people with house chickens

[CluckinOnTheYakus]

Same thing happened with my cats! My oldest female cat was peeing in our laundry room every single day! Cat pee is probably the absolute worst thing to clean. The smell NEVER goes away. I spent tons of money on "miracle" cleaners, only to have the smell come back when it dried. You know what works better than anything store bought? Vinegar and baking soda! It actually dissolves the microscopic urine crystals that leave the smell behind. The vinegar smells for a little bit, but it neutralizes the odor AND helps keep the cats from going back to that same spot. works on old and new spots. I was told that most cleaners have ammonia in them which attracts the cat back to that area and can make the urine smell stronger. Another thing we did to keep the cat out of that room completely, was to get one of those automatic spray air fresheners (you can even get one with a motion sensor) and out in on the floor. Every 8 min or so, it sprays and makes a "psssssst" noise that sounds like a hiss and scares the cat away! Totally worked!
Some of our chickens like being inside more than others. Our SS who is an internal layer and often feeling unwell, likes to come in the most (I think because the others pick on her). She loves sitting by her people flock. Here are the kids watching a (too scary) movie and she seemed to be concerned that they kept yelling. Lol

Our absolute fav (and first) house chicken was an overly flighty EE named Hoot, who was being bullied by the flock. We brought her in to give her a break and her little personality blossomed. She used to purr constantly and snuggle. We loved her so much! Sadly, a hawk got her. Everybody who met her was so sad!

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Not a hawk!!! But she is so sweet looking!! I didn't even meet her and I am sad!!

Lol @ that first pic, she is like "why u do dis hooman? why you so scared? Don't be afraid, I will peck their eyes out!"

Chickens are so sweet. i wish you could easily potty train them... I would totally have them all inside LOL. Good thing about night time is they dont move after dark, so its easy to catch their poop!!

i had made PJ's a little place to sleep next to my computer monitor/TV because it was the highest available flat surface in the room lol.


I have since done away with that, because she seems to be totally fine using a rubbermaid tub in one of the computer chairs as a bed now, before it was a box on the floor, and I really dont think she liked being on the floor one bit. It is much easier to clean the rubbermaid (I have a blanket in the bottom, topped with a puppy pad, then two layers of paper towels, I just change out the paper towels each night unless she has a really wet poop or the water leaks like it did once) and no chance of poop getting anywhere on the carpet, plus she has food and water in there, which she will sometimes gets one last nibble and drink before she goes to sleep for the night. i usually bring her into the bedroom about 8 or 9 when i sit down to watch TV, she LOVES watching TV so much! She has really gotten used to staying up past her bedtime now lol. Even when it is getting dark outside, she waits until its almost pitch dark to hop up on the porch. Sometimes when I'm outside I put her down in the back yard to mess around while I tend to everyone else. For a week or two I decided to let her try and be an outside chicken instead of an inside chicken lol... I would go out every night and find her standing on the back porch next to the back door like "Let me in its scary out here!!" Then she came down with some diarrhea so she has been back to living the pampered life again. I guess we will just keep on pampering, she is much happier that way. I can't put her back in with the other chickens, her leg is too messed up to be mounted by a rooster, she is too slow and might get attacked by either the other chickens or a predator, and I would not be able to live with myself if something happened to her. So I guess she is going to officially be a house chicken. I have thought about taking her with us when we go camping. She really is not all that mobile, so its not like she is going to wander off, she is easily contained. I wonder if there are any rules/regulations about what pets you can and cannot bring to the campground???

 

[Sylvester017]

Ok so, I have been informed that if I came to this thread, maybe you lovely people could help me!!!! I read about the first 20 pages of this thread, unfortunately I can't make it through all three hundred and something lol. But I definitely think I have found my people haha. I have a little bantam hen who used to be out with everyone else until she got stepped on by a cow and it really did a number on one of her poor little legs. I don't feel safe leaving her outside all the time, and its been so rainy and gross out there too. She has been inside most of the time for the last couple of months, but I would like to give her more freedom while inside without having to be on poop patrol all the time!! Also, I have carpet in my bedroom and there is no way I can handle poop on carpet, and she hangs out watching tv with me a lot at night.

SO! I have been looking for chicken diapers. I ordered one from ebay, Louises Country Closet I think? I'm going to give it a whirl. It's not here yet, but soon hopefully! But really, what I wanted to know, from people who use them on a regular basis, what is THE best chicken diaper? Especially for bantam size. Tell me everything I need to know about diapering a chicken!! I need a lesson in Chicken Diapers 101 and House Chicken 101!!

