How many bring sick/injured poultry into the house?

[azhenhouse]

I am just curious to know how many people bring their poultry into their homes for a short time if the animals is sick or injured. I do, but I am curios to know if I am in the majority or minority. Thanks!

Edited to ask: Also wanted to know about ducklings. Do you keep them in the house until they are old enough to go outside?

 

[70%cocoa]

I bring sick birds in. I put them in a dog crate in the lounge room.

Ducklings live inside (in a brooder near the back door) till two weeks old.

 

[duckdad]

Yes and yes..

When I "hand raise" a duckling thats done indoors to eliminate preditors as once source of more injury or death. I also know that with ducks they can and will kill their own and orphaned ducklings are almost always rejected by the flock and attacked, driven out or killed.

They stay inside until large enough to fight back or flee...their choice when the time comes. I will not subject them (as yard ducks, pets) to natural selection.

Sick ducklins also get my undivided attention. I will even make a "hospital" next/box and bring it to my bedroom so that I can look in on the patient throughout the night. If they wer not important to me I would not bother with having them at all. Since ducks can go downhill in a matter of a couple hours, paying close attention to changing symptoms is required.

I've only had a couple incidents of sick or injured birds...but the attention they got was enough to get them well and back on their flat feet.

 

[JulieNKC]

In the summer I bring them in. If I had one sick now I probably wouldn't. I'd put it in a dog kennel with a low wattage heat lamp maybe. I wouldn't want them to become acclimated to a warm house and have to stay inside all winter by themselves. Duckings/ chicks are brooded inside if I hatch them, if a broody hatches them they stay outside with her.

 

[DB_Tex]

I've thought about brooding poultry in the bathtub in the spare bathroom, but I don't think my children would leave them in peace if I did. I did all the brooding last year on the dresser in my bedroom and if one of my duckies wasn't doing well in the group pen, you bet they'd be in the big pet taxi in the house.

 

[MuscovyMad]

I bring mines indoors when they are ill so they don't need to spend energy on keeping warm and don't need to compete with others for food etc.

I don't know if it's a good idea for non hand reared birds though as if hey are not used to being indoors maybe the stress induced adversely affects their recovery.

For my first ever hatch i kept 5 muscovy ducklings in my sisters room ( she was away at uni) and they stayed there for 4 months until they got kicked out by my mum. I was a bit over protective and concerned about losing them to the cold.

Later hatches were not as fortunate and got booted out to the shed after they were suffciently feathered up.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I have a disabled duck who lives inside the house. He lives in the kitchen since it is the room in the house which gets the most sunlight every day. ( makes more work for me since I have to be extra cautious with cleaning for him. ) Ducklings here stay in the house until 5 weeks in the warmer months- and up to 8 over the winter. Sick ducks do also come into the house- as do ducks that need to be pampered with a bath in the tub inside from time to time.

Looks like you arent in the minority from the responses so far- I think it would be fairly common to bring any small animal inside when not well- cows, goats. sheep on the other hand may be a different matter...

 

[Amiga]

The runners were brooded in the guest room, and lived there for three months (long story).

If anyone's sick or injured, they come in and are in the large pet crate in the guest room where they aren't bothered by cats but I can check on them and listen to them.

Because a few of my runners are not winter hardy, everybody sleeps in the walkout basement, which is not heated, so there's not an acclimation problem of which I am aware.

 

[KrisRose]

I bring my sick chickens inside. Also had two bantums as house chickens for over a year.

 

[tinychicky]

i bring sick birds inside. it's the best way to quarentine away from the barn. injured animals stay inside or in the basement depending on the wheather and severity of the injury. i usually keep QT animals in a cage next to my rabbit to minimize stress.