I hope this isn't too silly of a question...

[chicken_china_mom]

I am the proud mama of nearly 40 little feathered butts, and while I am currently having a coop built for them and it will be here next week, they are in a brooder in my bathroom until it gets here. My question is, once they are out there living in the coop, is it dangerous to ever bring one of my favorites inside the house for some quality time so that I don't have to spend all my time out in the coop? My neighbors across the street have owned chickens for years and they scared me when they told me that you can't ever bring a chicken inside or it will die. These are the same people that told me to buy 30+ chickens if I wanted 10 to survive.

I love spending time with my chicks and they get excited when mommy comes into the bathroom because they get to come out of their brooders to play and snuggle with me. My golden sebright pip prefers to sit with me rather than running and playing with the other birds. And I have a fondness for my wyandotte roo. He actually already comes to his name. Any info that anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!

 

[preppy*hippie*chick]

Being in the house will not kill it. There are people who say the difference between a chicken & a parrot is several thousand dollars and keep them in all the time with diapers.

 

[FrenchHen]

Lots of folks let them in the house...I don't, but whatever.

Sounds like you'll be a good chicken keeper. Just read stuff when you're not sure and ask when you don't find the answer.

Chickens are easier to raise than many critters.

 

[satay]

Of course you can bring them inside if you wanted too. I personally never would but that doesn't mean you can't. Not sure why your neighour would tell you they would die. Unless they were having a lend of you.

 

[Dr.Doorlock]

Got any dogs?

I brought a chick in one time. My sweetest Boston Terrier jumped 4 feet in the air to bite it's head off before I knew he left the floor. Be careful.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Thank you, your replies have helped to ease my mind. I love my feathered kids and I would like to keep the close bond going all the time. My same neighbors I mentioned above have an 11 year old little girl, and most of the chickens are actually hers, and she is a dear, she really is, and in the Spring and Summer she is out there all the time playing with her chickens and loving them, but come Winter she basically just goes out to feed them and has little interaction with them. And this past Winter here in Indiana it was BAD. We lost a dog to the frigid below zero weather we had, and they lost at least one chicken to it. (They also constantly battle mites and lice and tried to sell me a roo with mites burrowed deep into his legs. I declined the sale.) I do live in a town, albeit a SMALL town (50 people total) so I am debating on whether to allow my birds to free range (I worry about my next door neighbor's outdoor cats, one already bit my 9 year old daughter), and if I did let them free range, it would be within a fenced in area, and I might even make the fencing electrical to ward off those pesky cats. Until I figure that part out I plan to invest in a large dog run and hook it up to my coop. My neighbor down the street keeps his birds primarily in their coop, but once in awhile he lets them out to free range while he sits in a chair and watches over them. They are sweet girls, all golden comets, and he lives right across the street from his brother-in-law who has a barn FULL of feral cats. I haven't heard anything about his cats attacking his birds, so maybe if I find a successful way to deter my neighbor's cats mine can free range, at least some of the time, safely. But I look forward to being able to settle down on the couch from time to time with one of my little feathered kids to watch a movie. I will definitely be investing in chicken diapers. Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[chicken_china_mom]

I do have dogs, and cats, but the room I bring my chicken into will be closed off so they have no way in. I currently keep my bathroom door shut tight so my one 3 year old cat, who likes to investigate EVERYTHING can't bother the chickens. My other cats are senior citizens and just getting them to wake up to eat and poop is a challenge. As for my dogs, my chihuahuas are terrified of the chickens and run the other direction when they see them, and I only worry about my Olde English Sheepdog/Chow mix as she has caught wild birds in flight and ripped their heads off. But inside the house she is mellow, and has a kennel to be in. Currently she isn't fazed by the chicks. She has seen them when I brought them into the living room to be photographed and she just sniffed them from a distance and walked away. I think she knows she's dead meat if she touches one. Not that I ever plan to let my bird get to the floor when either a dog or cat is in the room. I love my little chickie butts too much to risk it. I also raised parrots of various species for almost 16 years (though now I am down to one senior citizen cockatiel named Bailey) and all my dogs and cats have been around them, both when the birds were in their cages and when they were out with the family. I had a parrot years back that used to discipline the dogs and my one cat. It was funny. He'd yell at the dog if he thought the dog was being bad and send it scurrying under the table with it's tail between it's legs because it thought it really had done something wrong. I am cautious on all levels with all of my animals. I get everyone vaccinated (chickens included), I keep them up to date on their parasite preventatives, I monitor for predator control (that even means covering the kennel my chihuahuas go out in so that a hungry hawk or coyote doesn't try to make a meal out of one of them!), and when my chickens go out into their coop, they will get a heated water dish AND heaters for the long, cold winter months. I try to cover all my bases, and I want everyone safe in the long run. All interaction is supervised 100% of the time, and active playtime will be dog and cat free. But thanks for the warning. It was appreciated.