Any ideas for keeping a chicken entertained would also be amazing!


PJ's will thank you for helping her out!!

That is so adorable! We used a long door mirror laying the long way along the wall and our 4-mo-old juvenile loved to talk to herself and run alongside her reflection and give herself kisses. Having that long mirror along the floor gave her a lot of images of herself to keep her busy. She would toodle around the house but she always came running back to her long mirror to sleep next to her reflection and coo at herself in between excursions around the house. A long mirror is the best chicken-sitter I ever had. Chickens are after all flock birds even it's only their own reflection they hang out with.




Will your PJ be a permanent house chicken because of her leg injuries? If so I would suggest making a couple of custom-fitted diapers because sometimes a change is needed in the middle of the day. Chickenmom on youtube posted the pattern she used to fit her bantams and out of her tutorial I made 3 diapers. A sturdier cotton like a lightweight denim was better than the flimsy thinner calico cotton fabrics. I even made plastic liner inserts because just using panty liners in the poop pouch is not absorbent enough and sometimes liquidy poop soaks into the cotton fabric. A plastic pouch is needed with an additional paper towel inside to absorb well. Some poops are firm but some can be very smelly and gross. At night I always washed the diaper and our Silkie's tush and used a hair-dryer which she liked and we let her tush air out overnight. She had one favourite chair in the dinette that she liked to sleep on for the night but she couldn't reach it and expected us to lift her to it when she complained to go to roost after her tush shampoo. She slept on the chair all night on "her" chicken blankie and rarely pooped on it but waited to poop in the morning after jumping down to the floor. Putting a diaper on a Silkie with TEN toes was a challenge at first but we got pretty good and fast at it with practice. Chickens want to walk backwards or roll over when a diaper is put on. My DH would hold on to the shoulder straps of the chicken diaper and gently pull the Silkie to walk forwards for about a minute until she caught on that it WAS possible to walk normal while in a diaper. It takes patience and out of all our juveniles only one breed (our Ameraucana) would mope and refused to ever move in a diaper. Our Leghorns and Silkies had no problem whatsoever but she stubbornly refused so we stopped diapering her after a week and she had to spend her introductory quarantine in a 4x4 dog kennel instead of having the freedom of the house.

If we have to leave a chicken alone in the house the bird will keep itself busy or snooze until we return home. While gone we always leave a radio talk show on so the bird hears human talking so the house isn't so spooky silent. Chickens seem fascinated by radios and music. And things like loud fans, heaters, blow-dryers or lawnmowers or even Bobcat tractors in the yard don't bother our hens. A sudden unexpected noise might startle them for a moment but familiar noises like engines starting up or horns honking or helicopters flying overhead seldom gets a reaction from them.

Your PJ is so precious!

 

[bugawk]

I'm still trying to find the perfect, or even any chicken diaper that my little girl Sparkle would be comfortable in. I broke my back in 2 places, and am stuck in bed most of the time. My husband brings her to me to purr for me and cuddle. She is truly a gift. However, it would be even nicer if she had a diaper on. Please help all us people who love their indoor chickens!

 

[Sylvester017]

I'm still trying to find the perfect, or even any chicken diaper that my little girl Sparkle would be comfortable in. I broke my back in 2 places, and am stuck in bed most of the time. My husband brings her to me to purr for me and cuddle. She is truly a gift. However, it would be even nicer if she had a diaper on. Please help all us people who love their indoor chickens!

I don't know the extent of your disability but is it possible to use your time in bed to hand-stitch a custom diaper for Sparkle using chickenmom's bantam pattern and tutorial on youtube? I used a lightweight denim fabric which is sturdier than lightweight cotton calicos that don't hold their shape very well. Just a thought and much cheaper than the $15 to $25 for one manufactured chicken diaper. I'm sure all the manufactured chicken diapers are nice or using an easy sewing machine is faster than hand-sewing but having a craft to do by hand while in bed makes use of quiet time. I use soft underwear elastic for the shoulder straps and instead of velcro that snags chicken feathers I use a large baby safety pin to hold the shoulder straps together plus having the safety pin gives adjustability when pinning the shoulder straps together. It doesn't need to be fancy to be functional. I made 2 diapers before I learned that the sturdier lightweight denim-type fabric held it's shape better than lightweight calicos and that a safety pin was less messy on chicken feathers than velcro fasteners.

