HAYBALE: UPDATE

[WallyBirdie]

Is there a place to add a perch in the brooder? I'd pop one in there and he may start to seek a higher place to sleep. He might just play on it initially and over time start to seek it out as the light starts to dim at night.

He really is adorable.

Thank you! I'll see what I can do. How high should it be?

And yes he is.

 

[JaeG]

Thank you! I'll see what I can do. How high should it be?

And yes he is.

I'd try at 10-12 inches high. That's the height I use in my brooders and they do seem to use them.

 

[WallyBirdie]

As of the evening of September 24, 2020, Haybale is 2 months old. He seems so much older! I'm hoping he ends up with large majestic wattles!

 

[N F C]

As of the evening of September 24, 2020, Haybale is 2 months old. He seems so much older! I'm hoping he ends up with large majestic wattles!
View attachment 2347557

What a handsome guy!

 

[WallyBirdie]

It's getting late in the year and Haybale is still a house chicken. He goes outside but still needs supervised... because he has no interest in the other chickens and thinks it is okay to chase cats. My cats generally leave chickens alone, but if provoked, they can do some real harm.
This is my fault. In the house, I've let Haybale play with the dog. The dog is old and docile and doesn't mind the attention. Haybale doesn't understand that other animals will not feel the same.

My mistake. I should have thought ahead.

Haybale is litter trained. There is almost no mess apart from spilled food and a little bit of woodchip bedding. It's an easy cleanup.

He runs through the house like a wild child when he's excited, and he has finally hit an age where I am comfortable with giving him treats. He tries to fly, gets fairly high but not like he did when he was smaller.

He loves people. Every person he's ever encountered.

If I sit down and grab the tv remote, he likes to jump and sit in my lap. Sometimes I'll prop my foot up on an end table and he'll roost/nap on my leg. I just lay down newspaper first.

He likes to shred newspaper for fun. It's funny because both him and my conure sometimes do that together.

I'm not sure how long this arrangement can last. I know he should be outside full time. I know I am coddling him too much.

But maybe, for this one situation, that is okay.

I know the idea of a house chicken is controversial. I know a lot of people will think it is wrong. This can be said about many animals. But that does not mean the animal cannot live a quality life.
As I type this, Haybale is running around with a little bird toy in his mouth, and he is having a good time. He will be put to bed soon.

I like him to expend some energy before bed. He sleeps almost all night and I let him out in the morning.

He is still cuddly, still makes a lot of noise if I leave him too long.

A long time ago, someone on this site told me not to pick up my roosters because they are not feathered puppies. And that is true. I am not new to chickens. I know they have their own instincts and behaviors.

But Haybale does not behave like a chicken.
That is the result of my coddling. It was not intentional. But it is not a bad thing.

For now, he is a house pet.

I am just putting this out here as an update.
I'd prefer not to have negative comments over it.

 

[JaeG]

He sounds like such an adorable character. He sure doesn't view himself as a chicken by the sounds of it. You, your conure, and your dog are his flock.

 

[drumstick diva]

My friend Arline, has had house chickens for 30 years or so, not, the same chickens! She generally has silkies and has had two seramas. The birds are house birds, and would hide behind the sofa when company came, and pace back and forth waiting for them to leave.

 

[drumstick diva]

Haybale is adorable. I wish him a long, healthy life.

 

[N F C]

It's getting late in the year and Haybale is still a house chicken. He goes outside but still needs supervised... because he has no interest in the other chickens and thinks it is okay to chase cats. My cats generally leave chickens alone, but if provoked, they can do some real harm.
This is my fault. In the house, I've let Haybale play with the dog. The dog is old and docile and doesn't mind the attention. Haybale doesn't understand that other animals will not feel the same.

My mistake. I should have thought ahead.

Haybale is litter trained. There is almost no mess apart from spilled food and a little bit of woodchip bedding. It's an easy cleanup.

He runs through the house like a wild child when he's excited, and he has finally hit an age where I am comfortable with giving him treats. He tries to fly, gets fairly high but not like he did when he was smaller.

He loves people. Every person he's ever encountered.

If I sit down and grab the tv remote, he likes to jump and sit in my lap. Sometimes I'll prop my foot up on an end table and he'll roost/nap on my leg. I just lay down newspaper first.

He likes to shred newspaper for fun. It's funny because both him and my conure sometimes do that together.

I'm not sure how long this arrangement can last. I know he should be outside full time. I know I am coddling him too much.

But maybe, for this one situation, that is okay.

I know the idea of a house chicken is controversial. I know a lot of people will think it is wrong. This can be said about many animals. But that does not mean the animal cannot live a quality life.
As I type this, Haybale is running around with a little bird toy in his mouth, and he is having a good time. He will be put to bed soon.

I like him to expend some energy before bed. He sleeps almost all night and I let him out in the morning.

He is still cuddly, still makes a lot of noise if I leave him too long.

A long time ago, someone on this site told me not to pick up my roosters because they are not feathered puppies. And that is true. I am not new to chickens. I know they have their own instincts and behaviors.

But Haybale does not behave like a chicken.
That is the result of my coddling. It was not intentional. But it is not a bad thing.

For now, he is a house pet.

I am just putting this out here as an update.
I'd prefer not to have negative comments over it.

View attachment 2365783

It sounds to me like Haybale has a pretty sweet life, thanks for sharing him with us!

 

[Callender Girl]

I believe we are kindred spirits, WallyBirdie. My Dottie was given to me by the local feed store last fall because she was the last mystery pullet in the store. As always, I brooded her in the house -- except she was my first lone chick and by the time she was fully feathered, it was too cold to put her outside, alone without chicken friends. I tried, but none of the others seemed to like her and I couldn't bear to see her picked on.

Dottie, I decided, would spend the winter indoors and move outside in the spring. In the meantime, she had a large dog crate to kennel in when I wasn't home, and the blind cat didn't seem to mind her. At night, she roosted on a towel-covered rocking chair (I'm so proud of you for litter training Haybale).

I added a dog in March, and they co-existed peacefully, most of the time. But weather was getting warmer, I was using a lot of paper products to clean up after Dottie (although it was adorable -- but uncomfortable -- to wake up on the sofa with a bird, a cat and a dog on top of me), and, she's a chicken.

So, I tried my best to kind someone who would befriend her. No deal. She seemed afraid of even the lowest hen in the pecking order. She has been going outside during the day and spending her nights in the house, crated. Once she started to lay, having eggs everywhere would have been too tempting for the dog and cat.

Now, once it starts getting cold, she can't really bounce back and forth between indoors and outdoors, so I'm pretty sure she will be a house chicken.

When I was a kid, we had parakeets and a mynah bird. True, a chicken isn't exactly the same, but a bird is a bird, right? And the budgies and mynah NEVER gave us lovely blue eggs!

I look forward to updates on you and your precious Haybale!