housed in a huge dog cage in my bedroom and it is pretty messy. They are only in there when im at work. When im home they're out on towels.

tatertot said:

What are the...need to knows...in having a house chicken

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Hi there,
I have had two bantam orpingtons as house hens for several years now and they are my absolute delight! They are like my children, my family. I think hens make excellent pets, especially for people who suffer from fur allergies, like me.I do have a dog as well, but he can't sit on the couch with me and snuggle, which is what my hens do instead. As mentioned, they are a lot like dogs, follow you around all the time, start shouting in anticipation when they hear the car pull in the driveway and greet you at the door, and will sit on your lap or shoulder when you work or relax. My hen called Bun (she's a splash bantam orp, so her butt looks like a granny's hair bun - the name just stuck somehow after being called Eleanore initially..) is incredibly affectionate, she will hop on the couch and on my chest without fail within 30 sec of me settling on the couch, and she always comes when I go to the toilet to get pet on my leg..I got her when she was a month old, which I think is a great age. They are just old enough to see what sex they are ( make sure with a blood test of you don't want a roo!!!) and over the worst easy mortality period ( nothing as devastating as losing your baby chick to some weird disease!) but young enough to SERIOUSLY imprint and bond with you. I got the second hen later on as company, she was about a year, and she's really tame, but not the same as Bun. You can see Bun thinks she is somewhere between a dog and a person, because that;s who she socialized with when she was a baby. She's quite possessive over me and doesn't like certain people coming to the house, and sometimes bullies the dog, but I think that's just her individual personality.If I'm not available, she also goes and sits with the dog on his bed, so you can see she's quite fond of him.
Firstly, it is definitely cruel to keep one chicken on its own, unless you never ever leave the house. So get two hens.
Secondly, they do need lots of time with access to a garden, to "do chicken things" as we call it. Scratch around in and destroy the flowerbeds, dustbathe in the sun, eat the lawn,etc. If you live in an apartment I would advise against it, unless you have a balcony or something where you can have several really big pots for digging and bathing, some lawn and sunshine. And make sure its secure, you never know what silly ideas they get in their little pea brains... or what they do if they get frightened by an aerial predator.. On that note - never leave them outside on their own - I have heard of people getting their pet chickens eaten by neighborhood cats, eagles, rats etc.
Thirdly, you will want to have hard floors and a leather couch, trust me. They poo about 2.5 times an hour on average, so you will go through a lot of kitchen roll. Its usually solid and not smelly though (except for the occasional ceacal-bomb). I must admit, I have been too lazy up to now to try and potty-train them, but I am most certain it can be done. They are incredibly clever and can learn things easily. Kitchenroll works for me though...
Let them sleep on a perch somewhere high up at night, they want it instinctively and its good for their joints.
Don't give them unhealthy treats and monitor their weight like a hawk - they are very prone to become obese which can result in fatal health conditions.
Monitor their crop health, also a source of many fatal health conditions.
Also beware of pools and ponds, they sink like rocks, and them eating small objects in the house, esp dropped medication, earrings etc.
That's all I can think of for the moment.
Let us know if you have any specific questions..
And ENJOY!!!

I have a house chicken!! And it's awesome! Her name is Priscilla or, as we call her, Prissy Pants. She has her nesting box in a dog crate and climbs in and puts herself to bed when the sun starts going down. In the morning she's laying in there waiting for us to let her out with the dogs. She uses the doggie door, Lays in the living room with the dogs and eats with the dogs. It's the greatest thing. She is usually pretty good with going outside to poop but sometimes there are accidents. Tomorrow will be one month that we have had her. The occasional poo accident and the messiness with her food are the only two negatives. She's quiet and doesn't destroy anything, which are two things I can't say about my dogs!!

We rescued her from someone who was going to kill her because she "doesn't lay eggs anymore" (which is a crock of chicken poo because Miss Prissy Pants leaves me a nice, brown speckled egg almost 5 days a week). I think she's just ever grateful that she has a loving home.

One thing to consider before having a house chicken is that they need to be able to dust bathe so they can control bird mites. Prissy has access all day long to go outside and she does. She climbs up the steps and hops through the doogie door when she's done.

We have 4 month and a half old chicks that are on the back porch in a chicken cage (just until the weather gets warmer for them). THEY will not be house chickens (or so i say).... I have to draw the line somewhere.

Here is a picture of Prissy with one of the three Pitbull mixes we have.

Quote:
She's Beautiful!