Mary Allen
Chickens are active, exciting animals and always provide fresh eggs. But what if you have other pets? How do they get along with the poultry?
Chickens have a clear hierarchy among themselves. This ensures the necessary rest and a regular daily routine in a herd. It also determines who can eat and drink and when. Of course, there are occasional power struggles between individual herd members. Most of the time, however, this is only the case when new animals are added or when a high-ranking animal is struggling with health problems, be it an injury or an illness. On the whole, however, the hierarchy among chickens is one of the most stable, if not the most stable, in the animal world. But how is the chicken dealing with other animals?
In grandmother’s days, chickens were mainly found on farms. Here they usually roamed freely and only went to their stables at night. The question of whether a chicken gets along with the other residents of the farm did not arise. He simply had no other choice. As a rule, the coexistence of chickens and mammals is not a problem either. However, it is important that all animals have a chance to escape. Today, chickens are kept freely even in zoos and animal parks. In Zurich Zoo, for example, you can find a small silkie chicken right next to the huge elephants.
Cats Like to Play with Chickens
But chickens can also be kept with rabbits, guinea pigs, sheep, goats, or horses without any problems. However, one must prevent the large animals from entering the chicken coop, especially the laying nests. Because then they could damage the laid eggs to the chagrin of the animal owner.
How a chicken behaves towards other animals also depends heavily on the breed. Because chickens differ not only in size, plumage color, and weight – their temperament is also very different. For example, Kraienkoppe is very active and temperamental, while silkie chickens are considered to be calm, phlegmatic beings. The same applies here: there are no rules without exceptions. Caution and a sufficiently long adaptation phase are always an advantage when leaving chickens with other animals.
Chickens and cats are generally good to keep together. While cats may sometimes chase the chickens around, this is merely a sign of their playfulness and does not seriously apply to chasing the fowl. If you slowly and carefully get the animals used to each other, nothing stands in the way of living together.
If the cat gets along well with its own chickens, this does not mean that this also applies to neighboring flocks of chickens. This is where the hunting instinct can come to the fore. Nevertheless, cats hardly ever seriously injure chickens, but chickens, and especially cocks, have enough defenses with their spurs. This is shown impressively by some videos on YouTube (see above). Care should be taken with chicks, however. It is better to put them in a closed enclosure or in an aviary at the beginning. Because chicks are small and light, the cat could mistake them for a fluffy toy and inadvertently injure or even kill them.
A dog’s reaction to chickens can vary. This is where race matters. Retriever dogs, used to bring objects back to their owner, usually try to do the same with a chicken. If the chicken fights too hard, the dog will bite more and more and can inflict fatal injuries on the chicken. Germs in the oral cavity of dogs trigger infections that lead to the death of the chicken within two to three days – even if the chicken appears to have recovered in the first few hours after the bite.
If chickens are frightened by a dog and flutter away excitedly cackling, this awakens the hunting instinct, especially in hunting dogs, which inevitably leads to a hunt. Then one can only hope that the chicken quickly flies to an elevated spot or finds a hidden retreat.
Approach Each Other Step by Step
Such problems do not arise if the animals grow up together and thus get used to each other’s presence from an early age. In this case, the nervous and thus provocative behavior of the chickens at the sight of a dog is eliminated. While they remain alert, they remain calm on the outside.
However, if both animal species do not meet until they are adults, patient action is required on the part of the owner; in several steps. In the first phase, the animals should sniff each other through a barrier. Only when neither the dog nor the chicken show any signs of fear or aggression does they move on to the second step. Here the chicken is held in front of the dog’s snout. If that also works without any problems, the third phase is started: a visit to the
nerf. First, the dog is kept on a leash, later you can walk around with it freely. With all steps, it is important that the owner radiates calm and serenity. Only then can the animals engage with each other impartially.
Everyone Should Stick to Their Food
Chickens sometimes tend to peck furry animals, especially when they are smaller. Whether they do it out of sheer curiosity or to harm the animals remains to be seen. In any case, it can lead to bad wounds. Rabbits and guinea pigs can hardly defend themselves. A retreat is all the more important, for example, a hollow tree trunk or a coop with a small opening – the main thing is that the chicken cannot get in. Chickens, on the other hand, use their ability to fly when they need rest.
In order to avoid conflicts between the different animals as much as possible, a lot of space is an advantage. Generous space is also recommended for hygienic reasons. Rabbits, for example, always do their “business” in the same place. Chickens, on the other hand, defecate wherever they can. If a rabbit eats grass soiled by chicken droppings, it can cause indigestion.