Tips for Keeping Pet Chickens

While most people keep chickens to raise for meat, or eggs, some people enjoy keeping chickens as pets.  When keeping pet chickens it is usually hens who are kept, as roosters tend to be loud, and can be mean,  however some people will keep hens and roosters together for the purpose of raising chicks.  In this case the birds are often of the bantam (smaller) variety, which are typically fancy or ornamental breeds.

 Hens start laying eggs around five months of age and do not even need a rooster in order to produce eggs (although they will not hatch).  As she gets older she will lay fewer eggs each year, and many hens stop laying in the winter.

Certain breeds of chickens are friendlier than others, so breed selection when you want a pet is key.  Note that it might seem nice to rescue former battery hens (those used for massive egg production) however these hens have limited human contact and were not bred to be "pets" and as such wont be as relaxed or friendly.

The friendliest chickens tend to be those of quieter breeds that were raised in incubators where they may have been regularly handled.  Chickens are easily befriended by offering them chicken scratch only when you are with them - of course they need proper laying ration at other times - and do best when allowed to free range in the day.  The do need protection at night - in the form of a chicken coop, with roosting areas, and a laying box.

©by Brenda Nelson

For keeping chickens as pets I strongly suggest getting 3 or 4 hens, or if you are getting a rooster and want to raise chicks you may want 1 rooster and two hens.  

Be sure to check the laws in your area to make sure chickens are allowed as pets.

One of my favorite breeds of chicken for pets and for chicks, is the Silkie.  For a friendly hen with good egg production consider a ISA Brown or Red Sussex.  Look for Easter Eggers if you want a mix of colored eggs (even blue).

Cute Pets:  The Silkie Chicken

Fluffy Pet Chickens, the Silkie Chicken

Silkie Chickens look more like bunnies than like chickens, but indeed they are birds.  Silkie Chickens (sometimes spelled Silky Chickens) are exotic chickens, as they have blue - black skin, flesh, and bones. Another unusual feature is that silkie chickens have an extra toe on their feet. 

Silkie Chickens are one of the most popular chicken breeds for pets.  They tend to be friendlier than most other chickens and often enjoy being carried around, particularly if handled from a young age.  One of the things that make them so popular as pets is the fact they are friendly, even the roosters are not usually as mean as the roosters of some other breeds. However it should be noted that they are gentle even among other chickens and as such tend to be bullied if in with other breeds. 

Silkie chicken hens are terrific mothers and are noted as being very broody hens - often used to hatch and/or raise chicks from other chickens, or even game birds.

photo source - House Chicken, Sweet Treats, having a day at the Park.

Silkie chickens are soft to the touch, and although their feathers look like fur, they should never be brushed.  Their feathers lack barbicels which lock feathers together neatly.  Although most chickens can fly a bit, silkies are considered completely flightless because their feathers are so poor.  Additionally the loose feathers mean they are less able to cope with cold weather. 

 

Silkie chicks can be purchased from Hatcheries, local farmers, exotic livestock auctions, and bird shows.  Some people enjoy buying "hatching eggs" which are eggs that need to be incubated in order to hatch.  Other people do not want the trouble and buy week old chicks.  Still others prefer to buy more mature birds.

At five months of age the hens start laying light brown eggs, and, like all hens, will lay eggs even without a rooster.  Laying does tend to decrease after two years, but a well cared for pet Silkie can live for more than 8 years.

Our silkie rooster and a chick.

Silkies are small chickens, even their standard size is small, but they also come in a bantam size as well.

When buying Silkie chicks, or chickens, always check to see that the vent area is clean when selecting any bird.  Never buy birds from a farm if you see other sick looking birds around.

Read about what happened to us when one of our hens hatched 9 chicks and one hatched late!

Will I find an Unhatched Chick in the Eggs from the Store?

Have you ever wondered what are the chances of finding an unhatched, but partially formed chick, are in the eggs you buy from the grocery store?  We sometimes hear "stories" of this happening, but does it really occur?

Chances are what some people think is a growing chick is actually the tiny strands that hold the yolk in place in the center of the egg.  These strands are white and break when the egg is cracked.  They snap back next to the yolk and could look like a tiny growing chick.

Blood spots in eggs are also natural and are not a growing chick.

There are actual reasons why the chances of finding a chick in an egg from the grocery store are zero.  In fact the ONLY way this would happen in grocery store eggs is if somebody intentionally took a fertilized egg and stuck it in with the other eggs as a prank.

In the egg industry chicks are sexed at the age of one day, females have their beaks cut, wings cut, get vaccinated, and get sent off to grow up.  Male chicks are mostly put into a meat grinder.  As such there are no males with the hens that will be laying eggs.  Mature hens lay eggs daily even without a male present.  With no rooster around the eggs are not fertile and cannot grow chicks.

Further more the eggs roll away from the hen instantly and are chilled; as such even if a rooster had been with the hen the egg would never be incubated (warmed) enough for a chick to grow inside.  Before they are put into their cartons, they are screened and any egg with an anomaly is removed, so even if there was a chance of an unhatched chick being in an egg, the screening process would have those eggs culled.

On rare occasion when people claim they find an actual chick in the egg it is usually a prank or a major mistake with "farm fresh" eggs; if somebody was very sloppy in collecting the eggs and took one that had been incubated for at least 10 days.

One of my hens.

Read More to Learn Why Chicken Eggs Won't Hatch

Read How Chicken Eggs are Formed - freaky pictures - be warned

Remember, to buy eggs from happy hens, always pick those sold at the farmer's market where the hens are cage free.