House Chickens?

[TreeHuggerz75]

Ok, so after speaking to the boro here, "we've" decided that "we" can have up to 4 hens, but....only if my neighbors don't mind, and most of them don't, one does, she's afraid of the smell, and attracting fox and coyote's into "town" even though we live on the edge, the wooded edge.
So my question is this.....can I raise Chickens indoors? I have Guinea Pigs, and rats, we had a rabbit, and have an indoor hutch, and a left over 58x36 C&C GP Cage (open top) but it would not be hard to convert this at all, we thought of maybe keeping them indoors at night, and when we are not home, and taking them outside in a "small animal" play yard during the day (or maybe getting a solar chicken fence to keep them in/near the garden)

I found this page online about a family that keeps their chicken indoors.....so I'd really appreciate any idea's, pro's....con's........I mean, can Chickens be any messier than a herd of GP's??

I'd really like ya'lls take on this idea.


http://www.squidoo.com/My_Pet_Chicken

 

[Emilys3guppies]

I currently have rats, quail, a python, two cats and previously had two house chickens...seramas.

There is nothing -- NOTHING -- that smells like chicken poop in the house. I love the rats, cats, quail and 4 kids in the house...but the chickens had to go.

ALso, they are dusty as all get out! You will be dusting, wiping down furniture and sweeping way more often with a few chickens in the house.

Personally, having done it and thinking I would love it, I will never go back to chickens in the house. Sorry...I wish I could give you a brighter review.

 

[baldessariclan]

As my father (raised in the depression, and well aquainted with chicken raising in their kitchen), commented when we decided to brood some chicks in the house, "Ugh. Prepare for the dust..."

And he wasn't kidding! :-(

 

[zengrrl]

My chicks are between 2-3 months old and I am sooo ready for them to go outside. The coop can't get finished quick enough!

 

[Laurajean]

When my chicks were between the brooder and the coop, as the coop was being constructed, I had them in the house. It was so bad that I may never get chicks again, unless I build a garage or something. The dust was HORRENDOUS. Covered everything, and I was choking for weeks. I would not recommend keeping them inside.

 

[Chihuahuamom444]

We've had a tiny house chicken for years now and she has her own cage inside (dont want chicken poop on floor) , she goes out most of the day and cant wait to come back inside at end of day. I do notice some dust but not much, prob no more than my cats and dogs bring up, if you keep their pen really clean you wont have a prob. I use shavings and dump them all the time and have no prob with odor. I have outside chickens and she has No interest in spending time with them, this is what she knows and she was an Only chicken for a few years.

 

[ruthless]

Yes, you can keep chickens in the house. If you have had guinea pigs and rabbits you know about how much dust/fur/hair their can be.............a lot of it comes from the bedding but chickens/birds also have feather dander.

C&C cages are nice. I have some I use for some of my Serama just added a top so they won't fly out.

If you scoop the chicken poop each a.m. out from under their night roosts, there will not be near as much mess as guinea pigs because chickens do not urinate. Their eliminations are all in fecal form, some more solid, some more liquid.

Start out with only a pair or trio and I would recommend a bantam breed that does not mind confinement. That way you can see how you like it before getting a lot.

 

[KlaHaYa Gardens]

Oh my! Chickens in the house.

One "house chicken" adventure:

I once came home to six in the house. I ticked off an "acquaintance". He came over while I was gone and locked a few chickens inside. It took two days to clean up the mess (poop) and broken objects, but the smell!

And then there is this one:

There is the lady who brought over her chicken (after being told no) to "meet" her new playmate, to make sure they would "get along". Treats included. *I have to take a breath to just "touch" on this.*
She brought the underweight hen in a pink, pleather, ankle-biter purse.

She set her "purse" down in the chicken poo and then I realized it was a hen inside. Besides being surprised at setting the purse in poo, and besides being annoyed that she brought a hen after being told not to . . . prepare yourselves . . . the bird was clothed in a black sweater with gold tassels because she "gets cold".

Too bad down feathers aren't "in" with regards to insulation. It would have been so convenient for the chicken, considering she had them. But according to the owner, the black nylon sweater did a better job. (Feeding the bird chicken feed instead of bananas, cracked corn, and oatmeal, might have helped her to stay warm as well.

Well, this woman carried on about the place where she bought the chickens' wardrobe (yes, plural clothing for plural chickens) was out of chicken diapers.

And then there is this one (as best I recall a couple of highlights):

A fellow contacted me about re-homing his "house chickens" because he was becoming homeless and could only bring three with him. One, because it was his "service chicken" that "predicts" anxiety attacks while riding the handle bars of the man's (a veterinarian-to-be, or a chicken psychologist-to-be -- he hadn't made up his mind yet) bike. And he was bringing two hens (in a cage on the back of his bike) on his homeless journey.

He went on that his birds had to be place in an "indoor" home, where their litter-box training could continue and where they would be "safe and secure" and not feel the need to crow (which is a "behavior" caused by "insecurity" and "lack of food and water") and where one of the roosters who is still "experimenting with who he is" can "find himself" which would not be possible if he were an outdoor chicken.

This stuff is only the tip of the ice-berg. I started a blog, "The Flooding River Chicken Cult" to post these stories. Once I post them, I will invite you all to read. The blog will come with a warning to empy your bladder before reading and do NOT consume hot liquids while reading. I have learned this the hard way when my friends have burned themselves and wet their pants while listening to these stories.

Anyway . . .in all seriousness, I do NOT recommend keeping your birds in the house for any reason. (Though, hypocritically, I have chicks in the kitchen.)

WARNING: There is a lung disease that affects humans that is caused by chickens. The name escapes me at the moment. MY doctor brought it up with me.

 

[MeowCluckBark]

Histoplasmosis(Disseminated)

 

[KlaHaYa Gardens]

Quote:
LOL! Dare I ask where you gleaned that info?

That doesn't sound like what the doc mentioned. I'll recall it at some point.

Nice to see you, Tanya.