people with house chickens

[Sylvester017]

Ok, if only changed once a day, is there any risk of "diaper rash?"

After 3 months of wearing a diaper our Silkie got thinned-out feathers around the butt area. She didn't wear a diaper overnight so her skin got to "air out" every day. We never had a chicken wear a diaper over 3 months so don't know about any time over that.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Hello everyone!

Things have been so crazy busy for me this Summer, so I havent been able to get on nearly as much as I would like to. But things are finally starting to slow down, so I should be able to be more active in the house chicken thread.

Ms. Sunni is doing great. She's still as happy as can be.

It's hard for me to believe it, but I was looking at the calendar and realized that on October 30th, Sunni will have been living in the house for a year!

I dont even know where the time went.

Last month Sunni got to go on a weekend camping trip with me. Man was that fun.

The campground we were at said pets were allowed, so we thought, "Oh, why not!" So along Sunni went. I brought along a metal cage for her to play in outside in the grass, and it was pretty cute watching her pick around in the grass in the midst of a bunch of campers. She loved all of the attention she was getting from people too. But by the end of the weekend, she was happy to be home and back in her coop. She's a creature of habit and has all of her little things she does around the house every day, so three days away from home was more than enough for her.




So how has everyone been? And how are your house chickens doing? Hopefully I'll be able to be around more and start catching up with you all! And hello to all of the house chicken owners that have joined the thread since I have been gone!

-Ashley

 

[Nuggetirl]

This is exciting. I thought you had to change the diaper every time they pooped. I can do several times a day, especially if they are only out when I'm home (even if they are out all the time, I take the dogs out at least 3 times a day. What's adding in changing a few diapers too?)
My chickies are indoors, but I don't let them roam indoors, only outside.

 

[MyLoveableChick]

Do you let indoor chickens roam out for a little bit outside?

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Sometimes I let my girl outside, but only under supervision, and she's never out for very long. But only because she doesnt like to be. She has lived in the house most of her life, and prefers it. So normally when she's outside it's just long enough to get some grit, grass and a bit of fresh air, and then she's ready to go back in.

I have only ever had one house chicken, so im not sure if it's different for others, but I know that Sunni doesnt like to be outside for longer than a few minutes. It makes her nervous. But I do still take her out once in a while so that she at least has the option of bugs and stuff.

 

[Sylviaanne]

My Prince doesn't go outside. I think he is afraid of the roosters, maybe even the adult hens. I think he is even afraid of the cockerels his own age and the younger but bigger cockerels.

He watches me go out but steers clear of the door. I am so sorry that he is afraid but if he is so scared, I can't see forcing him into a situation that could be made worse because he might show fear.

 

[My Hens and Roo]

I Am SO GRATEFUL To Find This Thread!!!
I have soooo many questions but first~I, my husband too, need some good advice. And did I mention? I Am Soooo Grateful to have found this thread!
Our story, and why we need to know about indoor chickens:
....We have a small flock of six which include two old women, Emily~a barred rock and queen of the coop from day one, Chirpy, aka; red on the head~a RIR and Emily's sidekick, two daughters of the old gals and our re-homed jersey giant, Emu (Emu, all 19 pounds of his gloriness) was just that...a stunning boy, but just too much "Emu" for our gals, if you know what I mean

...(I got all sentimental when Emu left and hatched out a bunch of the fertilized eggs he left behind) gave all the chicks away but two, and their names are Chillo and Jersey.
We lost my favorite of all time buff orpington, Gertrude, when she scored a mound of termites one day, and within minutes...scarfed them all and died the next day from kidney failure caused by a protein overload. I still miss her...She was my lap chicken, the one who followed me Everywhere!
So between losing Gert and Muu, we felt the need to add to the flock. At the time, our grandaughters were going through a hard time and we felt if they had someone/something else to care for, it would help to free their little minds of their troubles. So Dan (my husband) and I went to the feed store, it was 2 days before Easter and what better time to pick them each a chick?! We came upon the "Crested Polish" bin. Boy oh Boy were they cute with their little cotton ball heads! We chose two, but in our excitement we didn't notice the 5th toe until we got home...can't be polish, must be a pair of silkies. The girls love them to pieces! Oops, they have really heavily feathered feet all of a sudden and the feathering is nothing like a silkie. They are also a color of white like no other. They are though, the exact color of our daughter's pearl white 2008 Infinity!
We finally posted their pics here and got the answer right away...The pair turned out to be a pair of white sultans. Rare. Endangered on the Livestock Conservancy Protected list as Critical. Meaning there are likely less than 200 breeding birds in this country. Beautiful, gentle, docile, snuggly, smart, cleaver, love them to the moon chickens!!! We adore Mr. & Mrs. Rooster! Did I mention they are a "Pair"? Yep, a Roo Too! And that is where you guys come in.
The rest of the story:
We have a Rooster in city limits. A city with absolutely no ordinance regarding roosters, nor is there an ordinance in regard to chickens. At All!! What they do have is a very impractical noise ordinance targeting animals which states; no person shall allow or permit any animal to make an annoying or repeated noise of barking, howling, braying, whining or any other noise that can be heard beyond the border of owners or keepers property line at any time. Add to that the 80 year old next door neighbor who yells at the little neighborhood children, hoses down the neighborhood dogs and cats, sneers at anyone who walks down the street if they so much as have a tattoo or a nose piercing, hates her nice husband and calls the police if your (really quiet for a roo) rooster crows...or calls even when he does NOT crow, if you know what I mean! And you've got yourself a trial. But when your city government refuses to furnish the records they are required by law to release among other things (that will be the extent of my rant), you tend to lose your rooster!
We are truly heartbroken as you can imagine. We are filing for an appeal with the help of the FTCLDF folks but that will take some time. In the meantime they can fine us up to $1000 a day if we don't comply........

