people with house chickens

[FeatherMommy]

oh! and btw t4dbirds

You are going to love it here!

 

[t4dbirds]

Thanks FeatherMommy, It's nice to know I'm not the only birdcrazy person out there! Though I think my African Grey thinks I've gone overboard with the chics. He just watches them run around the floor and glares at me. I keep telling him, they don't eat my furniture, cords, or feet. Plus they eat bugs that get in the house <ggggg>. On the bright side, I've moved him to another area of the house and he's loving it. He's been chattering out the window all day and dancing. My poor cockatiel wont even come out of her cage and eye's them like they are monsters that are going to eat her. I'm sure she'll get over it soon!

I'm so glad I put in hardwood floors.....

Thanks everyone else for the welcomes.

 

[PinkieSue]

Ok, I have been lurking and have finally decided that I need to ask a question. I am really serious asking this, so bear with me. I have Kriket, bantam cochin frizzle pullet that is 11 weeks old. I got her at 7 weeks. She was not supposed to be a house chicken, but my older hens are not impressed with her and I wanted her to get older before putting her outside. Now she has decided that she is a house chicken. My question is, how do you guys deal with extended family and friends that think you are crazy for having a chicken in the house? My mom grew up on a farm that raised chickens for eggs and meat and she has expressed her "distaste" for an indoor chicken. Granted, I am of age but it still gives me issues with the reaction I get. My daughter is 26, she thinks I'm weird. My friends avoid talking about Kriket. My husband just tells people that "It only took her two days to spoil that chicken rotten." Also, I am having issues getting Kriket to go to bed at night. She wants to be wrapped in a blanket and rocked to sleep. She has a basket that she sleeps in and once I get her in it and covered up she will sleep all night. Am I just plan crazy? Please advise.

 

[jossanne]

Quote:
I finally just decided that all my friends and family think I'm crazy anyway, so why fight it? Honestly though, it still embarrasses me the way people react to my having a chicken in the house. I'm almost the town joke because everyone knows I'm crazy about my chickens. I haven't told anyone except my hubby and kids that Trophy is going to stay in the house. I don't want to tell my mom. But she'll come visit eventually and find out, and she'll probably just shake her head.

But while I'm the town joke... I'm also the town chicken expert. Everyone calls me with questions about their chickens' health, what kind of chickens to get, what kind of chickens they ended up with, how many chickens to get... so there are trade-offs. Yesterday a friend called me to come look at her 4wk surprise pullets from McMurray, because she didn't even know if they were chickens at their gawky teenage stage. She was impressed that I looked at them and told her immediately what kind they were.

It also helps that there are other crazy animal people in my rural area. I've got a friend who is raising a litter of orphaned chipmunks. She had to euthanize her house skunk this last winter, and to console herself she bought a mini pig last week to keep in her house. Her skunk was never de-scented, but she didn't know she could spray, and they never ever had a problem with her. I just found out I've got another friend who has chicken diapers (not currently in use, but she's got them). She never told anyone because she felt awkward about it too!

Maybe it would help if you have a room that the chicken is comfortable in for when you have company that is uncomfortable with a chicken in the house. I can close my animals in the computer room and no one has to know they're here.

Now... as far as getting her to sleep at night like a chicken, you need to just fix her up a comfy place to roost and let her learn to use it. She'll ultimately be happier. Kind of like when my kids were tiny and I needed to stop rocking them to sleep. I just had to put them in bed and let them cry themselves to sleep a couple of times until they figured it out. I think if you put her on her roost some during the day, and then at night put her on it after it's dark, she should get used to it very quickly. Chickens are creatures of instinct, and that will be her natural way to sleep. My husband is going to build me a roost bar for Trophy, shaped like a T, mounted in a dropping board. That way I can just line the board with paper towels at night and let her sleep there. You'll discover that she'll probably be an early bird, and want to go to her roost as soon as she senses darkness coming on. My old house chicken, Snowball (the one in my avatar), would go curl up on the dog bed when it was dusk, and there she'd stay unless I wanted her to sleep elsewhere. She tried to roost on the back of the sofa, but after cleaning up a messy couch a few mornings, I started moving her to the dog bed after she went to bed, and she decided it was warm there curled up with our big dog.

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

PinkieSue, we had a few chickens who just NEEDED a feathery wing to cuddle under. Even if its just a people shoulder under our hair. Can you get a Silkie Roo? They're really good at letting others cuddle up. The needy ones still jump up on our laps, and beg to come inside if we're watching TV, but they'll cuddle up for bedtime with the Silkie Roo (out in the henhouse on a proper roost).

We saw some identical Silkie roosters at a livestock show this weekend, they were all snuggling for comfort, and it was hot outside. In one cage, a full sized Leghorn Roo was tucking himself up under a black Silkie half his size, and the Silkie just coo'ed and tucked him in. Its cool how sweet and cuddly they are.

Good luck.

 

[emvickrey]

I would love to have a house chicken but the stinky poop keeps them outside. The only ones that are inside are chicks from newely hatched till they have most of their feathers. I just can't bear to put them out any sooner. I clean their pen everyday to keep down the smell. I attempted to have house chickens once and it lasted all of 3 days. I couldn't keep up with cleaning all the poops. Too smelly for me.

 

[mylittlechickpea]

Aww, PinkieSue. My husband made me put my chickens up in the bedroom when I first got them because we were having his family over. He has a stigma about them thinking we are weird. Well they came over this weekend, and he's not home now, when they rang the doorbell I answered holding Chickpea diaper and all. They chuckled a little and that was that.

However, I couple weeks ago, I took her outside with me to go see the neighbors outside and I was yelled at by one of them saying that's chickens are diseased and how gross and so on and so forth.. How rude. I wasn't really upset about it, it did get to me a little bit, but I was more embarrased about it than anything. I don't even know this girl..

Everyone else in the block probably understands my need for "companionship" but are just questioning why I didn't get a dog? A few of them think she's cute as heck though. So I guess it just depends on the individual. And if your mom doesn't like Kriket maybe just put her in another room when she visits? If people don't like my Chickpea or have "issue" I just don't let them see her when they're over. Everyone thinks I'm crazy anyways. When I told my dad he wasn't the least bit surprised, and the rest of my family just think it's funny.

Don't let them get to you.

 

[PinkieSue]

Thanks for the input. Interesting enough, no one comes to visit me so that isn't the issue. My family is all out of state, except my daughter who lives at home. I have my own room, hubby has his, so Kriket stays in my room with me and Bindi, my American Bulldog. I just am having issues with the responses I get from the extended family. I like to talk chickens, but will talk rabbits, ducks, dogs, birds or anything else. I was stopped in the airport in Kansas City several years ago because I had a hairless rat in my jacket that I was taking home to Oregon. Did manage to get on the flight but not without some severe embarasment. Caused a great deal of attention at the security station. Anyway, back to Kriket. I really enjoy her and she is so good in the house. I guess the most important part is both she and I are happy. Now if I could only get her to go to bed without me!! She will stand around a peep and carry on until I finally go to bed. She will settle into her basket and go to sleep then.

 

[PinkieSue]

PS: Cannot have a roo. Not allowed where I live. Darn it.

 

[3chimama]

So jealous you get to have a chicken in your house!