Inhouse chicks

[FrizzlesRule]

Quote:
Why is it gross? No different than having any animal in the house. They can poop and make messes, too. If they are clean, what's the difference. I've had bantams as house pets for years and I love it.

 

[alabamachick]

Mine are in the spare bathroom in the tub... Other than the smell of the wood shavings, I dont notice any smell when I walk in my house, and I only smell the shavings when I actually go IN the bathroom. I DO clean the shavings out every day though!

My kitty litter box smells worse than the chicks could...

 

[Megs]

didnt read all replys. but i brood chicks in my house, in my case only until they are a few days old (to keep a close eye on them), then out to the brooder room they go!

 

[bds613]

I've got 8 in the house now...basically keep it clean and it won't stink

 

[sandiatonimarie]

First time chicken raiser and I've got my brood of nine Wyandottes in a rubbermaid type brooder in my living room next to the wood stove. They don't smell. For litter, I used old kitchen towels and some rubber shelf liner over straw for the first two weeks and now they are on just straw, about three or four inches deep. I clean the brooder every 3 to 5 days. I put the chickens in big cardboard box temporarily which they don't like but it takes me about fifteen minutes to compost the old straw, wipe the container down with a vinegar and water soaked dish cloth, dry it, add the next batch of straw and put the chickens back (very important to put the chickens back

.

So no, my chicks are four weeks old and I don't have any smell. I figure they'll stay where they are until they are fully feathered and able to go outside to their coop and run -- hoping only two more weeks but it may be four.

As others have said - no worse than other animals in the house like cats and their litter boxes or other birds as pets. I'd just recommending that you really wash your hands thoroughly after dealing with the chickens and maybe keep a separate bucket with all of "their stuff" in it - any cloths or rags you use for them, probably good to separate that from the rest of your things.

Had to edit - they do make a good amount of very fine dust so you'll be vacuuming or dusting much more often wherever they are if you do keep them inside.

 

[IggiMom]

Well--cats can be housetrained. So can dogs. And the chicks produce an awful lot of dust.

I do like to keep them in for, say, a week or two--and then out to a brooder on the porch or in the coop in the chick room.

And really, they are not stinky if you keep them nicely bedded as someone else said. And the bedding makes great compost.

Catherine

 

[NewHen]

It's only been 3 days, but I have 4 chicks in my living room and I only smell pine shavings. I have a much larger brooder ready for them in later, but right now they are in a plastic tub. I lined the bottom with newspaper, then put pine shavings on top, and then have a hardware mesh over a wood frame. The first 2 days I had a towel for them, but now they are on the wire floor and doing fine. To keep them in the tub and let the overhead lighting through, I have a mesh over it. For my old photography darkroom, I made a drying rack out of canvas stretcher boards and getting window screening from the hardware store.

 

[MagsC]

I brood them in the house, just have to keep up after making sure the brooder is clean and as said, dust can be a problem so I vacuum a lot as well. It CAN be done, though I prefer they be outside as they get older. But even that has exceptions to the rule because there are many people with "house" chickens!

 

[newchik715]

I just moved my six four week old chickies out to the coop. They were in my office for the first month and the pine shavings was all I smelt for the most part. If you stick your head right in it may smell strong but I cleaned mine out sometimes two or three times a day. I really kept up on it. You could help your son with responsibility concerning animals and he could poop scoop the bird poo for you thereby keeping the smell down! I am trying to use this as a learning experience for my three year old as well as enjoy them myself and get eggs. They really are a great experience for little ones!

 

[Laurie's Silkies]

Chicks in the house is something I look forward to all winter long. here in Minnesota, winter can be nasty. The fever has hit- mine are coming this weekend !!!!