I'm getting awfully close to having a house chicken

[BooBear]

oh my......... chickie diapers to the rescue!!! hahahahaha
I think it is so adorable, I currently have 5 2 week old baby Silkies in a wee brooder in the craft room. It is so nice to play with them......so I can understand the temptation to have a house chickie. Unfortunately my roomies are not so thrilled to that kinda thinking.

Peacockfarmer1,

Please don't be so fast to be so harsh to something you are not used to or would not agree with. People keep all kinds of unusual pets from fish, reptiles, mammals, and birds because those critters give them something special in return. Just think of a chicken to a big Amazon parrot, they both eat the same and poop the same. (My mom had parrots when we were kids and yeah they really do poop a lot. Even had a couple that would on purposely aim their poop outside the cage.) The difference is the cost and that chickens lay the eggs you would eat whereas parrots lay eggs that you would want to hatch and sale. OH yeah and parrots repeat everything you say.

 

[PamB]

If it wasn't for my dog, I would already have a house chicken. Chickens all seem to have different personalities. I have some that I would never consider taking inside because I know from their personalities that it wouldn't work. However, I have some that just want to be held and cuddled and I know they'd love to sit on our lap inside all night if we let them.

 

[gryeyes]

Well, I put Fritz in the same brooder with the 3 much younger bantam breed (2 Speckled or Spangled Hamburgs and 1 Porcelain D'Uccle) chicks. I covered half of the brooder, over the wire cover, with a Styrofoam lid from a perishable foods shipping container, to offer a less hot section of the brooder.

After the first few minutes of terrified banties, things settled down. Fritz expressed some non-threatening, interested sounds, and the banties - easily one-sixth his/her size - started creeping forward to investigate. Fritz jumped at one, flared neck feathers once, and they all retreated post-haste. Then Fritz started to scratch in the litter and eat, and the chicks rushed out to peck in the same place. Fritz kept making little chortle sounds.

And by the time I left the bathroom, all was perfectly fine. I will continue to check on them frequently. But I think Fritz, at least, is happier with company.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

I am not someone who would normally have considered keeping a house chicken at all. Some of my flock come inside when they can sneak in an open door, and when I say, "Now just what are you doing in here?" this or that chicken "Birks?" at me and obediently turns to go outside again. Betsy the BR tends to dawdle, but she will go outside. That's been the extent of it.

Fritz just really touched my heart. I have two dachshunds who would be really miffed if I started holding a chicken on the sofa to watch TV, since they already have to compete with a very large, fluffy cat for that honor.

 

[HopeMissouri]

A house chicken? Oh, my!

We've had house rabbits. Fun for the kids when they were little. And a cockateil that was allowed to be loose in the house (with supervision). But a house CHICKEN? That would be way too much challenge for me!

 

[gryeyes]

This is my Fritzie. I had to put Fritz back into a separate brooder, because s/he wouldn't stop scaring the little bantam chicks away from the feed. Fritz is very comfortable on my lap, wrist, arm or shoulder. No squawking at all, just lots of little interested clucky sounds (not quite big boy/girl clucking).

 

[blueberrychickens]

Awww...Fritzie is adorable!! I think he/she would make a great house chicken!!

 

[Muscovies]

My dad would not let me have one in the house

 

[Muscovies]

That is a nice frizzle

 

[slightlyscrambled]

after seeing him/her I would definitly have a "HOUSE CHICKEN" Beautiful!

 

[Judy]

I still say, no house chickens for me -- but, to each his own, definitely. I don't have a problem with ANYTHING in your house as a pet, within pretty broad limits, like no lions or tigers, no animal abuse, the obvious stuff (well, obvious to me, I guess.)

Why anyone would get upset about a well cared for chicken living in someone's home is beyond me. I used to work with a fellow who would get all upset about dogs and cats living in houses. We had many a heated debate about it. I could care less that he didn't have any in his house -- so why should he get so upset that I did?