people with house chickens

[3ChickensNADuck]

Hi, I usually let a hen in the house when she circles or waits around the backdoor. But in an hour or so, she always wants to go back outside to hunt, digg, and play with her flock mates. So I let her.

My question is, for those who keep there birds in the house 24/7, do they ever want to go outside? Are they primarily inside 20+ hours? do you make an indoor dust bath for your bird, hand wash? And last question, if your hen is laying, do you still let her wear a diaper?

 

[kukupecpec]

Hi, I usually let a hen in the house when she circles or waits around the backdoor. But in an hour or so, she always wants to go back outside to hunt, digg, and play with her flock mates. So I let her.

My question is, for those who keep there birds in the house 24/7, do they ever want to go outside? Are they primarily inside 20+ hours? do you make an indoor dust bath for your bird, hand wash? And last question, if your hen is laying, do you still let her wear a diaper?

I had a hen that would lay her egg in her diaper. She was a serama so it wasn't really a big deal to just toss the egg if it was too messy. I don't know that I would eat laid in a poopy diaper, it's quite likely the diaper would push the poop up hard against the egg and the bacteria could get in. Nothing wrong with letting her lay in the diaper, I just wouldn't eat the egg.

Mine never went outside, but they did get an indoor dust bath. I had one roo that wore a diaper 24/7, but all my other indoor chickens had an indoor coop with shavings and a dust pan so it was "like" their outside time but without the sun. They never seemed to care about going outside, plenty of couches to "phantom dust bathe" in/on and places to fly around and explore! Had they waited by the door or something I would have let them out though.

 

[MaddiesMum]

Hi, I usually let a hen in the house when she circles or waits around the backdoor. But in an hour or so, she always wants to go back outside to hunt, digg, and play with her flock mates. So I let her.

My question is, for those who keep there birds in the house 24/7, do they ever want to go outside? Are they primarily inside 20+ hours? do you make an indoor dust bath for your bird, hand wash? And last question, if your hen is laying, do you still let her wear a diaper?

When my birdie was mainly inside due to illness I had a few interchangeable dust baths for her. They were trays with a layer of cement at the bottom to help keep her nails worn down, topped with dirt/sand/pebbles that I would throw some wheat berries in (the wheat grass seed) or mixed seed and leave it outside for a few days to let it all sprout and bring it inside! She'd go crazy, scratching, pecking, bathing and snacking (The cats seemed to enjoy the grass as well! There would be times when both cats, the dog and our little fluffy butt would all be at the tray, snacking happily) Once she had destroyed all the sprouts I would bring in the next tray and reseed the previous one. It would make a bit of a mess but I'd just sweep up the dirt and put it back in the tray throughout the day. She only really had a hand wash bath if she got any droppings stuck in the feathers around her vent.

She didn't wear a diaper at night and only wore it on days when she was feeling well enough (ie no diarrhea, since she was sick at the time) but if she ever showed any signs that she wanted to lay I would take it off. She really became used to being inside and it didn't take long for her to become a part of the family. Learned her name and would come running from any part of the house when you called her. She'd jump up on the couch and up onto your lap and wait to be patted, and once you started patting her she would lay down and fall asleep <3

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Sunni is doing a bit better with her diaper today. She still walks funny, but she at least hopped up on my lap just now. If she is standing on my lap, she doesn't mind the diaper in the slightest. She even cleans it just like her feathers. The only time she hates it is when she has to move in it.

Edit: She just finished laying an egg in the house for the first time. Now I'm just waiting for her to start up her egg song. Her little igloo coop echos, so it's probably going to be pretty loud.

 

[VegaJones]

A lot of silkies know their name but how can I name them when I have no clue on gender? Mine are 5 weeks old

 

[ChickenPeep]

MaddiesMum, welcome to BYC!

That sounds like a nice setup. Do you still have her inside? And by the way, I love your avatar!

MsChickenMomma, congrats! I am going to put Ebony's diaper on and get some video to show you. She's gonna be really mad because she's having fun outside right now, haha. Let us know how her egg song goes! Hopefully you'll still have working eardrums.

VegaJones, if you post a pic I could try to help you figure out their gender.

 

[MaddiesMum]

MaddiesMum, welcome to BYC!

That sounds like a nice setup. Do you still have her inside? And by the way, I love your avatar!

MsChickenMomma, congrats! I am going to put Ebony's diaper on and get some video to show you. She's gonna be really mad because she's having fun outside right now, haha. Let us know how her egg song goes! Hopefully you'll still have working eardrums.

VegaJones, if you post a pic I could try to help you figure out their gender.

Thank you!! And unfortunately not, she didn't end up making it through the illness

Had her about 4-5 months but she was always up and down in health from the day I got her, but I made the best of a bad situation and did whatever I could for her. There were no vets around that would see her.
I gave my little story in the introduction page today, she was such a sweet girl and I will definitely have another indoor chicken in the future!

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Thank you!! And unfortunately not, she didn't end up making it through the illness

Had her about 4-5 months but she was always up and down in health from the day I got her, but I made the best of a bad situation and did whatever I could for her. There were no vets around that would see her.
I gave my little story in the introduction page today, she was such a sweet girl and I will definitely have another indoor chicken in the future!

I am so sorry for your loss.

She sounds like she was a very sweet girl.

MaddiesMum, welcome to BYC!

That sounds like a nice setup. Do you still have her inside? And by the way, I love your avatar!

MsChickenMomma, congrats! I am going to put Ebony's diaper on and get some video to show you. She's gonna be really mad because she's having fun outside right now, haha. Let us know how her egg song goes! Hopefully you'll still have working eardrums.

VegaJones, if you post a pic I could try to help you figure out their gender.

She never ended up doing the egg song today.

I was looking forward to hearing how it sounded in the house. Usually as soon as she's finished playing with the egg she comes out and starts singing. Today she just went to the water dish and drank and then came over to me. So I put her diaper back on. Maybe tomorrow she'll sing. I'm going to try keeping her in the house overnight and see how it goes. So far she absolutely loves my room and her new little house, so hopefully it will go good!

I look forward to seeing that video of Ebony too.

 

[VegaJones]

★☆★

☆★☆

thanks

 

[ChickenPeep]

MsChickenMomma, that's too bad. I guess we'll just have to wait for next time! I love it when my girls do the egg song because they'll take a break sometimes and then while they're bent over eating they'll start up again and make a muffled "ba-GAWK" because thier mouth is full of food! gotta love those girls.
Well, saying that Ebony had some trouble with her diaper would be an understatement. Her diaper is too big and I had a hard time adjusting it to the right size. And then she did nothing but walk backwards, get her feet stuck in it, and roll around like a bafoon. Oh well, I'll just have to try again. Patience is really key with them! I got some video and I'm gonna get it uploaded tomorrow.