Co-habitation of Fowls?

[NjoyNjoy]

This might sound silly to those educated in the matters of fowls... but I was wondering is there any absolute reason that flying fowl eg cockatiels cannot cohabitate with chickens? Like share the same flight/run yet have their separate 'night' areas.

I have four cockatiels and would love to create a flight for them. But also would like to have a couple of egg laying chickens. My garden space is not huge, so I have to think carefully and plan wisely.

Look forward to your input.

 

[Animalian]

I think the chickens would try to eat them.

My cockatiels love foraging on the ground, and my chickens are quick to attack! So I wouldn't mix them!

 

[AquaEyes]

Quote:
Mainly, because chickens tend to be aggressive, and cockatiels tend to be passive, and there is a big size difference between the two. If by "egg laying chickens" you mean members of the non-setting Mediterranean breeds, they tend to be flighty, and will freak out the cockatiels even more so. And then there's the issue of disease -- chickens have been bred in captivity for thousands of years, and can "live with" lots of bacteria that could kill or seriously sicken cockatiels. If you kept your chickens more the way many people keep chickens, you'd be below-par for cockatiel husbandry (no offense, it's just that people come to associate a certain degree of dirtiness with chickens, because they can tolerate it, but cockatiels in the same environment wouldn't be healthy for very long).

If, on the other hand, you had a large planted aviary with plenty of room and cover, and had tiny bantam chickens among the inhabitants, things might work better.

BTW, "fowl" isn't usually applied to cockatiels or other birds, but is generally restricted to "land-fowl" (Galliformes) and "water-fowl" (Anseriformes).

 

[Animalian]

could you put a horizontal divider in the run? So even if the cockatiels wanted to they couldn't go near the chickens?

 

[AquaEyes]

Quote:
I still think the chickens would make the cockatiels crazy. Even bantam breeds are so much bigger, and unless the enclosure had cover (i.e. a planted aviary), those cockatiels are going to be going nuts from the activity of the chickens. That's just my take on it, coming from a cage-bird world. Species kept together in aviaries are matched on size and temperament -- not just because one could hurt the other, but because the mere presence of a much larger and more hyper bird will make a smaller and more peaceful bird rather nutty. This rule can be bent in large aviaries with plants because there is a level of cover provided for security to the smaller birds. If they're in an empty aviary, there's nowhere to hide.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I wouldn't have them in the same enclosure together. Sometimes chickens kill small songbirds.

My chickens are pretty mellow and don't bother my African grey when they're around. When he's outside in his travel cage, they mill around the area with us. He's pretty high strung, as parrots go.

It's possible that you could have them side by side, if that would give you any advantage when dealing with space issues. I'd try having them in a cage near the chickens, first, to see how they reacted. Make sure they aren't left outside in the sun if it's very warm at all.

If it was me, I'd probably look at having them next to the house, where I could interact with them more. Possibly even through a window and while in a favorite seating area.

 

[NjoyNjoy]

Is it easy to raise, say three chicks ...so they will become accustomed to each other from this stage onward?

Thanks for all the above replies.
Njoy

 

[pinkfoxfarm]

i wouldnt do chikens and teils...
1 ive seen chickend tear apart song birds if they catch em ...
2 chickens carry diseses that can go unnoticed but kill your teils
3: your teils will end up pooping all over and often ON your chickens lol

i have however seen movely aviary with finches and QUAIL, i cant see why teils and quail couldnt be equally happy together...still have the risk of "bombings" lol, but quail are much softer in ersonality and each would do their own thing...a nice sized group of cortinux would give you plenty of delicious eggs and potentially meat too!