people with house chickens

[Sylvester017]

I am not going to pretend I know anything, I can share about my silkie roo. He is about 18 weeks and raised with anouther friend in the house most of the time. Even with being so hands on I still have to pick him up with a stern No to make him stop trying to get away, but once I get him on my lap and settled down he is fine however I have lost the hope of him just jumping in my lap on purpose like his friend my frizzle does. As far as potty training I have gotten them used to what I call towel time lol if they come in the living room it is straight to the towel. It took only about a week to get them doing it they have free range in the kitchen and I have a kid door to keep them in kitchen when it is not towel time. I put a food bowel and water on the towel and just repeated on your towel towel towel as I would herd them on the towel and they usually lay down and chill until they need to chase one of the dogs off the towel. Also when they would step on the towel they used to get a treat along with a happy sound from me now it just a happy sound and a treat when I want to give them one. My next step tho is to try dippers since that sounds like the most popular way of dealing with inside chicken. Good luck. Thanks for bringing this up would be nice to get some professional input on a silkie with a attitude.

I got two silkie chicks on July 11 when they were about two weeks old. They're now about four weeks old but they still don't like me! What should I do? Once I get them out, I can get them to perch in my lap or on my arm. At what age do they bond or get affectionate? And does anyone know at what age it makes sense to potty train them?

I don't pretend to be a chicken whisperer either. But I've had two Silkie hens for 5 years and they seem to settle down as they get older. They will always be just a bit skittish though because we are so tall and they are so low to the ground. Their instinct is to get out of harm's way and movement makes them wary. Why? Who knows? A natural instinct at protecting their tiny bodies from tall scary things because of limited vision maybe? It has nothing to do with being afraid of you personally. It's just instinct for them to be wary. We have no problems getting our Silkies to come sit in our lap or stand on our feet when we hand out treats - sitting on the ground or a low chair during treats gets them brave to climb on you. I have one Partridge Silkie that sits on my shovel when I'm digging. She wants to be the first to catch an earthworm! When we go outside with treats in our hand we have a hard time not stepping on them as they crowd our feet to be first in line for food. They are silly cute funny adorable little birds and all are different. We got a 3-month-old pullet that was too young to integrate into the outdoor flock and we kept her indoors for another 3 months in diapers until she was old enough to be put with the bigger girls.

Made the Silkie diapers myself from chickenmom video on youtube.com


The juvenile Silkie would escape outdoors in her diaper - she was really fast and still is a little fast Silkie at 41/2 yrs old!

 

[drumstick diva]

My friend who has house birds (2 serama hens, 1 silkie hen) swears she can't even try putting some garment(apron or diaper) on the silkie or she will have a stroke. Her animals(including peke a poo elderly dog) let her know she is at the bottom of the pecking order. What they want, they get, and what she wants is just "too bad."

She serves them a buffet everyday of fruit, veggies, tiny cuts of meat/fish/ or chicken (not relatives) and they pick and choose what they want. They won't touch nutritious layer feed or anything else that is specifically intended for chickens and then complains about it.I try not to discuss them with her because we end up in hot debates

The seramas beat up the silkie, and the silkie attacks her human mama. Oh her dog is spoiled the same way, refuses dog food & treats. She cooks for him daily. The dog is elderly now and the chickens really torment him. She shouldn't allow this but, thinks it's funny. The seramas chase him out of his dog bed, pull food out of his mouth, and steal his toys. Yet when outside they have the sense to shadow the dog so they are protected from free ranging cats.

 

[Sylvester017]

My friend who has house birds (2 serama hens, 1 silkie hen) swears she can't even try putting some garment(apron or diaper) on the silkie or she will have a stroke. Her animals(including peke a poo elderly dog) let her know she is at the bottom of the pecking order. What they want, they get, and what she wants is just "too bad."

She serves them a buffet everyday of fruit, veggies, tiny cuts of meat/fish/ or chicken (not relatives) and they pick and choose what they want. They won't touch nutritious layer feed or anything else that is specifically intended for chickens and then complains about it.I try not to discuss them with her because we end up in hot debates

The seramas beat up the silkie, and the silkie attacks her human mama. Oh her dog is spoiled the same way, refuses dog food & treats. She cooks for him daily. The dog is elderly now and the chickens really torment him. She shouldn't allow this but, thinks it's funny. The seramas chase him out of his dog bed, pull food out of his mouth, and steal his toys. Yet when outside they have the sense to shadow the dog so they are protected from free ranging cats.

Well, in the long run, I'm trying to look at the brighter side ~ guess it's better these animals are spoiled rather than be so neglected that predators would tear them apart outdoors? You're wise to let her be!

 

[Calichicken2015]

Hi, I have a unexpected rescued young chicken inside too! This is my first post and I'll admit, I don't know hardly anything about chickens but this baby has me wrapped around her/his little claw. I've had (we call her Precious) for a month now, she's messy but I love her. I'd like to ask if anyone has any tips on how to bond with a chicken? I desperately want her to trust me but she's scared of everything. Also, can anyone tell me if she's a he or am I right calling her Precious? Any kind of advice would be very much appreciated!

I got two silkie chicks on July 11 when they were about two weeks old. They're now about four weeks old but they still don't like me! What should I do? Once I get them out, I can get them to perch in my lap or on my arm. At what age do they bond or get affectionate? And does anyone know at what age it makes sense to potty train them?

