How many hours spent with your chickens?

[Maxine Green]

Apparently not enough, last evening when I went to close up their house for the night a couple of my young ones acted like they didn't know who I was. Chickpea and the older girls just wanted to know what iI brought for snack. Guess I'll be doing my homework in the chicken yard in the warmer days to come.

 

[Kazza353]

how many hours does everyone spend with their chickens each day? I’m out once im done with homework and spend at least a good 3 hrs outside every day even if it’s for some fresh air.

 

[Kazza353]

I do think that's the case.. like you are the nest that stays clean.

I try and spend as much as possible with them but always a few hours each weekend day!

 

[eliselb]

24 hrs.. they live in my family room
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do you just throw your carpet in the wash? I'd love to bring mine in, but the POOP!!!

 

[AngBantamLuv]

do you just throw your carpet in the wash? I'd love to bring mine in, but the POOP!!!

So i have two d'Uccles that i gave so much attention to, they are the ones that are potty trained. The cochin, unfortunately i got her later and she didn't get as much training/handling, so she is a poop machine. So i trust the d'uccles out with me... cochin not so much...

If it will be more than 10 minutes, i put them in chicken diapers that i line with a panty liner. I would do that in your case, i think they need to learn the potty training in the first few weeks. The diapers i got are from pampered poultry on etsy.. they have that baby swimming diaper material in the poop pocket

I only buy indoor/outdoor rugs that you just spray and wipe, but nothing sticks or stains them. But some of them are very pretty, so no one would be the wiser.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I spend 2 to 4 hours a day with them but the buggers won't sit on my lap they will hop on looking for treats and hop off makes me mad. I want a lap chicken too.

You could always get a couple bantams to be your lap chickens..

 

[KRaZy_WaKa]

do you just throw your carpet in the wash? I'd love to bring mine in, but the POOP!!!

My carpet is old and will be replaced in time, but for the duration of raising the chicks many paper towels and disinfecting wipes were sacrificed to the cause. As well as a few strategically placed puppy training pads in what seemed to be their favorite poo spots. We also used puppy pads in the brooder bin, which made cleanup so easy compared to dealing with straw or shavings, so maybe they were just familiarized with the puppy pads.

But for us it was a constant struggle to keep up with poo cleanup as they darted around the living room and eventually got curious enough to poke through the curtain that was hanging between the living room and kitchen to act as a chicken deterrent. It was quite hilarious when they'd escape into the kitchen and try to dart around on the tile though, just like big dumb clumsy puppy's, only smaller, faster and feathered and on 2 legs lol you'd be surprised how many nuances chickens share with their more common furry four legged house pet counterparts. Sitting on the porch with them one sunny day the sun had reflected off the rear camera of my phone and one of the girls caught it. It was just like playing a cat or dog with a laser pointer. She got her exercise and earned her treats that day. Never gone for a repeat performance though as chicken injuries have made me much more cautious about how we play with them.

Not that they've been injured during such activities, but we had one cut a toe randomly one day while out free ranging the porch, which was the toe she uses to scratch her face, she sprayed a few of the others backs with blood when she was getting up onto the roosting branch her one side of her face was covered like braveheart with red instead of blue facepaint. The whole ordeal of discovering that was pretty gruesome. Freaked us right the hell out, but she sure want bothered by it. We, on the other hand, thought we were gonna lose her. Got the toe cleaned up, triple antibiotic, and a very strategically cut strip of a gauze pad and a Mickey mouse band-aid to hold it on. Which she promptly threw off within minutes, but the bleeding had stopped so all was well, just kept an eye on it, cleaned it daily and administered triple antibiotic.

Everything they tell you about Cali whites being calm and quiet is either total BS or many breeds of chickens are as rowdy as a rugby team after winning the championship. While they're pretty docile in demeanor and have done well as far as companionship and friendly and they aren't particularly loud, they are, however, extremely active and inquisitive, they will run you ragged if you let them and they will injure themselves if given as much stimulation and enrichment as we've allowed them.

 

[Byrd gal]

You could always get a couple bantams to be your lap chickens..

The chickens I have are supposed to be bantams

 

[AngBantamLuv]

The chickens I have are supposed to be bantams

Just hug and kiss them, and they will come around!!

 

[cgaylemedders]

how many hours does everyone spend with their chickens each day? I’m out once im done with homework and spend at least a good 3 hrs outside every day even if it’s for some fresh air.

To many hours to count...lol. I have chicks in the house from an early hatch that are fragile so they get a lot of attention from everybody. I have a rooster outside in a hospital pen recovering an animal attack. He protected the juveniles but lost most of his feathers in the process so he gets moved between the heated coop at night and the pen with his flock by day. In the one run, we Cochin momma drama...we are always returning the chicks to the right mommas. Of course we have the Comet bully pen...I love my Comets, but those ladies do not like new birds and can be real mean, requiring constant supervision.