My only is not lonely...

[Charlenesmom]

Charlene, a beautiful Rhode Island Red hen, came to us last summer. We believe she ran away from her previous home where there was little care, interaction, or food/shelter provided. She was content to forage in our yard by day and roosting in a sapling at night. As the weather turned (we live in Western Mass) I became concerned about her wellbeing. She would come to me every morning to get a handful of sunflower seeds so I knew I could get her in if I had to. After speaking to a friend who has many years experience with chickens I set up one of our large metal dog crates in our garage, which is part of our (raised ranch) home. I made her a nesting box (her first) out of a large plastic box filled with pine shavings. Inside her crate is a non tipping water bowl and an area for her feed.
We covered her crate with an old flannel sheet to create total darkness to help her settle at dusk. The first night I expected her to be agitated and stressed but rather she climbed right into her box and began cooing....I think she realized she had fallen into a version of chicken heaven. No more windy, rainy nights spent in trees.
She is locked in her crate at night and every morning I open the door and she come clucking out to say good morning. She loves and follows my two Labradors around the yard. She doesn’t seem to miss other chickens. She does love to follow me and members of my family around the yard or in the garage while we are doing chores. I had no idea how old she was, and assumed she was old because she didn’t lay eggs. A week or so before Christmas Charlene gave me a gift, a beautiful brown egg. Since then she’s layed 13 beautiful eggs, almost every day. She is such a treasure, she is affectionate, talkative, and has taught me so much about chickens! Little did I know that she came to us as a pullot and is probably just about 6 months old now. I do let her out if the weather isn’t too cold, or snowy, etc. otherwise she’s got the whole garage to explore. The dogs hang out there with her and she seems to enjoy their company. I worry when she wanders to the neighbors house because of hawks, etc. I wish there was a tiny GPS that I could keep track of her wandering with.
I was worried at first that she wouldn’t be happy as an only chicken, but she is thriving and seems happy! Her egg production seems to prove that as well.
Photos show Charlene from the end of summer to today, her comb and wattle has bloomed and she’s grown quite beautiful and fluffy! My granddaughter loves her and loves to draw her.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Charlene is a lucky lady.

 

[AnotherMeOhMy]

Hi . I have a singke chicken also.
To keep her crate cleaner use puppy pads and put paper bags or newspaper over it and spread pine shaving on top of it. I use a pine cdar mix and it greatly cuts down on the smell.
Also chi kens usually roost at night, so if you could find a stick thick enough for her to perch/roost on and secure it to rhe crate inside she should naturally hop up there and sleep.
My August learned quickly and she loves her cage.

 

[Charlenesmom]

Hi . I have a singke chicken also.
To keep her crate cleaner use puppy pads and put paper bags or newspaper over it and spread pine shaving on top of it. I use a pine cdar mix and it greatly cuts down on the smell.
Also chi kens usually roost at night, so if you could find a stick thick enough for her to perch/roost on and secure it to rhe crate inside she should naturally hop up there and sleep.
My August learned quickly and she loves her cage.

Charlene loves her crate too!
Charlene never poops in her crate, occasionally I find some buried in her nest box, but it’s easily cleaned out the next morning. She is incredibly clean, for a chicken. Maybe because she’s an only, and easier to tidy up after. When confined to the garage during the day she will sometimes poop on the floor; a “putty knife” and a thin piece of sheet metal shaped like a dust pan and it’s easily picked up and later discarded in the garden. Any residue gets sprayed with windex and wiped with a paper towel. I have no problems with odors in the garage and she likes her crate clean so she is very tidy there. Her eggs are immaculate, no smears ever. She gets probiotics and vitamins in her water so her poop is pretty solid and easy to scoop.
I’m not sure I could put a stick in her crate for roosting but she loves going to bed at night and digging in the shredded pine mulch to nestle in for the night. Her cooing tells me she’s happy
She gets plenty of opportunity to roost during the day on all if the various shelves and nooks in the garage.
I was thinking about making her a swing to hang in the garage. I know people probably think it’s weird to keep her in the garage but it works for us; she’s close by, protected from predators and the weather and I can easily visit with her during the day as I’m going about my daily routine.

 

[N F C]

Charlene is a pretty lady, sounds like she found herself a great home!

Thanks for sharing the pictures (I love RIR's)!

P.S. And you aren't weird for keeping her in the garage...there are quite a few members that have house chickens.

 

[Charlenesmom]

Charlene is a pretty lady, sounds like she found herself a great home!

Thanks for sharing the pictures (I love RIR's)!

P.S. And you aren't weird for keeping her in the garage...there are quite a few members that have house chickens.

Are there people who actually keep them in the house?

 

[N F C]

Are there people who actually keep them in the house?

Yep, these are just a few of the links that come up with a forum search:
house chickens thread for people that have them
House Training a Chicken
Our House Pet Chicken
House Chicken care?
people-with-house-chickens.299187

 

[feathermaid]

What a nice story! I've heard of many people keeping a chicken as a house pet, but usually they're bantams or silkies, and many wear diapers. I don't see anything wrong with it, as long as they get some time outside and have a dust bath area. Dust bathing is essential for maintaining healthy skin.

Also, to keep your pullet laying regularly, she will need exposure to at least 14 hours of daylight, but that usually doesn't pertain to first year pullets. You could add artificial light, but would have to keep in mind that at some point you would probably want her to experience a molt (which only happens with decreased light hours like in wintertime and usually after the age of about 18 or more months) so she can shed and replace all her feathers and take a break from laying for a while. Here's a couple articles to explain how lighting works for laying hens:
Supplemental Light in the Chicken Coop: Why and How
Dangers of Supplemental Coop Light

I agree with @AnotherMeOhMy about adding a roost bar for night time. It's a natural tendency for chickens to want to sleep on a branch or bar in the highest (ie. safest) place possible, they like to wrap their feet tightly around something. And it's typically a bad habit to let a chicken sleep in the nest box... which can lead to poopy eggs or at least a poopy bottom, and also encourage broody behavior. At this point if she's not actually roosting at night, you may have to teach her how by placing her up there in the dark until she does it on her own.

Here's a few threads that may give some insight on how other people have dealt with indoor chickens:
Chickens as House Pets? Opinions and Views
House Chickens thread for people that have them

Good luck with your sweet chicken!

 

[feathermaid]

Oh! @N F C
I took too long to post my comment... you already found some links!!

 

[N F C]

Oh! @N F C
I took too long to post my comment... you already found some links!!

You did fine finding plenty of helpful links!