enrichment/enclosure for indoor setup (plants,toys, etc)

[bantam_crazy]

I also made a suggestion. This topic pops up often on here. And it is usually before anyone has checked with their landlord lol. Pet parakeets are fine in apartments, etc, but since chickens aren’t even supposed to be within 25 feet of a residential space when housed outdoors in a coop (depending on local ordinances) I think that needs to be addressed before we design an indoor aviary

we do have a landlord. that is. our grandparents. and they allow it. but the house belongs to us. like. it's just legally on them. and they allow pets

 

[bantam_crazy]

I’m sadly the only one who’s furthered the discussion the poster actually wanted by recommending my favorite bird toy site. And I’ll further it again by recommending bird bath dishes and boot trays for large sand bath containers, pop-up cat tunnels, cardboard cat structures, and DIY guinea pig fleece forests, for play and hiding, hanging treat feeders, pet mobiles, and dog/cat slow feeding mats, for foraging, natural manzanita branches for perching, which are hard enough that you can simply sand poop off instead of having to dispose, and you can get in bulk at places like Manzanita dot com and Branches and More; The Bio Dude for seed pods, botanicals, cork bark, and so much more that could serve as clutter or foraging, alongside things like leaf litter, just be cautious of mold, make sure to bake/boil them; dollar store towels for simply whatever, because bird poop is very hard to wash out of fabrics; I could go on, and on, and on…

thank you for everything you did this whole thread! you GENUNİENLY helped me so much and lifted me up.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

we do have a landlord. that is. our grandparents. and they allow it. but the house belongs to us. like. it's just legally on them. and they allow pets

You might also consider looking up previous threads on this topic and seeing what other people have done.

 

[GardenDmpls]

Seramas are the smallest chickens, so it might be workable. I have kept chickens in the menagerie of a high school vet science program. They lived in a large room with high ceilings and tall windows down one side. Other animals were housed in the room. They had a plastic snap-lock coop. The floor was cleaned regularly by the students sweeping and moping (we had floor drains) and replacing the bedding regularly. Around the coop was a run made of several wire dog runs connected together. A lot of work, but two or three tiny Seramas could possibly do well. Let us know how it works out.

 

[PrettyChicky25]

Having pet chickens inside your apartment will be fun for about a week. Ask anyone who has ever brooded chicks inside their house.
Very quickly the smell and the dust will get out of control and you will soon learn why indoor pet chickens are not a thing.

No amount of "enrichment " is going to keep them happy for long. 1 hour of fresh air and sun will not be sufficient to keep them healthy. Oh if they do manage to lay an egg in those conditions do you know how LOUD hens can be?
You are setting yourself and the chicken up for a terrible life.
If you want a pet bird get a parakeet.

I rescued a bantam chicken and she lives indoors with me and my other birds. (I do take them outside) I don't leave my home for more than 4 hours at a time because otherwise the place would stink to high heaven. Also I don't want her walking in her own poop. I also know she is bonded to me and needs me there, and she would be very loud due to extreme loneliness. You are right in that this is definitely not for the faint of heart. I would never advise this to someone that has never done it. I will never give up on my chicken but most people would tire of this lifestyle.

 

[fishygirl25]

It is a bad idea to have a chicken inside. They love being outdoors, pecking and scratching and looking for bugs. Having chickens inside is a noisy and smelly situation. Of course they are flock animals and need friends.

 

[WildNectarine]

It is a bad idea to have a chicken inside. They love being outdoors, pecking and scratching and looking for bugs. Having chickens inside is a noisy and smelly situation. Of course they are flock animals and need friends.

Everyone told me the same about quail. But there is nothing outdoors you can’t give them safely indoors. They won’t smell if you clean daily. And the flock thing? I don’t believe it. Many of these ground birds are never in groups during the whole year, they split to nest, and you’ll read about so many injuries and fights from supposed “flockmates”, they just aren’t social like other animals, they don’t make “friends”, they don’t bond heavily, if you separate a sick chicken from the “flock” they will hate them if you return the, they only want to be in a group because they don’t want to be the only bird when a predator comes around, is my theory. I keep all my quail alone, with a plush friend, my roosters don’t crow, or pace, or pluck themselves, they don’t search for other, real quail, they genuinely show not a single sign of caring whatsoever. They will fight me when I take their plush to wash it, and cry the entire time it is gone, so I know what their stress looks like, and they don’t experience it when they have it. It seems strange to me that people would rather have birds live outside in filth, eat parasite riddled bugs, and struggle in fierce social hierarchies, than give them a clean, controlled environment, hand-raised, healthy bugs, and inanimate friends that will never do them harm, that they genuinely enjoy the presence of.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Everyone told me the same about quail. But there is nothing outdoors you can’t give them safely indoors. They won’t smell if you clean daily. And the flock thing? I don’t believe it. Many of these ground birds are never in groups during the whole year, they split to nest, and you’ll read about so many injuries and fights from supposed “flockmates”, they just aren’t social like other animals, they don’t make “friends”, they don’t bond heavily, if you separate a sick chicken from the “flock” they will hate them if you return the, they only want to be in a group because they don’t want to be the only bird when a predator comes around, is my theory. I keep all my quail alone, with a plush friend, my roosters don’t crow, or pace, or pluck themselves, they don’t search for other, real quail, they genuinely show not a single sign of caring whatsoever. They will fight me when I take their plush to wash it, and cry the entire time it is gone, so I know what their stress looks like, and they don’t experience it when they have it. It seems strange to me that people would rather have birds live outside in filth, eat parasite riddled bugs, and struggle in fierce social hierarchies, than give them a clean, controlled environment, hand-raised, healthy bugs, and inanimate friends that will never do them harm, that they genuinely enjoy the presence of.

Yikes.

 

[WildNectarine]

Yikes.

Why yikes? Genuinely? My birds are in great health according to all my vets, and very happy, not a single sign of stress, how can that possibly be bad? I don’t understand? I do everything right, I’ve invented ways to do better for them, and yet that’s wrong?

I’m even following more natural cycles than anyone else by not housing them with others year-round.

I don’t see you commenting on posts where quail live 1sqft a bird in a wire-bottomed cage with absolutely nothing to do, so why me? Does it just amuse you? Because I don’t care what anyone says, I don’t need validation, I know what I’m doing is right by the actions of my birds, and I want others to at least know of these methods so they can utilize them, I wish I knew all of this when I started.

 

[Chickenpoonumber2]

What an interesting thread. This is my first time with chickens, and after 3 weeks of them in the brooder in my house I was ready for them to go outside. They make a lot of mess with dust and poop. They also grow very quickly! As to the original question about enrichment; I put things in their run for them to interact with and then I take them out and put in different things, old baby toys, a bin on its side, and I often toss in bugs for them to chase around. By rotating the enrichment items, they can stay fresh and interesting.