Chickens In the House?

[juliecox]

Hello! I have a weird question for you. I love the look of Seramas - so cute! - but I have four big ol' hens in the backyard that would tear them up. Has anyone ever kept a trio of Seramas in a big parrot cage inside? I've heard that Seramas crow relatively quietly. Would a Serama rooster still drive me batty? Would I be better off with a pair of hens (to keep each other company)?

 

[CMV]

Some folks keep chickens inside, but I am of the mindset that chickens need to be outside in order to be happy. Chickens love to putt about in the dirt- scratching, digging, dirt bathing, searching for bugs...

I have had to keep chickens (and ducks and geese) inside on a couple of occasions and I do not recommend it. Chickens are messy, messy, messy. They scratch through their litter and send HUGE amounts of dust and dander into the air. You can get diapers for them to prevent them from pooping all over your house, but they still get poop everywhere. Unless you plan to keep them in a hermetically sealed room you will notice their presence in your house. I don't think that keeping chickens in the house is a good decision for anyone involved.

Good luck.

 

[elmo]

I have five Serama hybrids that I brought into the house one night not too long ago because the temperature dipped suddenly into the high forties, and I was worried my flock wasn't acclimated yet to that kind of temperature.

I put the chickens in our indoor dove aviary, and moved the doves elsewhere. The chickens did ok overnight, but they (and the doves!) seemed happy to get back outside the next morning. There's just not much for a chicken to do indoors.

You could do it, but I agree with the other commenter about how life indoors just isn't the best environment for a chicken.

Yes, Serama roosters are quieter than standard roosters, but it can be plenty noisy when the sounds are contained indoors.

A friend of mine keeps a flock of Serama hybrids free ranging in his yard along with standard chickens and it works out just fine. You could always build a special pen just for the Seramas if you saw they were getting bullied by your bigger birds.

 

[canada-goose]

Quote:
I keep a pair in a rabbit cage!

I've heard that Seramas crow relatively quietly. Would a Serama rooster still drive me batty?

My rooster is very loud for his size so don't be surprised if he's noisy!

Would I be better off with a pair of hens (to keep each other company)?

Possibly. It can be hard to get a pair of hens though.

I think you'll like Seramas if you get some. They're very nice chickens.​

 

[juliecox]

Oh durrr, I hadn't even thought to build them their own pen! That's a good idea. I bet I could watch Craigslist for a dog run. Though hrm, I bet a big snake could kill a Serama ... hardware cloth probably a better choice than chain link.

Thanks for the opinions, guys! It would be nice to keep them indoors, in an enclosed environment I can control, but I think you're right, that the impact on the house and the chickens wouldn't be worth it.

 

[CHIC]

I currently have a brooder with 25 almost 4 week old chicks in it in the garage. I don't know how or why, but there is dust and dander ALL OVER EVERYTHING!

 

[Akane]

I kept a trio of japanese bantams in the spare bedroom from hatch through winter and into late spring before putting them with the rest in the coop. I used a guinea pig cage I built out of plywood and shelving grids held together by cable/zip ties. The base was 3x6' with the plywood covered in marine polyurethane so it was waterproofed. When I switched to having chickens in it I increased the height with more grids so it was a total of 40" high with shelves at 2 different levels. Then hung a suet feeder from the top shelf so I could put treats in. Now it's on my screened porch with 6 seramas in it.

I don't have any pics of the chicken modifications to the pen but here is the base when it was used for guinea pigs.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/guinea pigs/new cage 2008/DSC00453.jpg

It cost me less than $100 and provides a lot more space than a parrot cage would since being ground dwelling chickens need more floor space than height. However lacking a mesh floor it does require bedding and more effort to clean but no worse than when I kept any other small pet in it. Chickens actually make less mess than guinea pigs in my experience.

 

[007Dawn]

I'm not sure if I would want them inside but a rabbit cage would be better. I have some chickens that are half the size of my road island reds and they do just fine. they are tough little guys!