Pet Chicken, Attitude Adjustment ADVICE needed

[centrarchid]

Something to think about.

The feces (turds) my birds produce vary greatly in respect to frequency of deposition, volume, density, and moisture content. My free range birds that are reliant upon natural forages (i.e. insects and plant materials) produce turds that are larger and less sticky than those produced by birds fed largely on chick grower and layer pellets. The fiber coming from insects (chitin) and plants (cellulose mostly) make for the better turd. Better in that such turds are easier to clean up. Consider upping fiber in his diet then let him drop bisquits as he deems fit. Then they are easier to clean up and no messy diaper. Sunflower seeds with hulls might be a good starting point. Most greens used for human table not as high in fiber as greens and sunflower seeds typically consumed.

Note: Upon closer inspection you will find weeble produces two distinct types of feces regardless of diet. One is the turd with uric acid (white stuff) and other will be like pralines that stay sticky. Latter is a different issue.

 

[geebs]

The health hazard of a chicken in the house is enough to warn me off of it. You may like having your "baby" follow you around but many ppl... even some that come to visit are allergic to chicken dander etc... you may want to consider this in your lifechoice for this bird and for your next guest party... I am allergic to chickens...even though I am a chicken lover... outside they must go.... no matter how cute they are (yours is sure a doll). A person with Asthma or emphisema or like disease is likely to react to the smallest things...

 

[Nicole01]

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I don't have any advice for you, but I do wish you the best of luck with your cute boy.

I personally don't see anything wrong with keeping chickens in the house temporary or permanent. I bring my whole flock inside when temps are near and above 100, just because I do not want to lose them to heat stroke. I have xl dog kennels side by side with roosts inside. I let them out frequently in the shade outside. They return inside when they are too hot on their own.

I don't actually have any chicken diapers made yet. I am planning on making a few in case one of my chickens has a severe injury or gets sick and needs to reside in the house for a lengthy period of time. I've given chickens bath's in the past when they have poo stuck to them. I fully blow dry to ensure they don't get chilled. I'd rather clean the chickens off then letting them get dirty. I keep my animals well kept and clean.

Good luck with everything.

 

[equinelyn]

I didn't read through all the posts. But have you thought of giving your roo to a home where he can have some girlfriends? And then you could get a silkie hen. My silkie hen sparkle thinks she's a human. She follows you around, talks to you and is very gentle. I love her.

 

[johnsons-r-us]

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I read posts for weeks here before joining. Very informative! I've come across Beekissed posts several times. I love reading them.

They are written without much fluff, frank honesty, and I believe with good intent. Granted at first glance one could take offense.

But this is so with people I have spoken to in person. With written posts it is very difficult to "hear" the intent of the poster. We put our own emotions and attitudes into the words coming from someone elses mind. Not usually a good thing! I can now read some posts and without even looking know who posted. Different views, different people. This forum is for opinions of all kinds. I certainly don't agree with all of them. Not one of us would. Same with everything in life. We all have our own way of running our family and households. I have known people who never allow an animal of any kind in their home, I've seen others (TV ONLY) who have numerous chickens and other livestock in the home. I don't agree with either extreme, not for my life. But makes interesting reading/viewing.

I value the experience here. Just filter it as I do with my email. Add to my knowledge base and bring in my own experiences. Maybe someday I'll know enough to help someone else.

 

[franklinstreetwest]

I respect that other folks don't want birds in their houses. This is my choice and it's a work in progress, not a hard fixed idea that is immovable from developement and change. I feel compelled to indicate that I didn't set out to have a "house bird" it has been a long process that has resulted in this situation..... Check out the link to this thread, skim it to get an idea of the amount of time and emotional investment that has brought us to this point:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=521570

