1 Chukar with 6 Laying Hens

So I live in a small city and a chukar has randomly come in my yard. We have never seen one before and have no idea where it comes from. Its hanging around the yard so we started feeding it. Would it be okay to put it in the coop with 6 layers? The coop is 7x3.5x6 feet tall. The run is a little over 100 square feet at 16x7 and is 7 feet tall. Its all by itself and I'd hate to just see it die. I haven't been able to see if it has spurs or not yet.

meeko626 said:

So I live in a small city and a chukar has randomly come in my yard. We have never seen one before and have no idea where it comes from. Its hanging around the yard so we started feeding it. Would it be okay to put it in the coop with 6 layers? The coop is 7x3.5x6 feet tall. The run is a little over 100 square feet at 16x7 and is 7 feet tall. Its all by itself and I'd hate to just see it die. I haven't been able to see if it has spurs or not yet.

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The short answer is no, don't put it with your chickens. Feel free however to keep it. Chukar are native to pakistan and some other areas in the middle east. They are raised in large numbers in the US for consumption and shooting preserves/dog training. The chukar you have is most likely from a local shooting preserve or a private hobbyist. Either way neither of them is missing one chukar.

Spurs are not necessarily an indication of sex in chukar, I've seen females grow very impressive ones. They are difficult to sex unless you raise enough of them to study the differences. Males have a larger squarer head than females. They can sometimes be vent sexed. UC davis archives have a very informative article on chukar I would recommend reading. There are a few articles from Davis on chukar but only one contains sexing info, and of course I lost the link.

Game birds should be kept bio-secure from chickens. Chickens are resistant to many poultry diseases and often carry them with no symptoms. The same diseases are often fatal to quail, pheasants, and chukar. It wouldn't be so bad but some of the more common diseases can not be tested for, vaccinated against, or cured once contracted. A bird that contracts coryza, MG, or blackhead will carry/transmit the disease for the rest of it's life.

Your Chukar won't die. We have one to. My partner put food and water out for the little bird and it eats and drinks what we give. He also eats the grubs and bugs in the yard. The little guy wants to go into our chicken coop and the chickens react well to him. However he stays outside of the coop. We don't know what diseases he may carry though he acts normal. We can't risk our hens. Game bird feed is 10.00 for 25 pounds at your local feed store.

Good luck

Cluck Cluck

Taffee48 said:

Your Chukar won't die. We have one to. My partner put food and water out for the little bird and it eats and drinks what we give. He also eats the grubs and bugs in the yard. The little guy wants to go into our chicken coop and the chickens react well to him. However he stays outside of the coop. We don't know what diseases he may carry though he acts normal. We can't risk our hens. Game bird feed is 10.00 for 25 pounds at your local feed store.

Good luck

Cluck Cluck

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The chukar will not give your chickens diseases it's the other way around.Chickens carry diseases that they can handle,but will kill gamebirds.
In N.H.,Tony.