Which chicken breed makes a good indoor bedroom pet?

[fluffycrow]

I’m looking for a breed of chicken that doesn’t poop a lot and will stay on my lap for a long time. Would buff orpingtons be a good candidate? This will be an indoor pet.

Throughout the history of humans domesticating chickens pooping was never a factor even considered, so no there's not a single breed that will poop less than another. In addition, a chicken is very unlikely to enjoy sitting on your lap for an extended period of time more than chasing bugs foe example. And that brings us to our next point, chickens like to be outdoors, where they can eat bugs, scratch the ground and feel a sense of security knowing that they can escape, something impossible to do in a room. Chickens also like to have flockmates, one chicken alone won't work. Keeping a chicken in a rabbit sized cage is not a good idea at all, it's way too small for one chicken, let alone two. Please reconsider getting an indoor chicken, especially in such a terrible setup. Maybe get a praying mantis or something

 

[Nicci0110]

I’m looking for a breed of chicken that doesn’t poop a lot and will stay on my lap for a long time. Would buff orpingtons be a good candidate? This will be an indoor pet.

I wanted to keep one of mine inside. I had a little breakdown when my husband said she had to go outside but I'm glad he made me. She is so happy outside and loves chasing bugs and flies. She does still come in for a cuddle session now and then but ultimately I know that she belongs outside. I had her and 5 others inside for their first 10 weeks in my living room and it was a mess. Lots of dust and constant cleaning of poop so my house didn't stink and so they could be healthy. They are soooo fun but definitely outside animals.

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

Leghorns because they’re a small bantam size chicken and can fit in rabbit sized cages?

Uh yea no. Those cages are honestly even too small for rabbits.

 

[PurplePlum]

Have you considered a pigeon? There are many available for adoption and are better suited for living indoors than chickens. There are also many breeds and they don’t all look like “street pigeons” although those can also be very sweet. They’re similar to a chicken in that they don’t use their beaks to destroy things (unlike hook bills) and most are pretty calm.

 

[tripletfeb]

These trolls get very exhausting after awhile

 

[5 Points Wingfeather]

I would try this one. You can get it on Amazon for 43 dollars.

 

[fluffycrow]

View attachment 3464124
I would try this one. You can get it on Amazon for 43 dollars.

I've heard it poops less too

 

[SandyRiverChick]

None. Chickens should not be considered for an indoor pet, especially if you just want a single animal

Exactly this. I guess we're past April's fools and you're probably serious. So do a forum search on this subject and you'll find the last person who got many, many responses all leading down the road of DON'T. If you turn the tables to make it about the chicken and not about you, chicken's are farm flock animals and they do not prefer your lap to an outdoor flock. Get a cat or a gerbil or something.

 

[Cinnaminute]

I adopted a white crested black polish bantam who had to be in a cage for quarantine for 30 or so days. I let her stay out of it most the day and took her to an unused area of my yard for her to do chicken things. She hung out on the couch arm or sat on my leg when inside. Tried to bum my food off of me too. Really cute but so much poop, feather, and dust cleanup. Her prior owner couldn't get her into their flock. After quarantine I moved her in with my flock into the coop but after a month they ousted her for no apparent reason.

She's like my little dog now. I let her out of a ferret cage in my laundry room in the morning, open the back door, and she scurries on outside to free roam with the others. At night before dark, I open up the back door and call her. She comes inside and goes right into her cage on her own then turn out the light. But it's just for her to sleep in. She's definitely not a lap chicken, though and prefers being outside with the others. However, when I'm out there doing work, she follows me around everywhere. She also will get up on my lap for a little visit when I sit down before leaving to do more chicken things. She really needs a flock of her own. I'm working on building her a coop and I got some Crevecoeur chicks for her new flock. Here's hoping it works out.

Also, happy to see everyone's comments on Leghorns. Everything I read spoke about them being unfriendly and skittish. For the first week they were definitely more wary and cautious than the other chicks I've raised. But they are the only breed I've encountered so far that make for a perfect lap chicken. They seek me out and well... they won't leave me alone, haha.




I still shoo them outside during the day and I look forward to giving them my Easter Egger's coop when I get the EE's new coop built. I'm really hoping I can merge flocks. Trying to get as much exposure as possible.

But yeah, I definitely recommend no less than 2 chicks. I didn't even want to just get 2 chicks (my minimum is 6) but family got me stuck. My other 7 chicks are 2 weeks older and I couldn't merge them together since the older ones were already flying and nearly trampling the Leghorns. So they've been raised just together and with me. But they get to see the other 14 chickens regularly so I'm sure that helps. My RIR gets along with them fine so they're making progress!

Just wanted to share my personal experience with "indoor" chickens and lap chickens. I've heard some people have made "diapers" for their indoor big birds using socks. I haven't attempted it. I love bring around mine but honestly I want them outside, haha. I had to raise 6 EEs in my closet and it took so long to get the dust out of my room. I've got a bad history of all my coop building plans encountering setbacks...

 

[Tonyroo]

People who have and love there chickens know what's best for them. The chickens welfare should be considered to keep them happy and healthy.

I hope you can understand and not consider keeping a pet chicken for indoor living. There are other alternative pets suited for that lifestyle.