The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Pet Chicken The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Pet Chicken
Showing posts with label Pet Chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pet Chicken. Show all posts

Friday, November 6, 2020

Pet Chicken Masters Homemade Agility Course But Final Jump Has Internet Cracking Up


More and more people are keeping chickens in their backyards these days, and it turns out they’re a lot of fun to have around.

Gone are the days when only farmers had chickens; now, you can find a small flock of hens in lots of suburban backyards across the United States. Most people keep them around for the eggs they provide, but still more have discovered that chickens have their own unique personalities that make them pretty cool pets.

To read more on this story, click here: Pet Chicken Masters Homemade Agility Course But Final Jump Has Internet Cracking Up.


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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

The CDC is Asking Pet Owners to Refrain from Dressing Up Their Chickens This Year Due to a Particular Strain of Salmonella


Louisiana resident Stephanie Morse treats chickens like family, and like any other family member, Morse’s chickens get costumes every Halloween.

"Their bare skin is exposed, I just like to put a sweater on them to keep them warm and comfortable, and some of them have more personality," Morse told CBS affiliate KNOE-TV.

But people like Morse are being told not to trick-or-treat with their chickens this Halloween. The CDC is asking pet owners to refrain from dressing up their chickens this year due to a particular strain of salmonella.

At least 92 people in 29 states have been infected with a strain of multidrug-resistant salmonella after coming into contact with raw chicken products. No deaths have been reported, but 21 of the sick patients have been hospitalized.

The CDC warned that people could be infected by handling live chickens. When dressing a chicken, whether in a Halloween costume or a sweater, it is easier for a person to come into contact with harmful bacteria that live on poultry, including salmonella.

The agency also warns, "Don't kiss your birds or snuggle them and then touch your face or mouth."

Despite this, Morse said that her chickens will continue to strut their stuff.



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Tuesday, October 16, 2018

How to Raise Baby Chicks


I am so delighted to share all the information I have learned on how to raise baby chicks.  Whether you are dreaming of fresh eggs, learning to be more self-reliant, looking for a great pet or wanting your own home-grown chickens for meat, just about anyone can raise chickens.

I love my chickens.  But growing up I was terrified of them. The drive for learning how to be self-reliant and the desire for fresh eggs helped me to overcome my fears. I live in the city and only am allowed a couple of chickens, so I brought home 4 chirping little baby chicks this past spring.  After learning how to raise baby chicks and watching them grow, I can say they are the most enjoyable pets I have ever raised. They are super easy to care for, can be very loving, inexpensive to feed plus you get super delicious fresh eggs from them too.

To read more on this story, click here: How to Raise Baby Chicks

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Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Chickens Are Becoming A Popular Option for An Emotional Support Or Therapy Animal


Chickens are more than something to eat. They are intelligent and social animals. The chatty bird has even won the hearts of many people who now keep them as a pet. Chickens are becoming a popular option for an emotional support or therapy animal.

Social animals make great therapy animals. Their need to connect and desire to be around family helps people suffering from anxiety, depression and loneliness. While dogs, cats and horses have been the traditional therapy animals, chickens are pecking their way in.

Chickens are entertaining and talkative animals. They have over 24 different types of vocalizations. Aside from their vocals, they have unique personalities. “The talker, the complainer, the bossy one and the placid and the dopey and the eagle eyed smarty pants,” states Psychology Today. There is a perfect chicken for everyone.

On top of the entertainment they provide, chickens are a perfect choice for people who are allergic to dogs and cats.

The feathered animal has been introduced to nursing homes and senior living communities with great success. Therapy chickens have helped people with mental illnesses, children with autism, and give the elderly a reason to live. Having an animal to care for gives them a reason to wake up every morning.

Studies done on facilities that have used therapy chickens have shown, “chickens at nursing homes can reduce resident-to-resident altercations, reduce antipsychotic drug use and increase the number of visits residents receive from friends and family,” according to Sheboygan Press

Therapy animals spark conversation about the patient’s past pets and brings back memories. This helps patients that are suffering from memory loss. The therapy animal also initiates conversations between the residents.