It does take a bit to form a bond with your chicken if you haven't hatched and handled them from birth. So @Metal chick just give her time Giving treats help for sure and just making yourself available when she gets curious and wants to check you out. I just sit on the floor with my legs out and no sudden movements....they get curious and start to check you out. Trust builds from there. You can give her soft rubs if she is snuggled in a favorite spot, just move slowly so you don't startle her. Hope all goes well!!!

@1ChickenHome In my experience silkies are a little more skittish then other breeds so they do like interaction...just not as much or long sometimes. Also, your birds are young and younger chickens tend to be a little more hyper..LOL! They mellow out as they get older but that first year they are pretty active! Mine would just sprint across the floor for no apparent reason...then the other would follow just because

 

[Metal chick]

Do you possibly have any advice on how to get my chicken to trust me enough, settle down enough to let me put a diaper on her??? She makes her messes all over our floor, furniture, us lol. I ordered 4 really cute diapers but she pitches a fit everytime. We resorted to keeping newspaper on the furniture. :/

 

[SidChick]

We have 18 chicks in the house right now. A few definitely stand out. They fly into our laps and like to be close. All the nicest ones are barred rocks. The Welsummer are a little more skidish, and the Polish, well they are just absolutely hilarious spit fires. We enjoy them all. The kids will show them in 4-H, but none of their pets will be sold.

 

[spazy67]

I don't pretend to be a chicken whisperer either. But I've had two Silkie hens for 5 years and they seem to settle down as they get older. They will always be just a bit skittish though because we are so tall and they are so low to the ground. Their instinct is to get out of harm's way and movement makes them wary. Why? Who knows? A natural instinct at protecting their tiny bodies from tall scary things because of limited vision maybe? It has nothing to do with being afraid of you personally. It's just instinct for them to be wary. We have no problems getting our Silkies to come sit in our lap or stand on our feet when we hand out treats - sitting on the ground or a low chair during treats gets them brave to climb on you. I have one Partridge Silkie that sits on my shovel when I'm digging. She wants to be the first to catch an earthworm! When we go outside with treats in our hand we have a hard time not stepping on them as they crowd our feet to be first in line for food. They are silly cute funny adorable little birds and all are different. We got a 3-month-old pullet that was too young to integrate into the outdoor flock and we kept her indoors for another 3 months in diapers until she was old enough to be put with the bigger girls. Made the Silkie diapers myself from chickenmom video on youtube.com The juvenile Silkie would escape outdoors in her diaper - she was really fast and still is a little fast Silkie at 4[SUP]1/2[/SUP] yrs old!

Ha ha ha love it!!!!!But when it comes to me making dippers well ya see in high school I was to make a backpack for one of my classes and got a F cause I sawed it shut. It still has hauted me to this day and that was oh in 84 maybe lol. So think Ill buy mine who knows what I might do lol .Thanks so much for the pictures so so funny made my day

 

[Sylvester017]

Ha ha ha love it!!!!!But when it comes to me making dippers well ya see in high school I was to make a backpack for one of my classes and got a F cause I sawed it shut. It still has hauted me to this day and that was oh in 84 maybe lol. So think Ill buy mine who knows what I might do lol .Thanks so much for the pictures so so funny made my day

Laughing at chickens is the best part of Chicken TV! I laugh at my girls all the time! As for diapers there's nothing so funny as watching a diaper drag on the floor behind a pullet who just layed an egg in it !!!

 

[spazy67]

Ok I have kitchen chickens they get to come in at sit in living room a few hours a day on a towel. I noticed my frizzles dander had gotten so bad she and my silkie go out side for several hours a day also so they can go and roll around in there potting soil and sand. I have not used any DE or seven dust not sure if I want that in the house but dont want bugs either we live in a neighbourhood not in trees or wooded area.

 

[Sylvester017]

Ok I have kitchen chickens they get to come in at sit in living room a few hours a day on a towel. I noticed my frizzles dander had gotten so bad she and my silkie go out side for several hours a day also so they can go and roll around in there potting soil and sand. I have not used any DE or seven dust not sure if I want that in the house but dont want bugs either we live in a neighbourhood not in trees or wooded area.

DE is not that effective and takes a long time to work on a bug - if at all. I don't use powders of any sort around my chickens because of respiratory issues and DE has a lot of warning on the label to use goggles, mask, and gloves, so I decided not to use it - especially since it is not a guaranteed bug deterrent. If you want to keep your house chickens free of feather lice/mites I use organic enzyme Manna Pro Poultry Protector on their bodies and their housing (directions on label). Safe enough to use on 9-day-old chicks. I received a shipment of two pullets and they had feather-lice on them right out of the crate so I immediately used Poultry Protector on them and there was no lice almost immediately. Since Poultry Protector is safe to use as often as wished, I continued using it for a couple more days on the pullets just in case. A week later I followed up with another application to the pullets just in case any lice eggs hatched or I missed any. I use Poultry Protector once a month on our 4 hens and then use it on parts of their coop like nestbox and perch crevices as preventative maintenance. The stuff really works and I don't have to be afraid of poison or waiting around until maybe DE works or doesn't work.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/05/diatomaceous-earth-de-benefitrisk.html