Indoor Pet Chickens

[Flowerbh]

subscribing to this thread.

 

[henry101]

I have an indoor chicken, his name is Henry! My brother brought him home one day and I just fell in love, he slept with me until he was about 2 weeks because I didn't have a heat lamp for him, he has a pen outside my room, and when I'm home he's always adventuring the house. He smells sometimes, but he is a chicken, and I do clean regularly. I wouldn't part with him though, he's like my child!

 

[ford8n]

I understand that house chickens aren't for everyone, but people who choose to share their homes with these amazing birds will never regret it. Personally, I have two chickens in my house. I have a Japanese bantam hen and a White sultan rooster. The two of them get along great!

I have read most of the posts regarding indoor chickens, and most of them say that it won't work or that they would be messy. I am setting the record straight. Chickens make awesome pets indoors, but size does matter. The smaller the chicken the better. In regards to the dust issue, one chicken doesn't cause too much of a problem. We had 8 chickens in our house at one time, but they moved outside in the spring.

Requirements for keeping an indoor chicken:

You have to be okay with noise. (roosters only)
You have to have an outdoor space that is fenced in. (this is for letting your bird out when the weather is nice)
You have to be willing to give the time for cleaning the cage and spending time with your bird.
You need a container that can be used as an indoor coop at night.
You will need to be willing to bring your chicken with you on vacation or have a house sitter take care of it.


Now, with all this being said, living with a chicken is one of the best decisions that I have ever made. When you interact with a chicken on a daily basis, you get to know their personality and learn to see the world through a chicken's eyes. I will say it again, living with a chicken is not for everyone, but those who choose this route will never regret it.

 

[centrarchid]

I can now say I have gotten into this a bit although mine have been standard sized American Games. Flying can be a problem with cans, jars, pictures and candles being victims. In our household already with cats, largish dogs, and small children; dust from dander is a minor issue. I did not confine roosting birds, rather I promoted use of a roosting location where falling feces could be intercepted with a cut pieces of carpet that could be rotated out for cleaning. I had hen come into brood a clutch of eggs and raise chicks. While chicks where under maternal care they roosted with mother in a nesting box that was similar to kitty crap boxes. Chicks numbered 10 so crap production high. Birds spent bulk of time outside and came in only for night. Rooster was kept outside on front porch not so much for crowing but because of his relentless attacks on mirrors and stainless steal trash cans, otherwise he was a model citizen. The majority of feces was easy to deal with although the cecal poo was sticky, stinky and difficult to clean up. My son also did not like the taste of it which broke his interest in eating chicken poop. Group was moved out at about 5 weeks post-hatch when the group started to roost up. The juveniles would wander away from areas setup to handle feces. This will likely be repeated at some point but emphasis will be made on having so house access points for birds will require some flying in from a grassy area to slow tracking of mud into house. Setup works great with broody hens you want to monitor closely. Most of my birds are kept well away from house but the indoor option allows me to see things that outdoor kept birds do not allow.

 

[sarnold1]

Hi everyone! I'm about to hatch ONE silver duckwing OEGB and I want to keep it inside. It's parents are both show quality but have gotten a bit older. Do you think it will be okay to let it out in my room all day but keep it put up in a 10x20in fish tank at night? I really love they indoor chicken idea so please help!!!!

 

[centrarchid]

Keep it in the aquarium until it can fly out and back in again. It will need to imprint on the aquarium until it can roost up. I have had birds roost inside but spent bulk of day outside so defecation issues minimal. You will need to consider that as bird goes about house I presume without supervision.

 

[sarnold1]

It will just be in my room because I have cats. I will also have a diaper for it!

 

[kendradillon]

I have a hen who is back inside. shes a people chickens not a chicken chicken lol. my friend makes and sells diapers so I order from her on facebook shes Spot's Corner. Mini had been ioutdoors a while now but I miss having her inside. some days its hard to keep up w diapers and her neediness but its a different kind of pet for sure. we do not have kids nor plan on any so we have a few chickens and dogs. also a huge cat. but mini in her diaper free roams the house she goes to work with me. tonight sense shes back inside she will get a bath!

 

[rainbowhatchery]

Raising chicks or helping a sick bird inside is where I draw the line on my funny farm lol

 

[kendradillon]

we get our diaps from Spot's corner
https://www.facebook.com/spotscorner?fref=ts