Can We Keep Chickens As Pets? – Pros and Cons

Can we keep chickens as pets? If you are not sure, then this quick guide will help you understand whether or not you should keep chickens as pets?

If you are reading this article, maybe you are thinking of buying some chickens to keep them as pets like dogs, cats, and other animals. 

But keeping pet chickens has its own benefits and losses, which we will discuss in this article. 

What are Pet Chickens?

Pet chickens are the same as other chickens, but they have friendly behavior with trained commands. Also, they live inside or near your house without hampering your stuff.

Chickens that are kept for pets love to hug you and eat from your plate. They live like other pet animals and understand all your commands, and they run to you as soon as you call them.

The Pros of Keeping Chickens As Pets

The benefits of keeping chickens are endless but I will tell you a few outstanding ones-

  • If you keep chickens as pets, you will get organic eggs in your backyard.
  • They are lovely pets and love to play with your kids.
  • The best part about pet chickens is that they pay for their own maintenance in meat and eggs.
  • Chickens are cheap in price as compared to other pet animals. So, you don’t need any big investment in the beginning.
  • You don’t have to go to the market to buy eggs and meat because you can collect them from your home.
  • I have trained my chickens, and they are really wonderful learners. They also learn commands like other animals.
  • If you spend your time with your chickens, you will love them, and they will also trust you.
  • In most countries, people raise their chickens without giving them any feed. But by giving the required amounts of feed to chickens, they live healthily.
  • You can also start a small chicken business in your backyard, which will provide a good amount of money to pay your bills.
  • If you have a large area in your backyard, then keeping chickens is a good option as a pet because you do not need to take extreme care of poultry flocks except predators. 

Above, we have explained a few common benefits of keeping pet chickens. Now we will tell you some cons of keeping chickens.

However, l am a chicken lover so I didn’t see any problem in raising chickens, but if you are a newbie, then you may face some problems in keeping them as pets.

The Cons of Keeping Chickens As Pets

Here are few common disadvantages of keeping pet chickens-

  • In most of the areas of different countries, vets don’t know how to treat a chicken with various types of poultry diseases. Also, many vaccines are not available in all areas.
  • Chickens are not the cleanest animals in the world; they are quite messy, because they scratch and leave their poop everywhere, so you need an open area for them. You can also use a chicken diaper to avoid this.
  • Raising chickens only inside a coop is not possible. Either you have to provide them with a coop with a kennel run or give them someplace to free-range, like a backyard and garden.
  • Pet chickens are good and friendly, but not for farmers who have lots of veggies in their backyard garden. Chickens are fond of scratching and pecking so they will ruin all vegetable plants in your backyard.
  • If you are growing grass in your garden, then pet chickens are not a good option because they scratch the grass from the root and eat them. I have 21800 sq. feet in my backyard and my 100 chickens allow no grass to grow because they eat them before they grow.
  • For keeping them safe from predators like foxes, wild dogs, raccoons, you need some extra investments in chicken wire or hardware cloth for fencing.
  • Also, if you want to collect eggs, then you will need some chicken nesting boxes, which will also lose your pocket a little more.

Problems in Having Chickens As Pets

We already discussed the pros and cons of having chickens as pets. If you are a newbie, you can read our complete guide on raising chickens.

So it’s time to understand what are the common problems which you may face while raising chickens.

List of common pet chicken problems:

  • Pet chickens spend most of the time roaming inside your house. So they may leave poop everywhere.
  • Chickens are fond of pecking and scratching, so if they are living near or inside your home, they may eat your kitchen rice, cereals. If you are keeping chickens as pets, it’s better to keep your foodstuffs safe in containers.
  • If you love gardening and you have lots of veggies and pots in your home, then avoid pet chickens in that area. Otherwise, chickens will eat twigs, fresh leaves, and veggies in your backyard.
  • Chickens are very sensitive, and they may get bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections easily. So, you need to vaccinate them at the proper interval.
  • Another major problem that I see with my chickens is that they are so naughty. If you are not controlling them in a particular area, they will go far and far. Sometimes they may go to your neighbor’s home and cause some problems.
  • In most countries, chickens are only allowed in agricultural and farming areas or zones. They are not permitted in residential and business areas. You may see other rules and regulations in your state. 

FAQs

Do chickens like being pets?

Yes, like other animals chickens also like being pets. They will play with your kids and sit on your arms, thighs. They also love commands and when you call them they will run towards you.

Which chickens make the best pets?

Most of the chicken breeds are friendly but very few are best pet chickens. Speckled Sussex, Easter Eggers, Cochins, Brahmas, Polish, Australorps, are popular chickens which makes the best pets.

Can We Keep Chickens As Pets? -Summary

We have discussed various aspects of keeping chickens as pets. Chickens as pets are an amazing experience, but it’s up to you and your locality.

We can safely conclude that chickens are a friendly species and can make great pets. However, you need to check the compatibility with other pets in your house as well as rules of your state or locality.

After reading the pros and cons of chickens as pets, you can easily make the decision to keep them or not.

Also, in some places, you may need a permission letter before you can keep chickens at home as a pet.

Personally, I believe that people should have the right to keep chickens as pets. In my country, we do not need any authorization from local authorities if we want to keep pet chickens.

But to keep a lot of flocks for business, our government provides some special rules to protect farms and biodiversity. I hope this guide helped you to decide whether or not you should keep chickens as pets?

Bijaya Kumar
  • Save

Leave a Comment

2 Shares
2 Shares