 

[bugawk]

Thank you for your suggestions! I will see if I can find the pattern and youtube you are referring to. I'll post a picture if it works! You are always helping so many of us chickie lovers, thank you!

 

[Sylvester017]

Thank you for your suggestions! I will see if I can find the pattern and youtube you are referring to. I'll post a picture if it works! You are always helping so many of us chickie lovers, thank you!

Here is the youtube video - of all the videos showing homemade diapers I liked this pattern best and can be easily hand-sewn or machine-sewn. I saw another video where they followed chickenmom's diaper pattern without covering the frayed edges of material - hey, whatever works!

Rather than the velcro closing I just used one continuous underwear elastic from the chest to the back of the pouch and then safety-pinned the two elastic straps above the chicken's shoulders. On some chickens I pinned higher on the shoulders and some chickens I pinned lower - making sure I didn't have the chest bib too high in front that it might choke the chicken's neck/throat. I pinned longway the 2 elastic straps and did not safety-pin crossways on the straps - that way the pin didn't snag feathers behind the shoulders. And I had to be careful that the pouch was positioned correctly over the vent when putting on the diaper - I pinned the poop pouch with sandwich baggies and a small paper towel inside the baggie to catch poops. In a later pattern I sewed a custom plastic pouch to snap into the diaper. Each breed is a little different in body type is why one size manufactured diapers don't always fit all breeds - some have narrow chests while some have wide leg spacing. My little Silkie was so tame it was easy to custom-measure her for a model - she was so good - of course treats made her willing to pose for me!

 

[CluckinOnTheYakus]

That is so adorable! We used a long door mirror laying the long way along the wall and our 4-mo-old juvenile loved to talk to herself and run alongside her reflection and give herself kisses. Having that long mirror along the floor gave her a lot of images of herself to keep her busy. She would toodle around the house but she always came running back to her long mirror to sleep next to her reflection and coo at herself in between excursions around the house. A long mirror is the best chicken-sitter I ever had. Chickens are after all flock birds even it's only their own reflection they hang out with.




Will your PJ be a permanent house chicken because of her leg injuries? If so I would suggest making a couple of custom-fitted diapers because sometimes a change is needed in the middle of the day. Chickenmom on youtube posted the pattern she used to fit her bantams and out of her tutorial I made 3 diapers. A sturdier cotton like a lightweight denim was better than the flimsy thinner calico cotton fabrics. I even made plastic liner inserts because just using panty liners in the poop pouch is not absorbent enough and sometimes liquidy poop soaks into the cotton fabric. A plastic pouch is needed with an additional paper towel inside to absorb well. Some poops are firm but some can be very smelly and gross. At night I always washed the diaper and our Silkie's tush and used a hair-dryer which she liked and we let her tush air out overnight. She had one favourite chair in the dinette that she liked to sleep on for the night but she couldn't reach it and expected us to lift her to it when she complained to go to roost after her tush shampoo. She slept on the chair all night on "her" chicken blankie and rarely pooped on it but waited to poop in the morning after jumping down to the floor. Putting a diaper on a Silkie with TEN toes was a challenge at first but we got pretty good and fast at it with practice. Chickens want to walk backwards or roll over when a diaper is put on. My DH would hold on to the shoulder straps of the chicken diaper and gently pull the Silkie to walk forwards for about a minute until she caught on that it WAS possible to walk normal while in a diaper. It takes patience and out of all our juveniles only one breed (our Ameraucana) would mope and refused to ever move in a diaper. Our Leghorns and Silkies had no problem whatsoever but she stubbornly refused so we stopped diapering her after a week and she had to spend her introductory quarantine in a 4x4 dog kennel instead of having the freedom of the house.

If we have to leave a chicken alone in the house the bird will keep itself busy or snooze until we return home. While gone we always leave a radio talk show on so the bird hears human talking so the house isn't so spooky silent. Chickens seem fascinated by radios and music. And things like loud fans, heaters, blow-dryers or lawnmowers or even Bobcat tractors in the yard don't bother our hens. A sudden unexpected noise might startle them for a moment but familiar noises like engines starting up or horns honking or helicopters flying overhead seldom gets a reaction from them.

Your PJ is so precious!

