Chickens as House Pets?

Welcome to BYC.
I never had chickens living in my house but had a silkie that got battered by a roo to the point of needing nursing. Heat lamp...own beach towel...I swear she was calling for Raul to fetch her a cocltail and sunglasses...it was fun to have her getting well in the house...getting her to appreciate the yard was another thing.
If it wasn't for the mess and actually chickens do smell..I could see your temptation.
I wouldn't reccomend it though, just the cross contamination possible stops me.
 
The way I see it people have multi cats in their house, making messes in the litter box(if you are lucky) and that doesn't smell like rose buds either.

My friend has had house chickens for over 30 years. I would guess she was the first one to do so. She has had various breeds but mainly silkies, and a couple of seramas.
Both breeds accept home life and confinement well. When they do go outside, they stay close to the very benevolent peke-a-poo dog who protects them.

I have been in her house several times - it does NOT smell. She doesn't use chicken diapers too much bother. She keeps her cleaning supplies handy, and takes care of messes as they occur. She has not had respiratory symptoms in all the years of chickenry. She is 80 now.

The most she has had at one time was a special needs Silkie roo mix, 2 serama hens, and a silkie pullet.

She said repair men are always astounded when they get a peek at the chickens. They always ran and hid behind the sofa and paced back and forth, and looked out to see when the strangers left.

When she leaves the house, the gang camp out by the door and wait for her return

Check out "people with house chickens, thread and learn more.
 
I’ve been keeping house chickens for about 5 or 6 years now. They are an absolute joy, and I’ll probably never go without them. I had asthma as a kid, and my wife has always had it, but you know what? Her asthma has actually gotten better since we moved in together, and I’ve had zero issues whatsoever. The birds can make a little extra dust, but basic (occasional) housecleaning skills and a good filter in your HVAC system are all you need.

If you have any questions at all, please message me! I’m happy to share what I’ve learned over the years, and could talk about this stuff all day long. House chickens rule.
 
I’ve been keeping house chickens for about 5 or 6 years now. They are an absolute joy, and I’ll probably never go without them. I had asthma as a kid, and my wife has always had it, but you know what? Her asthma has actually gotten better since we moved in together, and I’ve had zero issues whatsoever. The birds can make a little extra dust, but basic (occasional) housecleaning skills and a good filter in your HVAC system are all you need.

If you have any questions at all, please message me! I’m happy to share what I’ve learned over the years, and could talk about this stuff all day long. House chickens rule.
Question about house chickens! Do they live on a "chicken schedule" (roost at dusk, wake at sunrise) or "people schedule"? I have a partly-paralyzed bird that sleeps in a cage at night. she comes inside the house when the other birds go to roost. She complains and pecks at the cage door all evening until the humans go to bed, then she finally lies down to sleep. I tried putting a sheet over half her cage to block out light (used to do that with my parakeets), but I don't know if chickens like that.
 
Question about house chickens! Do they live on a "chicken schedule" (roost at dusk, wake at sunrise) or "people schedule"? I have a partly-paralyzed bird that sleeps in a cage at night. she comes inside the house when the other birds go to roost. She complains and pecks at the cage door all evening until the humans go to bed, then she finally lies down to sleep. I tried putting a sheet over half her cage to block out light (used to do that with my parakeets), but I don't know if chickens like that.

It’s kind of half & half. Mine tend to hang with us as long as we’re up, though they’re usually falling asleep in someone’s lap around 9-ish, or have made a comfy spot on the couch until it’s time to go back into the coop. Oh, and Blue (our 3 month old Mosaic Rooster) is afraid of the dark(!!!), so it’s never pitch black in the living room where they sleep. Long story, but he will probably have a nightlight forever. It’s kind of adorable, but I feel like I failed him as a parent. Haha.

On my days off, Enzo (my Dutch Game Bantam hen) will crow like a rooster in the morning if she knows someone is awake. She will do it until she’s let out of her coop. Typically, that starts when the sun starts to come out, but if we don’t make any noise, she’ll be quiet until about 10:30am or so.
 
Also how often do you trim your bird's toenails? I assume that house chickens need that because they are not scratching in the dirt all day.

Mine get to spend a pretty decent amount of time in the backyard, so it’s not really an issue. We have a covered back porch with a concrete slab, which helps keeps the nails in pretty good shape. Blue, however (in addition to being afraid of the dark), doesn’t like outside very much, so I might have to introduce him to the Dremel if he doesn’t get used to being in the yard every now and then.
 
It’s kind of half & half. Mine tend to hang with us as long as we’re up, though they’re usually falling asleep in someone’s lap around 9-ish, or have made a comfy spot on the couch until it’s time to go back into the coop. Oh, and Blue (our 3 month old Mosaic Rooster) is afraid of the dark(!!!), so it’s never pitch black in the living room where they sleep. Long story, but he will probably have a nightlight forever. It’s kind of adorable, but I feel like I failed him as a parent. Haha.

That is adorable! Does this mean you have a coop in the living room?
 

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