Chickens as house pets?

[ChickenCanoe]

I think chickens belong outdoors but Silkies would work.
I know someone that has a single silkie indoors with dogs and cats and it thinks it's a cat.

 

[kari_dawn]

you may also check with local law makers...sometimes chickens are excluded from the livestock umbrella, and even more so for "ornamental" breeds.

 

[chickened]

You may want to consider the health risks associated with co-habitation of chickens. They shed a lot of dander and some people have died from I think it was pigeon dander but not sure. If you have any lung/breathing issues it would not be healthy.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6400864_pet-birds-sinus-infections-humans.html

 

[UrbanFarmerGreg]

Lots of good input to talk about here, chickens in diapers... sounds funny... but maybe we will have to check with the local law makers to see if chickens are included as livestock. finding a clear answer on that would make the decision much easier... We just figured that since it said no livestock it meant chickens, livestock to us means an animal that either provides for you its meat or something else like eggs(chickens), milk (cows), work(horse)... thanks for the suggestions, advice and concerns

 

[Mudsow]

This was my cage inspiration, we used to have guinea pigs...
http://www.guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm

 

[UrbanFarmerGreg]

Thats a decent cage but you would definitely need a small chicken to keep in it... actually thats a really nice cage, the pigs must have loved it. Maybe if she wants them inside then she could build a much bigger cage for them...

 

[jeepguy982001]

Personally i wouldn't want to keep them inside. But to each their own long as they have a big enough cage and the poster is up for the extra cleaning i say go for it. Idk if the poultry is banned in her area maybe they could try to get a special permit from the town, or lobby to have poulty excluded from the law.

 

[stilldeb]

She can go to groups.yahoo.com and search for the group "House Chickens"...a whole group dedicated to keeping chickens indoors. She can probably get some advice there.

deb g

 

[nancypo]

I would say any animals that forages should be outside. I have 3 urban chcikens, with a nice coop and free range of the yard. Birds can become very self-destructive when confined and bored. I'd tell her to get another parrot, or a nice cat

 

[nurse_turtle]

Legally.... if the "law" doesn't come into the house, how would they know what she's keeping in there? I said no way would I ever have a chicken in the house, and a diaper for it? HA! I now have a small frizzled silkie/polish mutt roo living in my living room. He wasn't injured, but the others picked on him so he wasn't eating enough. I found him in the tractor run one morning laying on his side and being stepped on by his flock-mates. I brought him inside to die in peace (he looked THAT bad). Gave him vitamin water by dropper and fed him high protein game bird food. Now over a month later... his flock mates will not accept him back. So...... I have a house chicken, a house rooster even. I've been looking up patterns for chicken diapers. I have to work on his habitat still. I do take him outside everyday to free range with the others and bring him back in nightly.