I just love the big mirror idea, I am definitely going to have to get her a bigger one. As far as permanent house chicken.... I'm still not sure, I really would like for her to be, it will just boil down to how practical it will be I suppose. And if we can get her a decent place built to stay during the day that is predator proof and dry. That will mean I have to build something and I don't have a ton of money at the moment, so it might be a while and by that time we may be set in our ways as a house chicken lol. But I definitely plan on building a special needs unit close to the house. She has a hard time getting around due to her leg, so I really feel like being in the house is safest for her, but I just want her to be as happy as possible too. I took a video of her last night, she is just too sweet... Its not very long, but you can see how she does have a bit of a hard time getting around:

That was shortly before I came back in there and found her eating out of the dustpan lol. She apparently was not done with the alfalfa i sweeped up!

I get up and leave at 730 in the morning and get home about 5, so most of that time, she will be unattended. Right now, she stays in her little closed off area in the living room. But she does like to get out and explore in the evening and morning and I would love to let her do so all day! BUT I don't want to deal with poop all the time. My boyfriend has a pretty crazy schedule, but is usually home during the day, just not sure I could talk him into changing a chickens diaper lol!

I started watching that video you linked, it really looks easy enough. My son wore cloth diapers when he was little and I was broke so I would always buy cheap ones with shot elastic, tear them apart and replace the elastic, then sew them back together, surely it couldnt be more involved than that!

Well I need to get back to work before I get fired haha!! Thanks for the you tube link, I will definitely have to try my hand at making some diapers!

 

[Sylvester017]

I just love the big mirror idea, I am definitely going to have to get her a bigger one. As far as permanent house chicken.... I'm still not sure, I really would like for her to be, it will just boil down to how practical it will be I suppose. And if we can get her a decent place built to stay during the day that is predator proof and dry. That will mean I have to build something and I don't have a ton of money at the moment, so it might be a while and by that time we may be set in our ways as a house chicken lol. But I definitely plan on building a special needs unit close to the house. She has a hard time getting around due to her leg, so I really feel like being in the house is safest for her, but I just want her to be as happy as possible too. I took a video of her last night, she is just too sweet... Its not very long, but you can see how she does have a bit of a hard time getting around:

That was shortly before I came back in there and found her eating out of the dustpan lol. She apparently was not done with the alfalfa i sweeped up!

I get up and leave at 730 in the morning and get home about 5, so most of that time, she will be unattended. Right now, she stays in her little closed off area in the living room. But she does like to get out and explore in the evening and morning and I would love to let her do so all day! BUT I don't want to deal with poop all the time. My boyfriend has a pretty crazy schedule, but is usually home during the day, just not sure I could talk him into changing a chickens diaper lol!

I started watching that video you linked, it really looks easy enough. My son wore cloth diapers when he was little and I was broke so I would always buy cheap ones with shot elastic, tear them apart and replace the elastic, then sew them back together, surely it couldnt be more involved than that!

Well I need to get back to work before I get fired haha!! Thanks for the you tube link, I will definitely have to try my hand at making some diapers!

Yep, I've caught our chickens nibbling up the last of swept up feed in a dust pan. Chickens are foragers and it's fun for them finding stuff.

I hurt for PJs' limp. Was her foot broken? Did you look up youtube videos on how to bandage broken limbs? You don't want her to develop or get an infection at any broken or cracked ligament/bone. Swelling is a strong indicator of a break. She should not be walking on an unsupported injury. She is so-o-o sweet!

 

[CluckinOnTheYakus]

Yep, I've caught our chickens nibbling up the last of swept up feed in a dust pan. Chickens are foragers and it's fun for them finding stuff.

I hurt for PJs' limp. Was her foot broken? Did you look up youtube videos on how to bandage broken limbs? You don't want her to develop or get an infection at any broken or cracked ligament/bone. Swelling is a strong indicator of a break. She should not be walking on an unsupported injury. She is so-o-o sweet!

A cow stepped on her leg a few months back They also ate all the chicken food. The cows are on my doo doo list!

