Indoor chickens?

[Chickens=Love]

I have one hen, Pudgelle, who lives in my house. She is a bantam, and full grown. I think that your friend will decide against having ten chickens living in her house. I have my one hen, and lord does she poo alot! Chickens, like most birds, have very fast metabolisims, which means they need to eat lots and often. Meaning that they poo lotd and often! Not a big deal for me and my one hen, since I have tile floors and mop every couple of days. Other than the large quantities of poo scattered around the house floor, chickens make EXCELLENT house pets. There is even a site wear you can order chicken diapers, keeping your house clean! My chicken is kept in her cage (in the house) while I am away at work, for her safety, and is free range around the house while I am at home. Chickens make excellent snuggle buddies! Mine loves to sit on me! Whether it's snuggling up to my face or sitting on my feet while I'm busy on the computer, she always has to stay in contact me with, literally.
I say A+ to keeping chickens indoors... Good luck with ten though!

 

[wing it]

friends of mine had 2 in there apartment in nyc . they seem very happy,but 10 sounds a bit over the top

 

[Lindseyblair24]

I've got two little Seramas that I keep in my house. I converted a large rabbit hutch into a rather nice coop. It's two stories so it gives them a little extra room. They are actually as cuddly as my cats and rather enjoy sleeping in my lap or on the sofa. However, when I let them "free range" in the house I either put down a lot of newspaper or follow behind them with paper towels..... Unfortunately they aren't litter trained. . I have recently ordered "chicken diapers" and although I'm a little embarrassed by the idea, I am quite excited

But 10 large chickens in my house? No. Lol. My Seramas are about the size of a large pomegranate.

 

[Flowerbh]

Subscribing to this thread.

 

[Aronia]

I have 72.5 in the house! (a head of one)

 

[AmyPoole]

I have a Rhode Island Red (Ginger) that I raised from a baby. She is the only chicken in the household of 4 cats. I raised her in the office behind a closed door until she was big enough to make an impression on the cats... they don't mess with her. Ginger is 3 months old now and goes out into a chicken tractor during the day, but she insists on coming in at night. She actually doesn't like the dark. That is okay with me... she sits in the kitchen floor while I make dinner. Since I spray her with a bird deodorant that also takes care of pests, she doesn't have that chicken dust that many people worry about. I move her chicken tractor around the yards so she never has a dirt patch to get into, but I do offer diatomacious earth to dust in occassionally as a treat.

Ginger sits in her cage and gets handouts while I'm eating dinner and then we sit on the couch afterwards and watch television. She is hilarious! She sees something on TV and does that chicken chuckle. My husband thinks she's nuts... I think she just has a very vibrant character and expresses her likes and dislikes. I have a plastic floor mat (the kind that goes under an office chair) that her cage sits on.... when we're watching tv and she needs to go potty, she hops up, jumps on top of her cage, poops down in the cage, and then comes back. My daughter (21 years old) rolls her eyes. I've just picked up her poop off the plastic floor cover and put it in the cage... I think she understands that is where she is supposed to poop. Her cage doesn't smell because I clean it regularly. It is a type of rabbit hutch that holds litter down away from the animal... therefore I can use multi-cat kitty litter down in there and she can't get to it. It quickly dries the poo for me to scoop out every few days. I will put Arm & Hammer litter box deodorizer in it occassionaly between litter changes, but with the scooping there is not much need for it. Is a chicken in the house a lot of work? Yes, it is constant cleaning and constant obedience training. However, my family and friends are getting to intimately know an animal that they never would have. They see her character, they hear her laugh, they listen to her sing when a song comes on that she likes. So many people think that chickens are just food, but they are living, breathing creatures that have needs, wants, and love to be loved.

I also take her to the park on an avian leash, take her to the petstore where kids love on her... she is my "dog" without the allergies.

 

[daniellecm]

Hi

well I am new to chickens really and presently have 4 in a brooder in the spare bedroom right now. Sounded like a great idea at the time.
Everyone talked about all the dust and I thought I clean daily there's no dust, its not that bad. Well by week 4 oh boy was there dust !! and a lot of it.
completely gutted and cleaned the room. cant imagine having them full time in my house.
Although I can see one visiting from time to time as I have grown very fond of them all. I enjoy everyone's stories about their cuddly hens and hope that one of my 4 will be that as well.

thanks for everyone's fun stories.