Chickens as House Pets?

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Comin' to get the Bubba

Comin' to get the Bubba

In the Brooder
Joined
Jun 12, 2018
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Location
KY
Hi everyone!
I live in KY and I'm wondering if anyone keeps chickens as house pets. I read silkies are very good pets --- I'm interested in this, especially because so many chickens get preyed upon.

I'd like to get some fertile eggs and hatch them out so the chickens would be more bonded to me.............thoughts? Tips? Thanks
 
I’ve had chicks in my basement and I can tell you that the respiratory issues I developed was not worth the convenience.

Chickens have dander that is in the air , on the walls and floors. You breath that into your lungs and then if you’re me you start wheezing and sounding like a chain smoker ( no offence to smokers), they need to dust bathe, eat grass...

Now silkies have a downy hair like feather but I’m thinking the skin dander would be the same ...but I’m not sure .

Good luck deciding , silkies are great I love mine a lot
 
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Welcome to Backyard Chickens!

House chickens can be messy. Some do have them though!

Silkies or other bantams seem best for house pets. One thing though, if you hatch eggs you will get roosters....and crowing all day in your house!
 
Hello! I have had 2 house pet silkies, and honestly, I won’t do it again. The mess is just CRAZY! I did (try to) use diapers, but my birds just never got used to it. I don’t think that chickens are meant to be indoors. Believe me, when I (finally) gave mine a coop outside, they were so much happier and healthier. Oh, and BTW, (at least from my experiences) silkies usually don’t live past a year old. If you want a longer term chicken, I recommend the Cochin.

Summary:
In my opinion, keeping an indoor chicken is not as rewarding as some may say. The birds are supposed to be outside, and they are so much happier and healthier when they can live how God designed them to!

Good luck!
 
4 Georgia Hens said:
Hello! I have had 2 house pet silkies, and honestly, I won’t do it again. The mess is just CRAZY! I did (try to) use diapers, but my birds just never got used to it. I don’t think that chickens are meant to be indoors. Believe me, when I (finally) gave mine a coop outside, they were so much happier and healthier. Oh, and BTW, (at least from my experiences) silkies usually don’t live past a year old. If you want a longer term chicken, I recommend the Cochin.

Summary:
In my opinion, keeping an indoor chicken is not as rewarding as some may say. The birds are supposed to be outside, and they are so much happier and healthier when they can live how God designed them to!

Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing your experience!
 
Comin' to get the Bubba said:
Hi everyone!
I live in KY and I'm wondering if anyone keeps chickens as house pets. I read silkies are very good pets --- I'm interested in this, especially because so many chickens get preyed upon.

I'd like to get some fertile eggs and hatch them out so the chickens would be more bonded to me.............thoughts? Tips? Thanks
Click to expand...

Our Blue-Splash Silkie, Herman, is a house-rooster. He was the only survivor of a poorly shipped batch of peeps from a major hatchery that will remain nameless. As a sick "only," he got a great deal of attention as a baby and is so seriously bonded to people that he really has no idea that he's a chicken. He sleeps inside, in a dog kennel, but goes outside whenever it's his turn in the play-run or when anyone can supervise him (because we have hawks.) Because Herman is not aware that he is a chicken, he gets along with any and all of our other birds, including the roosters. Because he's so affable, he gets run-time pretty much every day. When he doesn't, we make sure he gets to accompany us on chore duty. I think his favorite job is probably weeding the garden. So many bugs, so little time!

On yucky days, or really, really hot ones, he stays inside. Although he'll wear a diaper, he's not too happy about it, but at least he'll tolerate it. The other thing he tolerates indoors is our cat clan - four of them. He's just one more fuzzy among fuzzies, I guess. Our new pup is another matter. We're still working on her. She likes stuffies, and to her, Herman is just another chew toy. For now, Herman is only allowed out and about when Skye is outside or otherwise occupied. He is considerably less than happy about the situation, I can assure you!

So, a house chicken can work, and you don't have to start with hatching eggs. Peeps will work, or I'm sure you can find someone who has an extra young cockerel or pullet. And if you're going to keep them in the house, don't keep more than one or two. @snow5164 is right about the mess and the respiratory issues. If anyone in your house is asthmatic, you'll want to keep your biddies outside. If you do opt for an indoor chicken, you'll have to keep after it every day. The dust and bedding mess is incredible!
 

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