New here, Chicken lover (As pets of course, not food!) needing some help!

[GoldApps]

1. There's a legal question section

2. Your landlord may say "make your cat/dog your ESA then. Just saying, you already have animal companions...

 

[ChickenChicki]

1. There's a legal question section

2. Your landlord may say "make your cat/dog your ESA then. Just saying, you already have animal companions...

Yes, I have animal companions, but that doesn't mean i dont want a chicken or duck. Just because someone has one thing, doesn't always mean they dont want anything else..

 

[Teila]

Howdy ChickenChicki

As you have asked for help, these are a couple of things I would like to add and are in no way intended to put you off your plan or be negative, just some things to ponder.

Hens, not just roosters, can be noisy, so trying to keep them in an area they are not allowed is risky because they can and probably will announce to neighbours etc that they are in residence, especially when they sing the egg song. I would hate for you to get a chicken, get attached and then have to rehome her. It might be best to wait until you move.

Chickens are social creatures and like the company of other chickens .. while I have heard of one chicken families, the chicken may not like being an only chicken.

Do landlords do routine inspections in AZ like they do here in Aus? What are you going to do with the chicken when the inspections happen? I rent and my landlord is OK with chickens outside but I do not think he would be happy if I had them in the house.

How are your cat and dog with the various birds you have had? Did these birds have access to the house or just in a cage? Is the chicken going to be wandering around the house? Some cats and dogs see a chick or chicken as a squeaky toy and even if they mean it no harm, can cause severe injury if trying to play with them.

Would your cat and dog mind sharing their food with the chicken? Chickens have a habit of helping themselves to other pets’ food.

Is the chick you are getting going to be sexed? If not, you stand a high chance of picking out a rooster and his crowing is going to be difficult to keep quiet.

Chickens love to lay in the sun, scratch and peck the dirt, hunt for bugs and dust bath etc, if she is not going to go outside at all, unless you have a plan for these activities, she may not be happy inside.

I totally get that you want a chicken or a duck but please consider whether that chicken or duck would want to live inside and how much trying to keep them from being found out would be stressful for you and if they are found out, how heartbreaking it would be to have to rehome them.

 

[Peep-Chicken]

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Also, ChickenChicki, while this is controversial, you may want to check out https://quietroosters.com The roosters are quiet. @Bluedogsonly a BYC user does this.

 

[Hrairoo]

I think you should be alright since there is technically no rule against it???

But I do suggest you get a quieter, calmer breed. Perhaps a silkie? They have been known to make great house pets, (compared to a rhode island red or hybrid...)

 

[ChickenChicki]

Howdy ChickenChicki

As you have asked for help, these are a couple of things I would like to add and are in no way intended to put you off your plan or be negative, just some things to ponder.

Hens, not just roosters, can be noisy, so trying to keep them in an area they are not allowed is risky because they can and probably will announce to neighbours etc that they are in residence, especially when they sing the egg song. I would hate for you to get a chicken, get attached and then have to rehome her. It might be best to wait until you move.

Chickens are social creatures and like the company of other chickens .. while I have heard of one chicken families, the chicken may not like being an only chicken.

Do landlords do routine inspections in AZ like they do here in Aus? What are you going to do with the chicken when the inspections happen? I rent and my landlord is OK with chickens outside but I do not think he would be happy if I had them in the house.

How are your cat and dog with the various birds you have had? Did these birds have access to the house or just in a cage? Is the chicken going to be wandering around the house? Some cats and dogs see a chick or chicken as a squeaky toy and even if they mean it no harm, can cause severe injury if trying to play with them.

Would your cat and dog mind sharing their food with the chicken? Chickens have a habit of helping themselves to other pets’ food.

Is the chick you are getting going to be sexed? If not, you stand a high chance of picking out a rooster and his crowing is going to be difficult to keep quiet.

Chickens love to lay in the sun, scratch and peck the dirt, hunt for bugs and dust bath etc, if she is not going to go outside at all, unless you have a plan for these activities, she may not be happy inside.

I totally get that you want a chicken or a duck but please consider whether that chicken or duck would want to live inside and how much trying to keep them from being found out would be stressful for you and if they are found out, how heartbreaking it would be to have to rehome them.

I understand all that. -- A chicken or duck can be happy inside, lots of people have them as house pets. i know one person personally and her rooster is the happiest thing. it will be raised from a chick inside, so it wont know the diffrence, like some who have been outside before as livestock or such would, like, the ones that live outside only.

In the area i live, our landlord does not inspect the house ever. weve been in this place (house) 5 years and no inspections. they only come if you ask for something fixxed, and they tell you when. so i could always have my neighbor watch the chicken for a half hour as the item is fixxed.

my cat dosent mind her food being bothered, and my dog eats in a closed room, because she can be food agressive toward the cat, but not people, so shes fed in a room with me, so the chicken wouldnt get to her food.


the cat and dog are both fine with birds. the cat was raised around foster birds that had access to the house and were out of cage, and shes never hurt them. she even played with one of the bunnies we fostered. we got the dog in january, and she was fine with the last foster bird we had, never bothered it or cared.

the chicken would be free roam, except not as a chick (because just in case! dont want it eaten, stepped on or hurt) it would be free roam when we are home, and caged when we leave, so it would not be letf out alone with the other animals, there would be supervision always.

the chicken isint sexxed, theough the owner of the place say most of the ones they get are females.( i know thats not a certian awnser that it WILL be a female, but it makes me more confident)

these are all good things to think about however, so i thank you for bringing them up

 

[GoldApps]

I'm not your landlord, I'm just imagining what they might saying what they might say, if they don't want a chicken in their home.

also you just stated you wanted a chicken or a duck. An ESA is more of a need. I'd tell the landlord that your current pets are just pets, and are not fulfilling those needs. Because if they are that's a problem (to the landlord) I just want to help you pick your words.

It is possible to "evict" an animal unfortunately.

I just noticed that you haven't had an inspection in 5 years...you should be fine. Keep your hen in mind though if a oven or refrigerator needs replaced. People come in then.

 

[Hrairoo]

I'm not your landlord, I'm just imagining what they might saying what they might say, if they don't want a chicken in their home.

also you just stated you wanted a chicken or a duck. An ESA is more of a need. I'd tell the landlord that your current pets are just pets, and are not fulfilling those needs. Because if they are that's a problem (to the landlord) I just want to help you pick your words.

It is possible to "evict" an animal unfortunately.

I just noticed that you haven't had an inspection in 5 years...you should be fine. Keep your hen in mind though if a oven or refrigerator needs replaced. People come in then.

I second this.

I will probably be needing to get an ESA when I move away for schooling, and though I have not officially been diagnosed with anything, it would be very easy for me to get a legit diagnosis for depression and autism. (I don't know if I will be wanting to have a diagnosis for autism though, as that may close many, many doors for me in the future...). I'm thinking I will probably get a silkie hen, or perhaps a hermann's tortoise for an ESA, not sure yet.