Do you have (occasionally) chickens or other poultry in your house?

[BDutch]

Most BYC members keep chickens or other poultry in an outside coop + run. But some like their company inside the house too or have occasionally a reason to have them inside. Please make a choice and share how you manage this.

 

[BDutch]

Especially during summer I have trespassing chickens. They come inside the house when the back door or terrace door is open. I ‘kick’ them out immediately, because I don't want their poop inside the house.

Sometimes my chickens, when they start to become broody, seek a spot inside the house to make a nest/lay an egg.

When I had a chicks, I took them/a few inside to get accustomed to me without the broody getting angry at me. But it seems that this doesn't work. The chicks only get frightened. I suppose its better to sit outside with them and not try to pick them up but to tempt them with goodie’s like dried mealworms.

And a few times when I had a sick chicken, I took her inside to get better, and also to minimise the risk of spreading a disease.

 

[Perris]

Here the chickens free range dawn till dusk, and they are provided with breakfast and dinner outside just after dawn and a little before dusk. But they each learn sooner or later that if they come to the back door, when I notice them I will offer them extra food, either outside there, or in the utility room, if they accept the invitation to come in for it or they barge in more or less demanding it. None of them make a habit of it, so when they come, I know they need it. Thus Maria was in this morning for mealworms; she is an old hen, in moult, so she really needs the extra protein.

I also bring in any bird so sick they cannot feed themselves, to spend a day or more in the peace and warmth of the utility room, with ad lib access to a variety of foods and fresh water. Normally this lasts a day or three before the bird recovers enough to rejoin the flock, or passes, but it did go on for over a month in one case.

 

[AntiqueB]

Raising chicks in the living room can cause them to just wander in at times.

They also knocked on the back door, looking for treats.

Coming in was tolerated for a few minutes; knocking got them treats.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

I sometimes wash my birds in mud season/integration problems/etc, but that’s the only time the large chickens come in allowed. Some had a beautiful little habit of sneaking in, letting me close the door, and then wandering around.

 

[sourland]

At one time I had a bank of cages in the cellar. Every winter I would move my bantam show Light Brown Leghorn cockerels/roosters into the cellar. This did not please the Princess.

 

[FrostRanger]

Only as chicks or if someone is sick or injured. I love my girls, but they aren't house pets, that's what my dog Ranger and cat Raven are for

 

[Canadian Wind]

Right now, I have a trio of black banty cochin in a large multi-level cage, a lone 'chick' that was the only one to hatch from my last incubation in August, and my two Pilgrim geese sleep inside until I finally get their outdoor dwellings done.

Of course, when I hatch, I have a variety of birds in here, and the rare sick bird.

Add to that that I also have two Mini Rex bunnies in here, three cats, and a large dog.

Did I mention I live in a camper trailer / caravan?

 

[Perris]

I am reminded by some of the stories above that I once went out and left a door open (not just unlocked, but ajar) and while I was gone someone - the then dominant roo I think - evidently came in and investigated every room downstairs. How do I know? Because he left one poo in each room, as if to claim it as part of his territory

 

[BDutch]

I wonder why the thread replies have stopped. Please join and share a nice anecdote about a chicken in the house.

Like this one:
The terrace door wasn’t closed properly and I heard some strange noises in the living room. I wondered where it came from. Found some soil on the floor and Ini mini in the flower pot where it came from. Maybe she wanted to lay her first ‘Im getting broody soon egg’ there?

Ini mini and Kraai both like to sneak into the living room. Black and Pearl favour the side kitchen/washing room.