Chickens as pets

[mackmama]

We are considering moving to a town where many people seem to have outdoor chickens as pets. I'd like to consider what types of downsides there could be having a neighbor with outdoor chickens. Any BTDT?

[trcy]

No BTDT...but I think roosters can be loud pretty early in the morning. I would also be concerned about chicken droppings on my property if they are running loose.

[codex57]

A full grown one can bite your finger off. I had a pet rooster. Yeah, it was loud in the morning. Yeah, it pooped a lot. Still, the reason I gave it away was cuz it was too hard to feed. It could bite through those thick leather work gloves.

[wellyes]

Roosters are loud. Most people who raise chickens do so for eggs, in which case it's best to NOT have a rooster, so hopefully you'll be OK.

Chickens poop anywhere, but they generally stay near their coop. They don't run randomly around the neighborhood.

[JBaxter]

Ours would peck the hell out of you and as a kid I was in the coop almost daily. No I would not have on as a pet.

[rlu]

downsides - hens can be noisy too, poop pretty much anywhere, pecking (each other as well), chicks start indoors and can stink (we did that part and they really stunk - you need to keep them warm so a smaller space - aka our master bathroom - works best but will reek)

We don't have chickens but the chicks DS's class raised last year are now living with MIL and we see them frequently. She only kept the hens. These chicks were held daily and frequently hand fed worms, weeds, etc. They are very friendly and we haven't been pecked yet (athough I am skittish around birds and they don't get a chance to peck me!) SIL visits their coop several times a day and spends time out there just talking to them, feeding them weeds, corn cobs, watermelon rinds, etc. DS will accompany SIL when we visit to gather the eggs and "play" with them. They call to SIL if she doesn't visit them early enough in the morning. She lets them "free range" on their property while she is outside and they come to her when she calls them back. She cleans the coop more often than required so consequently it is quite clean and doesn't noticably smell.

DH built the coop - it was quite an endevour but DH doesn't do things simple and it looks very nice and is easy to clean.

[beckyr88]

I'm assuming the chickens are all hens for eggs! And unless your neighbors are neglectful pet owners, I can't think of downsides that would be worse than living next door to a house with a dog. We have four hens in a very urban environment, and I don't think our next door neighbors would call them a nuisance at all. The hens call when they lay their egg, and there is a bit of chatter throughout the day, but our hens are quieter than the neighborhood dogs for sure. And I don't think smell should be a problem- unless of course you live by bad pet owners, and there would be issues either way in that case.... Who knows, you may want your own!! The eggs are great.

[BayGirl2]

I'm assuming the chickens are all hens for eggs! And unless your neighbors are neglectful pet owners, I can't think of downsides that would be worse than living next door to a house with a dog. We have four hens in a very urban environment, and I don't think our next door neighbors would call them a nuisance at all. The hens call when they lay their egg, and there is a bit of chatter throughout the day, but our hens are quieter than the neighborhood dogs for sure. And I don't think smell should be a problem- unless of course you live by bad pet owners, and there would be issues either way in that case.... Who knows, you may want your own!! The eggs are great.

We don't have chickens ourselves (yet..) but we've toured many coops in our town. Check the city ordinance, but in our town roosters are not allowed and coops must be 20 feet from any house. That keeps them from being disruptive. Some breeds of hens our larger than others, but generally that noise is not really disruptive, more like a clucky walking around kind of murmur.

As long as they are responsible pet owners I think its fine. And bonus, if you befriend them you are likely to get some very fresh and nutritious eggs.

[Nooknookmom]

Our neighbors have 3 or 4 chickens. Love the free eggs but I babysit them when they go out of town and man does their coop smell!!

No roosters here but the hens can get nasty at feeding time and I almost got my eye poked out b/c one poked at my lens on my sunglasses (which were on my head and not protecting my eyes.)

I'd have them if I had a small farm, but not in closer city quarters.

[MamaMolly]

We had a pet chicken and she was my all time favorite pet ever. EVER. Better than fish, gerbils, bunnies, cats and yes, even my beloved dog. We got her to help with a scorpion problem we had in the yard and house. She was un-cooped, just slept on a window sill and nested about 3 feet away from the window in a flower bed. We got an egg a day from her and they were delish! She would come when we called her, Lula could catch her, and she'd eat corn out of the both DD's hands while they held her. I have photos of her riding in the basket on one of Dolly's push toys.

She was wicked fast eating bugs. I once found a HUGE roach in the kitchen and shooooed it out the door to her. Gone like lightning. Yay! She also ate every kind of table scrap imaginable and cracked corn or bird seed when we could get it. She really loved cold spaghetti.

Even for a little chicken she had big poops, so we'd have to hose down the front walk about once a week. Other than that she was way more fun than work.

Our neighbors had several chickens and roosters. The roosters were noisy and crowed all night. It took me a few months to get used to it, and then I really didn't notice it much. The only time our chicken left our fenced yard was when the neighbors were having some plumbing done in their front yard and there was a lot of digging going on. She was pigging out on worms, then would come home.