Asthma and allergies are nothing that I'm unfamiliar with. I have grown up with them both. Taking my Mother's lead, I have always approached those two things as a challenge, not a hinderance. I too am allergic to everything with dander, bird dust included. It is a trigger to asthma attacks, so are cats.... It means that I don't have carpet, and must be very dilligent about keeping things clean if I want to have house pets. I have two permanent house cats and a couple part time house cats. It has been my experience that I develope a resistance to my own pets and environment, whereas other's cats, dogs etc can trigger severe asthma attacks. If I'm invited to friends home that I expect I will have a problem with, I know that going in and I don't expect THEM to change their lives and home for me. I go prepared by taking preventative medications and bring a proventil inhaler and benadryl. Everyone has to find ways that are comfortable for them to deal with their health issues. I don't go to places that have rabbits or rodents... direct contact with those animals or homes where the owners don't clean optimally usually results in hours of breathing treatments and the risk of a hospital visit. There are a couple of friends houses that I decline to go to. The level of cleanliness that my house is kept, I live comfortably with my pets. If a guest is affraid of any one of my pets, I will respect my guest and enclose the animal where my guest doesn't feel threatened. If someone comes to visit that is allergic to cats, I will keep my cats in a part of the house where they won't climb all over my guest. But is it reasonable for a dinner guest with allergies to expect me to not own a particular animal at all? I don't expect my friend Jenny to not own snakes and lizards just because I am mortified by them. And when I go to her house, I expect that I will encounter them.

As to chicken poop cleaning.....

I would rather run around picking up one chicken's poop (or cleaning diapers) all day than clean the cat's litter boxes!!!! I know it's not for everyone.... I could NEVER NEVER live with a pet snake!!!! That's my line! Nor do I think I could live with a potbelly pig. What is the health risk exactly of keeping a bird in the house? Why is the health risk of house cats so easily brushed off? There are serious health risks with the handling and composting of cat and dog fecal matter. On the side of every kitty litter bag there are warnings... but we are so desensitized to that risk it's almost superfluous in nature. So is there serious health risk, or percieved health risk (assuming that waste is managed efficiently and properly on a consistent basis)in the keeping of a small chicken? I would purport that there is inherent risk to having unmanaged feces of ANY kind inside the house, regardless of the organism that emits it.

If this thread was titled "African Grey Parrot...." would I receive the same admonitions about fecal matter?

Yes I do LOVE my little chicken! Just like I LOVE my cats..... and since I am human, I do anthropomorphise inherently. But I DONT think of any of them as my "baby". I'm not taking offense, and I'm not being combative, but I do want to clarify that I don't think of my pets as "children". They are animals that have their own nature and needs, they are pets, and they are part of the household. All these things must be provided for and balanced. Yes, I do enjoy having my pets. Is that not the basis for why MANY people keep pets? Is it wrong for me to think he's adorable and find his nature intersting and entertaining? He follows us around because he has imprinted on us as his flock. To provide for his nature, he needs to be able to "forage" with us.

I have as a plan "B" considered what I must do if I am simply unable to keep him in the city. I have not considered getting rid of him as a matter of convenience. I continue to think about what is to come. I will adjust as new challenges arise. I expect that with time he will become sexually mature and there will be new behaviors to deal with. When other animals that are kept as pets reach a breeding age, or exhibit natural behaviors that don't exactly "fit" being a pet, we alter them or deal with the behavior. In some cases we regard the behavior as desireable and potent... signs of strength, protection or fertility. As an example, when the new puppy starts humping our friends legs, we don't necessarily allow our dog to go live in a pack and become dominant male and protector. Instead we supress the fact that it is a natural instinct and we change the behavior instead of providing for it, and in our own minds we believe our actions to be "permissible, natural and in the best interests" of our pet. As a result there are MANY well cared for pets out there living in "un-natural" environments. Sexually repressed, but perfectly "happy".

 

[franklinstreetwest]

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I have noticed differences in the cosistency and volume of feces in relation to diet. The most startling was when I switched to a pelletized feed. The volume and odor increased greatly. I have also recently discovered that the odor smells very much like corn gluten. I always associated the smell of poultry to being of there basic physiology, I had not considered that it might be influenced that much by their diet. This spring, in the greenhouses we were using corn gluten meal as a weed supressant, and when my nose finally unstuffed from my cold, I found the greenhouses smelled like a stinky, poopy chicken coop. There of course had never been any chickens in the greenhouses, and it was the corn that I was smelling. I am now interested in formulating a diet that eliminates corn, or at the very least reduces it, from his diet. I would like to determine if it's the chicken that smells like that, or if it's the corn that disposes him to smell as he does. I wish he only pooped firm little "biscuits", I shall try increasing his fiber.... if for no other reason than fresh food is healthier in the first place.

 

[galanie]

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I will NEVER be able to look at pralines the same again.