And now the need for advice, thoughts, opinions. And I can't think of a better place to seek good advice!
We have three chickens to consider here and this is what is most breaking our hearts! Of course we have Mr. and Mrs. Rooster, who have been together since day one! But thing is. Mr. Rooster has another wife (don't judge please), and that would be Miss Chillo, our Jersey Giant/ mix. I forgot to mention that Mr. Rooster's nick name is "Cowboy" as he is about half the size, if that, of wife number two

... It's an , interesting situation. He literally swoons over Chillo, bald back girl and all...follows her around like an enamoured school boy whose feathered feet rarely hit the ground. We have had to roost the sultans in a spare bathroom upstairs for awhile now because of the neighbor and they have some real knock down drag outs up there at the end of the day! And I'm talking about the Mrs..She gets her hackles up and literally bounces him off her chest saying things with this voice she saves for him...at night...when she is telling him off...in their bathroom coop! It always ends the same. He finally escapes her fury and roosts as high as he can on top of the toilet tank, head down and looking away...frightened..Very Frightened! Then the next morning, the dumb ***** goes out and does it again. Oh, and for the record. Chillo flaunts her stuff in front of the Mrs. all the time and picks on her constantly. Mr. Roo does his best to protect Mrs. but....
All this is true but all kidding aside. We always worry about her, little mrs. rooster because she always seems to be alone. She frequently comes to the back door to come in with us, and as of late, she Always comes in now and has chosen a decorative fruit crate in the dining room to lay her eggs. Always now.
So we need, for the time being anyway, or longer, to re-home Mr. Roo for sure. We just naturally knew we would re-home the pair if it came to this. But we're not so sure what to do now. That's where we're so torn! I won't consider just shipping him out alone! He is a good rooster and a loving one no doubt! And what about Chillo? What about Mrs. Roo?
We're wondering...Would it be best for her to remain with us as a house chicken? And send Chillo with him?
My husband is a good wood worker and suggested just tonight that he could build her a beautiful avery. She wanders the house quite often and at just 2 pounds, confines well also. How badly would she miss her mate? How much would he miss and worry about her. Even though he spends much of his day with Chillo, he is always watching out and protects Mrs. Roo....
Are we crazy? This worrying us so?! This is just sooo hard! I despise that woman! At the same time I feel sad for her that she can't find something positive in her life to focus on.
I welcome your advice and thoughts on this. Or if nothing else, writing it all down has been a good vent! Now, here come more tears...

 

[My Hens and Roo]

Oh, I should add a photo of the Mr. & Mrs.When they were about 6 weeks old?She still does his hair all the time!This is Emu, I was serious when I said he was 19 pounds. That's Chirpy, a full grown, good sized RIR standing next to him but under the table that he towers over! Beautiful Rooster!! We visit him sometimes and he is even bigger now. In this photo he was 11 months old.

 

[Sylvester017]

Do you let indoor chickens roam out for a little bit outside?

Always. They need time to dust-bathe and scratch around for greens and bugs and grit. My Silkie loved outdoors so much she easily socialized with the others through the fence so after 3 months indoors we let her completely get used to full integration with the flock. She still comes inside to visit while the others stop at the back door but she really prefers it outside.

 

[Sylvester017]

Oh, I should add a photo of the Mr. & Mrs.When they were about 6 weeks old?She still does his hair all the time!This is Emu, I was serious when I said he was 19 pounds. That's Chirpy, a full grown, good sized RIR standing next to him but under the table that he towers over! Beautiful Rooster!! We visit him sometimes and he is even bigger now. In this photo he was 11 months old.

Emu could pass as a Legacy roo. He's gorgeous! Legacy's are big roos and a family in Maine used to raise them. Their descendents still raise these guys in NC I believe.

Have you ever tried the No-Crow Rooster Collar as seen on MyPetChicken.com? One can probably be hand-made if you're handy at crafts. Apparently with several graduating adjustments the collar keeps the roo's air sack from filling with air and it muffles the crows.