Indoor Chicken?

[JBosley]

Hey everyone!
I was wondering if anyone here has a chicken as an indoor pet.... I’ve been given the opportunity to adopt a baby chick that has a disabled leg.

 

[faislaq]

I don't know who would do such a thing? Do you know anyone like that @jmfleish?

 

[sunnysmom]

I don't have one but I was at a bird show this weekend and they had a miniature rooster there. The owner said she kept all of her chickens indoors. I have heard of people keeping silkie chickens inside as pets, and I'm pretty sure we have a member here who has inside chickens. I'm just drawing a blank on who it is right now.....

 

[MnGuy]

There's a chicken rescue where I live that encourages people to keep chickens indoors. I'm guessing many of the same issues with keeping parrots (mess, dust, etc.) are the same with chickens. But chicken droppings are much bigger and smellier, in my experience.

Good luck.

 

[Lady Jane]

How does a chicken take a dust bath like they love to do indoors?

 

[SandraK]

There's a chicken rescue where I live that encourages people to keep chickens indoors. I'm guessing many of the same issues with keeping parrots (mess, dust, etc.) are the same with chickens. But chicken droppings are much bigger and smellier, in my experience.

Good luck.

I've seen them with a poop harness on the way some of the larger parrots do.

 

[TikiMyn]

I wouldn’t keep a chicken without others. I would adopt two chicks then. It can be done, and can be very fun but there are Some issues of course.
Dust/mess, they are messy of course like parrots. When they molt, be prepared for lots and lots of feathers.
Poop- they can’t be house trained, there are Diapers available though. But they can’t wear one all day.
Happiness- I don’t think it is healthy for them to be indoors 24/7. They Will want to take sand baths outside, Hunt for a few bugs etc. You can do that by letting them play in your backyard, but you can also train them to go on walks in the great outdoors.
Enrichment- when they are inside they Will need more enrichment then when they are outside. Toys and foraging are fun, like hanging greens of balls. That can get quite messy. Even if you just feed them their greens in a bowl, they Will be quite messy with it.
I have probably forgotten things but this came to mind. Personally, I would think it iDeal to have an outside area where they can mess around while you are gone, and come inside when you’re home. But, that would only work in areas where the inside and outside temperature are the same, which is not the case in most places of course!
Thank you for wanting to help this disabled chick!
Some websites:
Can I Have An Indoor Pet Chicken? |
This is about ducks, but a lot of things are true for chickens also:
Ducks In Diapers - HouseDuck Care
These are experiences from people with indoor chickens:
people with house chickens | BackYard Chickens

 

[JBosley]

I wouldn’t keep a chicken without others. I would adopt two chicks then. It can be done, and can be very fun but there are Some issues of course.
Dust/mess, they are messy of course like parrots. When they molt, be prepared for lots and lots of feathers.
Poop- they can’t be house trained, there are Diapers available though. But they can’t wear one all day.
Happiness- I don’t think it is healthy for them to be indoors 24/7. They Will want to take sand baths outside, Hunt for a few bugs etc. You can do that by letting them play in your backyard, but you can also train them to go on walks in the great outdoors.
Enrichment- when they are inside they Will need more enrichment then when they are outside. Toys and foraging are fun, like hanging greens of balls. That can get quite messy. Even if you just feed them their greens in a bowl, they Will be quite messy with it.
I have probably forgotten things but this came to mind. Personally, I would think it iDeal to have an outside area where they can mess around while you are gone, and come inside when you’re home. But, that would only work in areas where the inside and outside temperature are the same, which is not the case in most places of course!
Thank you for wanting to help this disabled chick!
Some websites:
Can I Have An Indoor Pet Chicken? |
This is about ducks, but a lot of things are true for chickens also:
Ducks In Diapers - HouseDuck Care
These are experiences from people with indoor chickens:
people with house chickens | BackYard Chickens

Thank you!!!!

I definitely agree with you, about them needing a flock and doing better outdoors. I wouldn’t be able to take 2, so maybe I will pass up this little guy! Or maybe tell them to contact me if I’m the last resort.

Thanks for the links, I will check them out.

 

[TikiMyn]

Thank you!!!!

I definitely agree with you, about them needing a flock and doing better outdoors. I wouldn’t be able to take 2, so maybe I will pass up this little guy! Or maybe tell them to contact me if I’m the last resort.

Thanks for the links, I will check them out.

If you really can’t and this poor little baby doesn’t have another good home, I would defiantly take him! It is possible for them to live single, but as you Said they do better in flocks in general. But life as a single chicken with a loving human who takes care of her as best as she can is better than no life at all! Perhaps even because of her disability other chickens might Peck on her? I really don’t know, but that could be the case I think?
She is young so it should be easy to get her accustomed to a diaper/harnass, I take my ducks on walks on their harnass and they love it. Be prepared for a lot of funny faces though

 

[Mizzely]

Also check your city laws. My city you need to do an appeal, including any housing information, etc, to the city and it needs to be approved before you can have anything like a chicken, mini goat, mini pig, etc, in city limits, and rooster are forbidden.

 

[JBosley]

Also check your city laws. My city you need to do an appeal, including any housing information, etc, to the city and it needs to be approved before you can have anything like a chicken, mini goat, mini pig, etc, in city limits, and rooster are forbidden.

Luckily we are allowed chickens here! But thank you for that tip.

 

[kasparkat]

Hello. I have an indoor duck that is an imprint. He was a rescue from his parents, I owned them and they were regular outdoor ducks. They tried to kill him while he was still in the egg. They rolled his egg outside into the rain. I came home, found his egg and brought it inside. I thought he was dead because I didn’t hear peep peep any longer. So, I whacked his egg on the counter,mpeeled his egg open just to make sure, he had started to pip earlier that morning so I knew he was alive a few hours before. He was all curled up, soaking wet, more so than a regular egg duck. His eye was open so I touched the corner and he blinked. I blow dried him and kept him inside the house for a couple of days. Tried to reunite him with his parents and neither wanted to have anything to do with the other.

Long story short, I have an indoor duck that wears a diaper when he is not inside of his sleeping house, one is kept in the living room, and he has one in my bedroom. He walks on a leash while outside, not to keep him from leaving, he cannot fly, and does not leave my side, he is a Call Duck and they are not the best fliers out there. I keep him on a leash to keep him safe from other animals, he is not afraid of dogs, cats or birds. He runs around with my cats and dogs and doesn’t know any different. He only weighs about a pound and a half. His name is Howie.

 

[SandraK]

Howard the Duck! From Cleve-land -

 

[Shezbug]

When I was younger my aunt and cousins had an indoor chook called chickadee. She would wander outside to poop and stand at the door asking for it to be opened if she needed to go out for a poop. She was pretty much like a dog with her behavior, she knew she was not allowed in the kitchen but could sit on the other side of the bench on the back of a chair, she was better behaved than a lot of peoples pet dogs. She would go everywhere in the car with them and never seemed to leave poop anywhere. I think it depends on the chook and the time that is spent with it while its young.
My kids had pet chooks that came inside all the time and as long as a door was open for them to go back outside they would wander back out to poop and scratch about. I think there was only a few times they made a mess in the house, but they mostly lived outside and came in for visits (a lot).