Chickens are not only a good source of organic foods but can be fun to keep around too. They get quite creative sometimes as they forage about the backyard looking for exciting bugs, grasses and weeds to peck at. Keeping a pet chicken at your backyard, therefore, can turn out to be something your family bonds on as your kids revel in the mystery of the creature and learn to take care of it.
Raising a chicken as a family pet is not hard: You don’t have to be staying on a farm to do it; you can raise a chicken in those urban homes too. Here are the tips to keep chickens as your companion:
Research and get the right chicken
The first thing is to do lots of research and talk to some of your buddies who have raised chickens to learn from their first-hand experiences. Additionally, go through the state laws regarding chickens (hens and roosters) so that you won’t violate any if you decide on a chicken type.
Prepare the home and bring the chicken in
You should know that chickens must be kept warm; especially baby chicks as they do not have feathers yet. You can use a heat lamp to supply extra warmth and lay the coop with some comfortable bedding.
A raised coop is also recommended as it keeps things dry. The other thing is to protect them against predators so use a fence or wire mesh with tiny holes so no predator can pass through. For food, you can plant some kales, alfalfa, cabbages and other pastures the chicken can forage in when you take them out to play.
You can also see our list of recommended tools here…
Always keep them amused
As aforesaid, chickens can be quite creative, and they like to roam about and forage in the grasses looking for things to peck at. When they can’t find exciting bugs; however, they get unamused; this happens mostly during the characteristically shorter winter days.
Unamused chickens will often start to peck at one another or themselves, which can result in injuries, animosity, and loss of feathers. To prevent this, keep them busy using the following tips:
- Place a pile of hay or straw in the coop, so they keep foraging in it.
- Hung a vegetable-made pinata in the coop so they can peck at it as they dodge around it.
- Give something to swing on for hours on end.
- Make them curious by placing mirrors in the coop.
- Provide some nutritious Chook Crumble.
Train them
If you want the chicken to be your companion, you have to train it when it’s still young. The trained chicken will sit on your lap, come if you call their name, sing, and display some fun tricks. Here are the tips to go about it:
- Hold it and let it fall asleep on your laps from time to time
- Avoid startling it.
- Start referring to it by name.
- Take it outdoors from time to time and let it get used to the outside world.
In retrospect, you can raise a chicken as your companion using lots of tricks. You just have to keep its house clean, feed it well and avoid making it afraid of the big word – chickens love to free-range so take them outside and watch them play.
