Considering pet chicken!!

[PVTNate]

Hello everyone!:) so i am seriously considering a pet chicken (a chick) i would like to know all about them and if they can be tamend to live inside my home. I have a dog ( that wouldnt hurt anything and is scared of everything) and i have a cat that would never hurt another animals. Then i have an outside cat that has killed birds before. I really love animals and i want something New so i would just like to know a lot of info about them:)

[leaveittoweaver]

They don't seem to make great indoor pets from everything I've read. Here's a link to a good informational site: http://www.mypetchicken.com/default.aspx

[bit-bit]

Check out http://www.backyardchickens.com/, it has an active forum as well as informational pages.

I'd love to get a few laying hens.  They aren't legal in my city currently, but one day I plan to live somewhere that allows them.

[Sorraia]

Like rats, chickens are social animals and should be kept at least in pairs or small groups. They generally don't make very good indoor animals, and can be messy. You will need to check with your local ordinances to make sure it is even legal to keep chickens. Not all cities will allow it.

[Fawkes]

They should be allowed outdoor time as well, like dogs, but they can make great indoor pets. Depends on your tolerance I suppose, they're dusty and obviously poop everywhere, but so do parrots, and large parrot poop is almost just as messy. I have indoor ducks. There are chicken and duck diapers sold on sites like indoorducks.com and goosemother.com

[JessicasZooCrew]

I can't imagine keeping ducks indoors - or chickens. I plan on getting chickens someday (laying hens, just a couple) but mine will have a 10x10x8 outdoor hutch. We only have an acre so I can't let them free range. Anyway, I have done some research and, as stated before, they are social and need at least 1 friend. I have done volunteer work at a local "farm" rescue and chickens can be messy! (I'll agree that parrots are messy - I have 1 and he's all the indoor bird I need, that's for sure!). They like to scratch in the dirt and roll around and, well, be chickens. The ones I have met were nice enough but not like parrots at all as far as affection goes. They will kill smaller rodents (mice for example) and can react strangely to piercings and bright nail polish (at least the ones I worked with could, which were mostly Rhode Island Reds, silkies, some sort of cross, and various bantams - my fav ever was a RI Red rooster we called "Big Red" - he had "pet" mentality).

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide! Make sure they are legal because there are few places that take them if they are seized.

[Fawkes]

Like I said,they do need outdoor time everyday too. They enjoy both, though my ducks much rather be inside with me than outside. They're like feathered dogs My ducks are in a large dog kennel when they go outside and when I get chickens I plan on getting a 20x10x6 dog kennel and a coop.

[PVTNate]

Well awile ago i bought 2 ducks. And it didn't go over so well. I had to send them to our friends who own a farm because i truly did want them to be taken care of!:)