“They can make good therapy pets for people who live with a backyard because they cost much less than dogs. Care-taking is good for you, when it’s not overwhelming and a chicken can provide an “un-anxious example of how to live without worry,” reports Psychology Today.

While some chickens like to be handled and cuddled, they still need their outdoor time. Chickens need time outside to search for worms and bugs.

“Researchers at the University of Northumbria found that “poultry therapy” in nursing homes can reduce feelings of depression and loneliness in patients — and can be especially helpful in getting male patients to be more social.”

Chickens are affordable and entertaining therapy pets that are changing the lives of many people. These intelligent feathered animals are finally being seem as something more than food.





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Monday, May 4, 2015

Keeping Chickens As Pets: A Growing Trend For City Dwellers


Maybe it’s a growing trend of getting back to basics, maybe it’s the economy. Whatever the reason, keeping chickens as pets is a growing trend even for city dwellers. There are even clubs for those who fancy poultry as pets, and competitive shows where owners can show off their beautiful Bantams. The clubs and shows are generally overseen by the American Poultry Association.

While regulations vary on chicken ownership from town to town, even many urban communities allow for a small number of hens. Many towns see roosters as too noisy (hello, annoying alarm clock) and/or aggressive to be kept in a residential setting.

Marci Riseman, mom of two, has kept chickens in her San Francisco backyard for three years.

“I consider our chickens to be somewhere between pets and farm animals,” she said. “It’s a strange relationship that I’ve never had before, and I find it leaves me with different expectations. We feed our cat and all we expect is love and a full litterbox; we feed our chickens and we expect them to produce eggs.”

Don’t expect to start a roadside egg-selling stand (which is probably also regulated in your town, by the way) with just a few hens.

“Right now we have three chickens, and are getting two eggs a day,” said Marci. “This means that someone is not laying. We can’t tell who the freeloader is, since they all spend time in the laying box; without a strategically-placed ChickenCam we’ll never know who isn’t pulling her weight egg-wise.”

“I love having these creatures in our yard,” said Marci. “They are beautiful those weird spindly feet are actually very graceful in motion … and the feathers, oh the feathers! and funny, and friendly, and they are a great live-action science experiment every day in our own back yard.”

Marci describes herself as “an urban homesteader at heart” who makes her own jam and sauerkraut and cooks or bakes most of what her family eats. She and her family also grow fruits and vegetables in a small garden.

“I would totally have a goat and an orchard and acres of blueberry bushes if we had the land and my husband wouldn’t divorce me over it,” jokes Marci. “Especially the goat. Just being with the chickens while I pull weeds or hang out with the kids or friends in the yard makes me happy. Chickens are a small way to bring nature closer in to our noisy, urban lives.”

I asked Marci if she and her family eat the chickens or just the eggs.

“We don’t eat the chickens. Partly because of the part-pet thing; the kids would be beyond horrified. And partly because it would be disgusting to slaughter our own animals, though I’m sure I could get over that part with practice. At first it did freak me out to eat something that came out of the rear end of something that lives in our backyard. It made me realize how disassociated we are from our food; I don’t mind eating something that comes out of the rear end of a chicken I can’t see? I got over it, though, and now I adore eating their eggs.”

If you’re considering keeping chickens, the first and most important step is to find out what your community’s regulations are. Your town’s public health department can help you with that. If chickens are allowed, you can use a tool like the “Which Chicken?” Breed Selector Tool at mypetchicken.com to help find breeds that are suitable for your climate and your interests.

For example, in my fantasy world in which I have chickens, I want a cold-hardy chicken that is docile and produces lots of fun-colored eggs. The chicken chooser tool recommends a chicken called an Easter Egger that lays four large bluish-green eggs a week.

A particularly helpful resource is backyardchickens.com, which includes lots of ideas about coops, owner reviews of a vast number of breeds, and a thriving online community in which to discuss and ask questions about laws, breeds, problem solving, and other issues. Their Learning Center section has great information for those just getting started, as well as long-time chicken owners.

The most amazing thing about chickens is that there’s a huge variety that are suited to backyard raising.






The following are just a few of the nifty birds out there:











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