In house safety for chickens

[Shadrach]

Okay, I admit it; the chickens come in my house. Looking at the various threads here on BYC it seems I’m not alone in this madness. There are a number of reasons people may have chickens in their homes and whether they should, or shouldn’t, isn’t that important. What I’ve found is important is are they safe there. Most accidents happen in the home according to the insurance companies statistics. Without really noticing it, my routines have had to change to accommodate the little darlings.
I should explain, I knew when I designed my house the probability was I would have chickens in it but I wasn’t thinking of quite the free loading frequency that later became the norm.
I leave the door to my home open all day and through all seasons and the chickens come and go as they please. I do occasional have to act as doorman, usually when I’ve got a sick, or injured chicken wandering about. Oh yes, I should also provide the final bit of evidence in order to get committed to a mental asylum; I’ve got a nest box in my house.

My home is single level and the first ‘this isn’t going to happen’ was not letting the chickens in my bedroom. I taped a wire across the doorway on the floor to my bedroom and ran a electrical current through it, much like an electric fence. It seems I needn’t have bothered. The bedroom is a dead end and the only time a chicken has crossed the threshold was when I fell asleep once and Fat Bird crept in to check I hadn’t died. It seems that the chickens accept that the bedroom is my perch space and don’t intrude.
Anyway here are just a few examples of how my habits have has to changes in order to enhance the safety of my home for chickens.
I can’t leave pots cooking on the stove.
I have to make sure all sharp knives and tools have their edges protected.
I can’t leave food containers open.

There are many more activities and habits that I could mention but I’m interested in what others have found and where there has been a major difficulty, how they’ve overcome it; apart from throwing the little darlings out.

 

[azygous]

But, but.....but the poop!

 

[Shadrach]

But, but.....but the poop!

I wondered who might be first to mention this.
That's one of the 'adjustments' I've had to make; ordering toilet paper by the ton and bleach delivery by tanker.
Yep, it's a drawback. I've got a single level concrete floor with a drain. It wasn't meant to be for chicken poop but I can throw a bucket of bleach and water over the floor and use a sqeegy to push the water into the drain.

 

[BantyChooks]

Yep, it's a drawback. I've got a single level concrete floor with a drain. It wasn't meant to be for chicken poop but I can throw a bucket of bleach and water over the floor and use a sqeegy to push the water into the drain.

I'd kill to have a floor like that. Sounds glorious.

 

[MissChick@dee]

You need to think like a chicken. They explore everything with their beaks. House Plants. Any shinny that could be pecked apart. Any long threads from rugs, curtains. Any thing sharp like vents on the floor. Any moldy areas around the toilet shower. Leaving the toilet seat up. Any areas where they could get in but you wouldn’t de able to reach them. Good luck.

 

[BantyChooks]

I have never had a chicken come in the main floor of the house, but the goats did wander in once when I left the door open for a minute. No, they weren't allowed in any farther

Okay, I admit it; the chickens come in my house. Looking at the various threads here on BYC it seems I’m not alone in this madness. There are a number of reasons people may have chickens in their homes and whether they should, or shouldn’t, isn’t that important. What I’ve found is important is are they safe there. Most accidents happen in the home according to the insurance companies statistics. Without really noticing it, my routines have had to change to accommodate the little darlings.
I should explain, I knew when I designed my house the probability was I would have chickens in it but I wasn’t thinking of quite the free loading frequency that later became the norm.
I leave the door to my home open all day and through all seasons and the chickens come and go as they please. I do occasional have to act as doorman, usually when I’ve got a sick, or injured chicken wandering about. Oh yes, I should also provide the final bit of evidence in order to get committed to a mental asylum; I’ve got a nest box in my house.

My home is single level and the first ‘this isn’t going to happen’ was not letting the chickens in my bedroom. I taped a wire across the doorway on the floor to my bedroom and ran a electrical current through it, much like an electric fence. It seems I needn’t have bothered. The bedroom is a dead end and the only time a chicken has crossed the threshold was when I fell asleep once and Fat Bird crept in to check I hadn’t died. It seems that the chickens accept that the bedroom is my perch space and don’t intrude.
Anyway here are just a few examples of how my habits have has to changes in order to enhance the safety of my home for chickens.
I can’t leave pots cooking on the stove.
I have to make sure all sharp knives and tools have their edges protected.
I can’t leave food containers open.

There are many more activities and habits that I could mention but I’m interested in what others have found and where there has been a major difficulty, how they’ve overcome it; apart from throwing the little darlings out.

You said you leave the door open. Does Spain not have mosquitoes or black flies?

 

[MissChick@dee]

I have never had a chicken come in the main part of the house, but the goats did wander in once when I left the door open. No, they weren't allowed in any farther
View attachment 1633153

You said you leave the door open. Does Spain not have mosquitoes or black flies?

I think the little one double dog’d dared the big one to do it....”Go ahead I dare ya!”

 

[BantyChooks]

I think the little one double dog’d dared the big one to do it....”Go ahead I dare ya!”

Probably. The black one makes the most trouble. Just yesterday she managed to get her back leg stuck in the hay net. It's a good 2' off the ground.

It's been there for months without issues.

 

[Shadrach]

You said you leave the door open. Does Spain not have mosquitoes or black flies?

Yep got both of those and plenty of others. I have a mosquito net for the bed and a fly swat.
A list of daytime visitors would go something like this.
Chickens, Tribe 1 and 3.
Grey and white wagtail,
A pair of wood pigeons,
Mrs Rat who lives in the next hole in the wall,
A Robin,
Sometimes Solomon, the Muscovy duck,
The occasional green tit,
The occasional crow,
The two resident gekos of course,
The lizard the lives in the structure outside that houses the butane cylinder.

I dare say there are others I don't see,

I know there are plenty of others who have had chickens either visiting, or living in their houses. There are some tremendous advantages to having the chickens come and go if you're interested in their behavior.
I see things that I doubt I would see, or have the time to understand, if I only observed them outside.

 

[BantyChooks]

Yep got both of those and plenty of others. I have a mosquito net for the bed and a fly swat.
A list of daytime visitors would go something like this.
Chickens, Tribe 1 and 3.
Grey and white wagtail,
A pair of wood pigeons,
Mrs Rat who lives in the next hole in the wall,
A Robin,
Sometimes Solomon, the Muscovy duck,
The occasional green tit,
The occasional crow,
The two resident gekos of course,
The lizard the lives in the structure outside that houses the butane cylinder.

I dare say there are others I don't see,

I know there are plenty of others who have had chickens either visiting, or living in their houses. There are some tremendous advantages to having the chickens come and go if you're interested in their behavior.
I see things that I doubt I would see, or have the time to understand, if I only observed them outside.

That is really neat. Lots of things can be explained away in the name of science, including letting chickens in your house, I guess.