Her hock joint is pretty much trashed. I did not realize how bad it was until it had been broken about a week, maybe a little more. I thought that she just hurt her foot at first, so I kept her in a cage by herself, but it wasnt until a week or so after it happened that I really investigated it closer. Of course since she has such floofy legs, I had a horrible time looking at the leg which was part of the problem, I had to trim off some of the feathers. it wasn't until then that i realized how bad it really was and it had already been an entire week. So I just wrapped her leg up and gave her as much TLC as I could. A lot of people here gave me advice and links to follow and read. I kept her in a sling for a while until she decided she did not want to be in there anymore and started being more mobile. I had her whole leg wrapped in vet wrap as high up her thigh as I could get it. She stayed wrapped for probably a good 4 or 5 weeks. I finally took it off at the suggestion of some forum members that were helping me along. She cannot move her foot or her leg below the hock. She just recently started using it for support again since I took the wrap off. i have wondered if I should keep it wrapped for support, I would hate for her to re-injure it. i figured with her in the house, she wouldnt really have much chance at hurting herself again. My cats are far too lazy to mess with her. in fact one of them almost knocked her over doing that whole head-butt rub thing they do. If i had the money, I would have taken her to the vet, but I'm afraid it was too late for them to do much by the time I figured out what was actually going on, that and my money tree still has not bloomed yet She really handled the whole thing like a trooper. I know I could have done a lot more for her if I had a lot of money, but I did the best I could do given t he circumstances, and she seems to be quite happy regardless. I just wish I could have taken her for xrays etc. I hope that she will lead a happy healthy life despite the break. She is a total sweetheart, love her to death!

 

[Sylvester017]

A cow stepped on her leg a few months back They also ate all the chicken food. The cows are on my doo doo list!

Her hock joint is pretty much trashed. I did not realize how bad it was until it had been broken about a week, maybe a little more. I thought that she just hurt her foot at first, so I kept her in a cage by herself, but it wasnt until a week or so after it happened that I really investigated it closer. Of course since she has such floofy legs, I had a horrible time looking at the leg which was part of the problem, I had to trim off some of the feathers. it wasn't until then that i realized how bad it really was and it had already been an entire week. So I just wrapped her leg up and gave her as much TLC as I could. A lot of people here gave me advice and links to follow and read. I kept her in a sling for a while until she decided she did not want to be in there anymore and started being more mobile. I had her whole leg wrapped in vet wrap as high up her thigh as I could get it. She stayed wrapped for probably a good 4 or 5 weeks. I finally took it off at the suggestion of some forum members that were helping me along. She cannot move her foot or her leg below the hock. She just recently started using it for support again since I took the wrap off. i have wondered if I should keep it wrapped for support, I would hate for her to re-injure it. i figured with her in the house, she wouldnt really have much chance at hurting herself again. My cats are far too lazy to mess with her. in fact one of them almost knocked her over doing that whole head-butt rub thing they do. If i had the money, I would have taken her to the vet, but I'm afraid it was too late for them to do much by the time I figured out what was actually going on, that and my money tree still has not bloomed yet She really handled the whole thing like a trooper. I know I could have done a lot more for her if I had a lot of money, but I did the best I could do given t he circumstances, and she seems to be quite happy regardless. I just wish I could have taken her for xrays etc. I hope that she will lead a happy healthy life despite the break. She is a total sweetheart, love her to death!

OMG! It's a wonder how our pets survive so long with all the mistakes we make with them! I had a Silkie that I thought was molting because her scalp was bald but then I noticed her walnut comb was disfigured/chewed. I wasn't aware that a bully Marans was roosting next to her and chewing her up - I felt so guilty not noticing or understanding what was going on but that Marans was re-homed immediately when we saw her terroring the new Silkie too!

This is the Silkie at 6-mos-old and still had her crest/comb because we didn't have the Cuckoo Marans yet


About 3 months later after we got the Marans the Silkie started missing her crest and tail and body fluff but I still didn't realize she was being chewed by the roosting Marans! I thought the poor little dear was molting and never saw her comb under her crest before so didn't realize that the comb was misshaped too - I could kick myself for not knowing it was the nasty Marans doing all this damage!!! Only God's Grace saved this little girl since I was such a stupid owner!


This was the final result of the damage done by the Cuckoo Marans who also decided to outright viciously attack a new Silkie pullet we had added - who also had a few crest and body feathers missing too. That was my "aha" moment to realized the bully Marans was terrorizing BOTH Silkies! I hate Marans so much that I will never have another one in my yard as long as I live. I had a White Leghorn with my Silkies and Leghorns are supposed to be cannibalistic yet I have never seen anything as vicious as that Cuckoo Marans. Our friends re-homed their Black Copper Marans as well because they were aggressive with their flockmates too.





A vet could've easily fixed PJ's leg. Probably still could with surgery. My DD spent $5000 saving her dog. I wouldn't do it but then DD never had children and her pets are her babies and she can't help feeling responsible for an animal in her care. There's a breeder who has a chicken that lost a wing in an injury and she keeps her in-house because outdoors if she loses her balance she can't get up again and the roos take advantage mating her because she can't fight back. It's a lot of responsibility having a pet indoors but a disabled pet really takes a lot more work. GL with PJ! She is really sweet.