enrichment/enclosure for indoor setup (plants,toys, etc)

[Bawkbok]

Many have offered excellent advice and comments. All I can add is chickens are healthier with fresh air and sunshine, exposure to natural plants and the opportunity to forage for bugs, a critical source of protein. Plastic meal worms do not make up for the lack of naturally moving bugs, not to mention, their innate inclination to run and forage and sometimes fly short distances.
I wish you luck with your adventure.

 

[WildNectarine]

Many have offered excellent advice and comments. All I can add is chickens are healthier with fresh air and sunshine, exposure to natural plants and the opportunity to forage for bugs, a critical source of protein. Plastic meal worms do not make up for the lack of naturally moving bugs, not to mention, their innate inclination to run and forage and sometimes fly short distances.
I wish you luck with your adventure.

All I, myself, can add, is that all of my indoor quail always get the seal of approval from my avian vets. I’ve never had one health issue related to lack of “fresh air” or “sunshine”, good feed, an air purifier, and simulating dawn and dusk with an overhead light for their hormones definitely goes a long, long way. There’s a reason the most intelligent species on earth invented the indoors. We’ll have to agree to disagree.

 

[Ecarroll]

Not here to judge, just genuinely wondering why you want to raise chickens indoors? Do you live in an apartment, and want eggs? Many bantam breeds don’t lay super good/not the main egg choice so just wondering what led you to decide on inside and decide on chickens (instead of other pet birds).

 

[bantam_crazy]

Not here to judge, just genuinely wondering why you want to raise chickens indoors? Do you live in an apartment, and want eggs? Many bantam breeds don’t lay super good/not the main egg choice so just wondering what led you to decide on inside and decide on chickens (instead of other pet birds).

other pet birds. according to other fellow bird enthusiast. are not friendly or interactive. which is the main. thing im looking for in a pet. you know. those parrots tou see at the internet etc. are all WILD animals. meanwhile. chickens are DOMESTICATED, meaning they have that thing where they are likelier to be friendlier. like. compare an house cat vs an wild forest cat. it's sorta like that(?)

 

[NatJ]

other pet birds. according to other fellow bird enthusiast. are not friendly or interactive. which is the main. thing im looking for in a pet. you know. those parrots tou see at the internet etc. are all WILD animals. meanwhile. chickens are DOMESTICATED, meaning they have that thing where they are likelier to be friendlier. like. compare an house cat vs an wild forest cat. it's sorta like that(?)

I know someone with two parakeets. They like to sit on the owner's shoulder, even while the owner walks around and does things. I think they go outside like that too.

They wear diapers when let out of their cage, and have clipped wings so they cannot fly too far (mostly to avoid them getting lost outdoors, if I remember rightly). They spend large amounts of time out of their cage, always right with their owner, and I believe they complain when they have to go back in.

I don't have any idea how common this is with parakeets (whether most will want to do that, or whether very few will.)

 

[StinkyAcres]

Maybe you could make a sort of a catio but for chickens that attaches to a window? They would love to be able to get outside whenever they wanted.

You don't realize how much dust chickens create and spread until you've raised them. It will be a lot of work keeping that room clean enough to not destroy the building (and the air purifier!). I'm not against this idea but I hope you realize they are not clean animals.

 

[bantam_crazy]

Maybe you could make a sort of a catio but for chickens that attaches to a window? They would love to be able to get outside whenever they wanted.

You don't realize how much dust chickens create and spread until you've raised them. It will be a lot of work keeping that room clean enough to not destroy the building (and the air purifier!). I'm not against this idea but I hope you realize they are not clean animals.

yes, i do realize that! i feel like with enough ventilation, air purifiers. and just. 3 bantams or so it should be ok enough Not to cause bird fanciers lung or something ,! thank you for the thought though

 

[Ecarroll]

yes, i do realize that! i feel like with enough ventilation, air purifiers. and just. 3 bantams or so it should be ok enough Not to cause bird fanciers lung or something ,! thank you for the thought though

Even a small amount of birds makes lots of dust. I’ve raised my chicks in two batches of three this year, in my room, and with the second group at 4 weeks, it’s already super dusty, about to get hard to be in the room (all windows are open). Luckily mine are going outside soon, same thing happened with the others. This is just an example of how much ist they can really produce, especially around molting times.

other pet birds. according to other fellow bird enthusiast. are not friendly or interactive. which is the main. thing im looking for in a pet. you know. those parrots tou see at the internet etc. are all WILD animals. meanwhile. chickens are DOMESTICATED, meaning they have that thing where they are likelier to be friendlier. like. compare an house cat vs an wild forest cat. it's sorta like that(?)

Ah okay, this makes sense I guess. Although I know people with parrots who are super friendly ( much more friendly than my chickens lol), almost as friendly as there cats.
While chickens are domesticated, most have been domesticated not for freindlyness, but for eggs, meat, looks, etc. Whereas house cats are domesticated to be more friendly and as companions.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

yes, i do realize that! i feel like with enough ventilation, air purifiers. and just. 3 bantams or so it should be ok enough Not to cause bird fanciers lung or something ,! thank you for the thought though

“Enough ventilation”=a tree. Lots of things sound good in theory but don’t pan out in real life. I second the catio idea-they have all kinds of enrichment and perches etc and they can go on a porch and are open air. That way you could bring your pet chickens inside to hang out but not force them to live in an unnatural environment. For the record, I am not a fan of any bird living indoors. Even finches stink after a day. I also think cats in the house is disgusting. So…I don’t want you to feel picked on by people saying this is a bad idea but I would like you to consider something more in-between for the sake of the chickens. I also have to ask if you own your home or if you have a landlord because that might be the first thing to consider.

 

[WildNectarine]

“Enough ventilation”=a tree. Lots of things sound good in theory but don’t pan out in real life. I second the catio idea-they have all kinds of enrichment and perches etc and they can go on a porch and are open air. That way you could bring your pet chickens inside to hang out but not force them to live in an unnatural environment. For the record, I am not a fan of any bird living indoors. Even finches stink after a day. I also think cats in the house is disgusting. So…I don’t want you to feel picked on by people saying this is a bad idea but I would like you to consider something more in-between for the sake of the chickens. I also have to ask if you own your home or if you have a landlord because that might be the first thing to consider.

I own about enough quail to equal ten chickens, never had any of these problems.