Indoor. chicken hiding/keeping. coop

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

luckily we have a LARGE basement.

I am going to try to make it so that the city legally lets me keep my girls. BUT. if they dont I am going to have the dh build me a coop and small indoor run in the basement. Which is mostly used for storage, and my laundry machines are down there.

They wont be indoor in the basement all the time. I have plans to move the run we currently have to the rear/side of the house and then install privacy fencing, like we should have in the first place. to keep the anti pet chicken folks from discovering them. My neighbors wont say a thing.

Is this doable? To me they will be no harder to keep clean than they are now. And no harder to keep clean than cages of other birds.
But will being in doors. In a basement instead of a regular coop at night. Be bad for them mentally and health wise? There are windows. and it does get light in there. But not like a traditional coop does.
And like I said. they will be out during the day, but in a more hidden spot. But with the same amount of space. I will just have to physically pick them up and carry them out and in daily. Not a big deal they are all good about this now a days.

Does anyone else have them in this type of situation?? Or have I truly gone over the edge?

 

[Ladyhawke1]

I will. And, do not let others discourage you. I will give mine outside supervised time and plenty of time ot eat grass and bugs.

 

[HennysMom]

R&SMom,

I know others keep their birds in their houses on here - there was a post not too long ago about it, have you searched for it?

My question to you is - if the law says you cant have them, can they do a search of your house? *scratches head*

I dont know if they can or not - does anyone else know? I'd hate to have you go through ALL of this and then have them come and do a "search and seizure" - that would be horrible

I do know though that people do keep them inside their houses, permenantly - some let them out for "playtime" and others dont.

Good luck and I hope you win!

 

[Pullet Pimp]

Not sure how many you plan on keeping but I had mine in our large (2100 sq ft) basement while brooding. Well the coop took a bit longer to finish and they were down there longer than expected and longer than I wanted. I was constantly cleaning, changing bedding, and fighting odor to keep the house smelling neutral. It was a tremendous amount of work to be successful controlling the odor but it can be done. I can tell you from my experience that you will constantly be fighting the "chicken dust". Especially if you have your furnace in the basement. The dust WILL find its way into everything and everywhere and there is not much you can do about that except CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. It will also find its way upstairs for your family to inhale which I am sure can't be a good thing. After a while I also started feeling guilty for not giving them enough outdoor time that they deserved and wanted.

I will probably brood again in the basement because of the nice controlled temperature but for a much shorter time period. I will make sure I have the coop done before getting the chicks.

As far as them coming in to search your house, they cannot without a warrant. Chances are they are unlikely to get one for this type of violation. This would not prevent them from conducting an investigation and issuing you a summons to court or a zoning violation and/or citation of some type.

 

[Teach97]

yup...you have gone over the edge...don't worry most of us have

I would have them in my house but I am scared of my wife...

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

house is filled with pet dander anyway.

Furnace is gas, steam with old radiators.

there is always a "pet odor" in my home. Except for when I
CLEAN

 

[Pullet Pimp]

Chicken dander is in a whole different category than pet (dog, cat, rabbit) dander. You've been warned LOL I'm done now

 

[sillybirds]

I agree with Mike... I think dust will be your biggest problem. It's probably doable, though. Perhaps you could have a HEPA filter down with them.

Good luck!

 

[Ladyhawke1]

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

 

[brooster]

I had three baby chickens in my basement for a while because a stupid hen hathed them in the dead of winter. The dust was unbelievable! I would build a coop and bury it with a litte hole comming out of the ground. Maybe some heavy duty plastic on top and they could have light. They could come up to be in the run. It would always be cool in the summer warm in the winter, and no one would see them. Just a thought, just not sure how you would keep rain out. One thing to remember is that if you keep them in your basement, animal rights laws and such could burn you if they were the least bit cramped. I should have given you any ideas!