I Live on the 11th floor, do chickens have suicidal tendencies?

[aart]

Millions of chickens live in a similar way, never seeing grass, and are quite happy. I don't know how many members BYC has in total but a percentage raise them in enclosed runs, which could be, if the sizes are appropriate, equivalent to an enclosed balcony. Those runs don't have fresh grass, some are sand. It's not bad just because it's different

An enclosed run on the ground is much different than a balcony ~100' from the ground.

 

[ColoradoPip]

An enclosed run on the ground is much different than a balcony ~100' from the ground.

I don't know! I don't see how it's much different. Sure, it's higher up but all the principles are the same and the chickens won't care about elevation

If a balcony is 3x6, one could build a small chicken house for 2 chickens, build up a dirt, wood ship, straw, whatever floor, enclose the balcony, and live happily ever after

At least in my theory

 

[Ridgerunner]

An enclosed run on the ground is much different than a balcony ~100' from the ground.

Aart, have you ever worked in a skyscraper on the 11th or 14th floor? I have. it's not really different from working on the ground floor if you have an interior office.

Could you please explain how it is different to a chicken if it is enclosed.

 

[aart]

I don't see how it's much different.

Could you please explain how it is different to a chicken if it is enclosed.

A 3x6' slab of concrete
vs.
500 sqft with 6+" of organic matter to scratch thru for bugs and such.
That to me is a big difference.

 

[Hencraze24]

As long they are fed and have a big enough space, you shouldn't have to worry about that. however... they live on solid concrete? they might get stressed about that if they are bored. chickens LOVE to forage. mine are never happy when they are boxed in the coop.

what breed are you going to get and how many? some breeds would not be happy in small numbers and on a tiny space.

 

[ColoradoPip]

A 3x6' slab of concrete
vs.
500 sqft with 6+" of organic matter to scratch thru for bugs and such.
That to me is a big difference.

Space required is space required regardless of location. I'm hoping the OP isn't trying to start a large flock!

Many people line the bottom of their run with hardware cloth then fill it with sand. There are examples of people building coops and runs on concrete pads. You could do this on a balcony too. I don't see much difference still.

And I still think this conversation is for fun because I'm betting the OP will discover it's not legal per their building/lease rules (I lose a lot of bets though!).

 

[K0k0shka]

If the concrete is covered with scratchable materials, the chickens will be happy, but the maintenance of the litter may not be feasible for an apartment building (see my comment above). If no scratchable litter is used and the chickens are left on bare concrete, they will not only be unhappy, but they will also roast on it in the San Diego heat. And it will turn into a slippery, smelly poopy mess. So, regardless of elevation, the flooring issue itself is complicated enough that this doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

[Henry&Friends]

My hen broke her wing a year or two ago. I didn't catch it in time to do anything, so it is just kid of limp beyond the elbow. She got bumblefoot about two weeks ago, and i saw her chilling on my back porch (about six feet up.) So i went to go grab her off of the banister, and she JUMPED. I thought she was gonna drop like a rock. She flapped and kept her balance the whole way down, landed on both feet and was fine. But yes, chickens seem to have at least some suicidal tendencies.

I wouldn't keep chickens confined to a balcony, especially 11 stories up. Sure, no coons or dogs will get them, but any hawk could just swoop down onto your balcony and win an easy meal.

Now, an apartment/condo chicken house? That sounds pretty epic to me.

 

[Henry&Friends]

Also, you'd have to check with your landlord (or apartment equivalent) to see if this is even allowed. If I were the neighbors downstairs, I'd probably have a huge issue with chickens hanging out above me when i go for a smoke. & you'd have to invest a huge amount of time/resources to stop the smell alone, nevermind the noise. You'd need to do a deep scrubbing before it rains every time it rains to stop chicken poop sludge from dripping down onto lower balconies. My free range chickens poop on my porch sometimes, and I know firsthand that no matter how much you scrub, there's still leftover crud.

I love chickens, don't get me wrong, but if I was your landlord it'd be a hard "no" I'd have other apartments to rent out, and chickens in (well, on) the building would turn away potential buyers.

 

[K0k0shka]

You'd need to do a deep scrubbing before it rains every time it rains to stop chicken poop sludge from dripping down onto lower balconies.

Oh man... This reminds me... I lived in an apartment building for a while and the downstairs neighbors were always complaining about stuff falling down from our balcony to theirs, or rain water dripping onto their laundry, or cooking smells, or noise... I can only imagine chicken poop sludge dripping on somebody's stuff or the noise complaints! The thing with apartment buildings is that, with so many people crammed in them, it's extremely unlikely you'll get along with everybody. There will always be that one person who will complain about everything, and chickens will just give them SO many more reasons to complain, or even get you kicked out!