Hello, new to chickens, but not birds

[birdldy9]

Hello,
A friend is having to give up her hobby farm and I am taking in what will be my first house chicken. I have parrots currently. All small parrots: 3 lovebirds, 2 cockatiels, once budgie, one green cheek conure, and a dove. I will be attempting to potty train my chicken. I have one potty trained parrot. So I am confident that the chicken will be trainable.

I have been reading bits hear and there on the site, learning what I can apply to a house chicken. Googling away to find gluten free grain mixes (I'm starting to think I can make parrot feed too!) I have celiac so I was thrilled to find so many feed recipes that excluded wheat. I will only have one chicken so it should be a pretty inexpensive pet.

I have concerns about disease and parasites though. I know I can mix the DE in with the food...but umm...should I take it to an avian vet instead of a farm vet to get her going safely here? I will quarantine her for a month, which is difficult because my other birds are free in the house most of the day. Farm vet $10 visit, avian vet $65 plus blood work.

Anyway, thanks so much and I look forward to learning!

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

I used to keep lots of Lovebirds and Cockatiels as well! Those Lovebirds are just adorable! I still have one old Cockatiel left....17 years old and still going strong.

I was told by a vet that it is very unlikely that your chickens can spread diseases to your parrots and visa versa. These virus's and bacterias are species specific. I have never had issues with my parrots or my chickens, and I have had chickens here in the house as well. So there shouldn't be too much issue on this front. So unless you think this house chicken needs a vet check up because she is sick, I wouldn't bother with a check up. But if you are afraid of endangering your parrots, then by all means, go ahead with the check up.

DE is good for help ridding the body of external bugs and helps internally with minerals for good health, but as a wormer, there is no proof it works after it is ingested. And be careful with DE it is not good for birds lungs or your own.

If you have any questions about your new chicken, feel free to ask. Welcome to our flock!

PS....love your cockatiel in your avatar!!

 

[Duckopolis]

Good luck with your poultry raising adventures, and I hope you find everything you need to know. Don't forget to take a look at BYC's very useful learning center (If you haven't already)! The learning center as well as the forum should answer your questions! There is always something new to learn! Glad to have you here! See you around with the flock.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your new pet chicken! You might also like to check out the BYC caged bird forum for more people who own both www.backyardchickens.com/f/57/caged-birds-finches-canaries-cockatiels-parrots-etc

 

[drumstick diva]

There is a thread for "House chickens," which would be good for you. I had a friend who had various breeds of chicken over the past 25 years and always had them as housebirds. Currently she has 2 silkies and 2 seramas. She is constantly cleaning up after them.

I don't know how successful people are in trying to housetrain chickens but, in the Buy,sell,trade forum there are listings as "everything else for sale," for chicken diapers.

 

[gander007]

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

Glad you joined us!