How long can you keep a chick for a pet?

Answer 1

A hen should only be broody for the time it takes to hatch her eggs, 21 days. However there are extremes.

The commercially bred egg layers of today rarely go broody and if they do start they may stop at anytime, 2 day, 2 weeks. At the other end of the spectrum there are hens that never stop brooding, and will even sit on rocks for weeks on end, usually to the detriment of their health.

Answer 2

Temperatures should be maintained at about 90F for the first few days. A weekly drop in ambient temperatures by 5 degrees should be sufficient to acclimatize the birds to outside temperatures.

Answer 3

Chicks can be removed from the brooder once the temperature of the brooder matches the ambient temperatures in their intended living quarters. If the new chicks are to be introduced to an established flock then the size of the chicks is a consideration. The chicks must be able to evade the older hens and rooster who will immediately introduce them to the "pecking order". Depending on the breed, most chickens can be taken from the brooder at about the 8 to 10 week stage.

Answer 4

Chickens grow up very fast, and although a chick may seem like a good idea you should really think about the well being of the animal. My week old chicks grew into adolesent roosters in about 13 weeks. A hen will usually start laying in around 24 weeks.

You can keep a chicken for a pet for their entire lives so long as you look after them well. A chick is a lot of hard work and I think it would be awful to get rid of it just because it was growing up.