Do chickens make good pets? I never really thought of chickens as pets per se, but I have found that when you take care of something for a while, you tend to begin caring about it. So it must be with chickens as it is with other animals.This might be especially so when they give you eggs in return. 
I know several people that keep chickens and I even have a friend who has an emu. 
But for the sake of keeping on track here, I’ll stick to the poultry.

I’ve always liked chickens. I find them to be a dignified and rather stately bird that is easily offended if their routine is disturbed. I can imagine them as royalty having to deal with something such as being served the afternoon tea and it arrives late and they get their feathers ruffled about something. I would think there would be lots of fit pitching, major clucking and drama if their schedule is somehow disrupted. 
My friends Laura Ford who lives in Maryland and Dayna Robertson in Hawaii both keep chickens and do so for the eggs and just the fun and love of doing it. They love their birds and I think this is partially due to the give and take relationship they have with their flocks of clucking, scratching birds. 
Dayna has kept chickens for 3 years in Hawaii and 2 years in Alaska. Laura just started  her flock about a year ago with eight baby birds and so she is in the process of learning how to efficiently care for them and keep them happy and well fed so they produce the eggs she wants.

 

It may seem odd that someone who loves birds keeps chickens for the eggs. But it isn’t at all counterintuitive. The chickens are going to lay the eggs anyway. You might as well make use of them. 
From my research there is a lot to learn about keeping these fun and fussy birds. Feeding them seems to be a big deal as you essentially get out of them what you put into them. If you feed a high quality diet with lots of protein and greens, you’re going to get great eggs. 
The first thing you have to think about is space and housing for them. They will want to free-range on whatever they can forage for as this is their job. It is in their nature to hunt for those choice little bits of goodness hidden around in their yard, so it’s best to let them do what is in their nature and call it a day. They enjoy it, so let them be. 
Your job is to provide a safe place for them to forage, a house or coop to keep them warm, safe from the elements and predators  and keep them healthy, well fed, clean and happy with a private place to lay their eggs. If you keep that up you’re golden.
As I read more about it, I became intrigued with the thought of it. Providing a safe environment that they thrive in and are happy with that allows them to live the way they were designed to live seems like an ideal situation. What’s not to like? And if you like birds and have the space, why not? 
So I dispensed with the idea that this was somehow a negative experience for either the chickens or the provider. 
And I did think about it. Was there something negative about wanting fresh eggs from a flock of happy chickens? Did the fact that they produced something that could be used in exchange for a healthy fulfilling life make it selfish? Was I being silly in exploring this train of thought? And the more I thought about it, the more I thought it wasn’t negative at all. People have dogs that help herd sheep and they love to work. Horses pull wagons and cats will bring in a kill to their family. Was this any different?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that if the chickens were well taken care of, that it was a good bargain between species. 
I thought that this was a better way of procuring eggs for the family than buying eggs from the grocery store that don’t come from vegetarian, free range, cage-free farms. 
If you use eggs in your kitchen and you have the time and the space, it seems like a great step to take in living more independently and healthier than simply buying eggs at the store. I really don’t see many ethical negatives to it. 
And if there is a point to it, it would be the fun of doing it. Woody Allen told a joke in the film, “Annie Hall.” He said a friend of his told him his brother had a problem: He thought he was a chicken. Woody told him he should take him to a psychiatrist. The friend replied, “Well, we would. But we need the eggs.” 
And if you need the eggs too, this might be one way of getting them.