Pet Chickens-Too Cute!
Adorable chickens who live inside peoples homes, chicken coops and in backyards everywhere. Cute pet chickens who have endeared themselves to their owner's hearts just by being sweet, doing a special trick, learning something new or just hanging out with the people they love. Find out how to train your chicken, care for them and just plain enjoy them. However, before you start snuggling with your chicken you need to read the following warnings as well.
About Indoor/Outdoor Pet Chickens
Pet Chickens Too Cute. Photo of Jasmine Silkie Hen at her tea party. CHOE
Chickens make great pets but they need an outdoor coop to play in during the day even if you bring them in your house at night. Some people keep a pet carrier indoors to keep their pet chicken at night and put their chicken in a protected outdoor coop during the day. Keeping a chicken indoors all the time is not healthy for your pet chicken or you. Chicken feces are high in nitrogen and chickens have dander in their feathers which can cause problems for people with weakened immune systems or breathing problems plus chickens can make a huge mess for you to clean up inside your house or apartment unless they have an indoor coop. Chickens need fresh air, dirt baths, and sunshine. However, many people keep house pet chickens and don't mind cleaning up after their beloved little pets while others have found that as the house chicken gets older they tend to get more troublesome when kept indoors. Watch video's of pet chickens, find out how to train them, and care for them below. Pet chickens are fun to have. Many people keep their pet chickens inside the homes during times when they are injured, sick, or when the weather is bad or just because they want to hang out with their pet chicken. Others keep their pet chickens in chicken coops outdoors during the day and bring them in at night to protect them from predators. Some people keep their pet chicken inside the house because they live inside cities that do not allow chickens yet. This works, if you only have one or two small breed chickens such as Old English Bantams or Silkie Bantams chickens and even then you need to have a caged area where you can keep them when you are not home or when you are busy. Having more than two inside the house can get pretty messy and as a result many house pet chicken owners have gone as far as putting a small coop inside the house or garage and using chicken diapers so their pet chicken can just hang out with them. Outdoor chickens face so many dangers from predators, mites, and sickness from wild birds but house pet chickens face other dangers, such as jumping into a dish sink, wash sink. bathtub full of water, or even into an open toilet and drowning, or jumping on a hot stove or into a pot cooking on the stove or getting injured or worse under a reclining chair or sofa! (See link to dangers house pet chickens face below). Chickens learn quickly, like to be petted, are easy to take care of and they love attention but as with any pet you must always remember to take good care of them and be a responsible pet owner. Be sure your chickens are healthy, vaccinated, and clean before handling and petting. Always wash your hands and change clothing after handling backyard chickens. Take a look at some more pet chicken care tips below.
The Complete Silkie Chicken Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide for Raising and Keeping Silkie Chickens as Pet, With Tips for Housing, Feeding, Grooming, Breeding, Health, Training, And Handling. Click photo to learn more or to purchase.
Pet Chicken Care Tips
Backyard chickens are more likely to carry salmonella than house pet chickens. However, you should have your chickens vaccinated and tested for possible diseases before you start cuddling with them. The CDC states although the Salmonella outbreak before 2021 is over but offers advice such as washing your hands after handling your chickens or anything they use and advises against kissing or snuggling backyard poultry. People most at risk are children under 5, adults over 65 and people with compromised immune systems.
"Megan Vac1 is recommended as an aid in the reduction of Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, and Salmonella heidelberg colonization of the internal organs of young growing chickens and as an aid in the reduction of Salmonella enteritidis colonization of the crop and digestive tract, including the ceca.
Salmonella Vaccine Megan Vac1 dosage:
Megan Vac1 is recommended for use at 1 day of age by spray. A second dose should be given at 14 days of age in the drinking water. Do not vaccinate within 21 days of slaughter.
Spray Administration for Megan Vac1 dosage:
Rehydrate the vaccine with cool, sterile, non-chlorinated water, which contains no antimicrobials, in an amount sufficient to vaccinate the required number of chickens according to the directions of the spray cabinet or sprayer manufacturer. This is usually about 500 ml per 5000 chicks. Use 5000 doses of vaccine to vaccinate 5000 chickens.
Do not dilute.
Drinking Water Administration for Salmonella Vaccine Megan Vac1:
Remove disinfectant, sanitizers, and antimicrobials from the drinking water 24 hours prior to and after vaccination. Mix vaccine in clean water which contains no sanitizing agents or antimicrobials. Use 50 liters of water for each 5000 birds. Provide ample space for all birds to drink easily. Water containing vaccine should be consumed in 2 hours or less. To assure all birds drink, withhold water for one hour prior to vaccination" (ValleyVet.com).
- Wash your hands
- Always wash your hands with soap and water immediately after touching backyard poultry, their eggs, or anything in the area where they live and roam.
- Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available. Consider having hand sanitizer at your coop.
- Be safe around backyard flocks
- Don’t kiss or snuggle backyard poultry, and don’t eat or drink around them. This can spread Salmonella germs to your mouth and make you sick.
- Keep your backyard flock and supplies you use to care for them (like feed containers and shoes you wear in the coop) outside of the house. You should also clean the supplies outside the house. (CDC, 2021).
"Megan Vac1 is recommended as an aid in the reduction of Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, and Salmonella heidelberg colonization of the internal organs of young growing chickens and as an aid in the reduction of Salmonella enteritidis colonization of the crop and digestive tract, including the ceca.
Salmonella Vaccine Megan Vac1 dosage:
Megan Vac1 is recommended for use at 1 day of age by spray. A second dose should be given at 14 days of age in the drinking water. Do not vaccinate within 21 days of slaughter.
Spray Administration for Megan Vac1 dosage:
Rehydrate the vaccine with cool, sterile, non-chlorinated water, which contains no antimicrobials, in an amount sufficient to vaccinate the required number of chickens according to the directions of the spray cabinet or sprayer manufacturer. This is usually about 500 ml per 5000 chicks. Use 5000 doses of vaccine to vaccinate 5000 chickens.
Do not dilute.
Drinking Water Administration for Salmonella Vaccine Megan Vac1:
Remove disinfectant, sanitizers, and antimicrobials from the drinking water 24 hours prior to and after vaccination. Mix vaccine in clean water which contains no sanitizing agents or antimicrobials. Use 50 liters of water for each 5000 birds. Provide ample space for all birds to drink easily. Water containing vaccine should be consumed in 2 hours or less. To assure all birds drink, withhold water for one hour prior to vaccination" (ValleyVet.com).
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Aivituvin Chicken Coop Expandable Chicken House with Wheel Large Hen House Movable Poultry Cage, Easy Combination with Second Coop. Click photo to learn more or to purchase.
References:
- Salmonella Outbreaks linked to Backyard. November 18, 2021. Centers for Disease Control. https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/backyardpoultry-05-21/index.html
- Megan Vac1 Salmonella Vaccine for chickens. ValleyVet.com. Retrieved on September 9 2023 from https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=fbe23ac3-eb68-48db-ab25-d274a6130a81#:~:text=Megan%20Vac1%20is%20recommended%20as,digestive%20tract%2C%20including%20the%20ceca.
