Mastiff vs. chickens in town. Hmmm....

[nikki1]

Had a baffling conversation with a lady at the park the other day. She had an ENORMOUS English mastiff with her. He's only 9 months old, but already nearly the size of a shetland pony. He was very sweet and friendly, but he was taller than my 4 year old, and probably twice the weight.

Anyway, I was talking to the owner, and the topic of chickens came up (big surprise...). The lady said she used to have chickens, but that it was too much of a hassle and too big of a mess to handle in town.

Hmmm...In our town we're allowed 5 chickens within city limits. Even if she had brahmas, that's like 50 pounds of bird. 5 chickens is around 20 square feet of henhouse and 50 square feet of run. Hardly prohibitive. Yeah, so they poop. It dries quickly, then can be swept and sprayed off the patio in 10 minutes.

Compare that to a mastiff! That boy on her leash will be at least 150 pounds when grown. I can only imagine the dog bed and run he'd require. And the drool! Buckets! When it comes to poop, I can't imagine that 5 chickens could be in the same poop league with a mastiff!

Nothing against dogs, but don't give up on chickens and use bother as an excuse, then go out and get yourself a mastiff!

--Nikki

 

[JD4570]

Wow, a Mastiff! Talk about getting the pooper scooper droop!

 

[UllaBee]

We had a mastiff, the sweetie just passed away a couple months ago and we miss her terribly! Mastiffs have a bad rep for drool and size, but in reality they really only drool right after drinking, so if you wipe their mouths, it is not even an issue. Also, they only drool because of droopy jowels which is specific to each individual (if you have a dog that's jowels aren't as droopy, she won't drool as much). And because they are large dogs, they are calm and lazy, they really are not any trouble at all. They sleep most of the day and 90% of the time it is on your feet or against your leg. Everyone thinks you need tons of room for them, because of their size, but they are actually great dogs for small spaces, it's those small hyper dogs that need room! lol As for poop, they poop a lot at a time, but not nearly as often as a chicken and they usually pick a central spot so it isn't spread all over. They never poop on you when you hold them! And picking up a few piles with a pooper scooper is much faster than cleaning out a whole chicken coop! And even as surprised as I have been at how much more "pet-like" chickens can be than I ever imagined, they are not even close to as cuddly as a dog. Chickens are definitely much more active and skiddish, and high energy. I would have to agree with the mastiff owner, as much as I love chickens (so far), the mastiff is much less to care for.

I guess it really comes down to different strokes for different folks... we are always willing to put up with the work required for whatever we love (look at kids, what requires more work than children?) and this lady just wasn't a chicken person!

Personally, I want both!!!

 

[b.hromada]

Really, I agree! I love all animals, and mastiffs are huge for sure! Hey, I had two Great Danes, and yes, they sure can poop, not so much of the drool though. But heck, you can have both, right? I know I do!!

 

[redhen]

Mastiffs are MUCH easier to take care of, in my opinion.

 

[Peaches Lee]

Having both, I'm going with chickens! The drool, the shedding, the hyperness and energy, the intense chewing; let's face it, that's a lot of dog. Plus, chickens give you eggs and/or meat. You can also compost and use their manure for gardening.

Also, the amount of food for one large dog vs. a flock of chickens is about the same.

 

[UllaBee]

I completely agree with you about the feed! lol! They sure can eat!!! And if you are feeding higher quality feed, it gets downright expensive. But, I am surprised to hear you call them hyper and full of energy. Personally, I have never known a hyper or energetic English Mastiff, or any of the heavy mastiffs (not sure about Bull Mastiffs, they are smaller, but I wasn't under the impression that bull dogs were hyper either). As a matter of fact I have seen them recommended for apartment dogs because they never want to run. Could you possibly have a mastiff mix? Or perhaps you have one rare mastiff there!

I guess it's just one more example of every animal having their own personality. Maybe the woman from the park had exceptionally hyper chickens?!

 

[dainerra]

I think that it depends on what the person likes. My dogs aren't work to me because I love them and taking care of them is part of that, a labor of love. Growing up, the pig took a lot less time, but it was WORK because I didn't enjoy doing it.

 

[Peaches Lee]

LOL! No she's pure English Mastiff. I'll try to dig up a picture. Yes, hyper mastiffs are out there, at the Vet. clinic I work at you'll find them and I always ask the owners about their energy level (cause I thought they were suppose to be couch potato dogs?) and a lot of people say energetic. It's probably the breeding lines. The second picture shows her doing her favorite thing, digging at the rapids in a little brook. She would do it for hours if I stood there with her.

 

[ChicknThief]

LOL! No she's pure English Mastiff. I'll try to dig up a picture. Yes, hyper mastiffs are out there, at the Vet. clinic I work at you'll find them and I always ask the owners about their energy level (cause I thought they were suppose to be couch potato dogs?) and a lot of people say energetic. It's probably the breeding lines. The second picture shows her doing her favorite thing, digging at the rapids in a little brook. She would do it for hours if I stood there with her.

Lovely dog!!! I have always loved the big cuddly dogs. When we have the space and property we want I pretty much insist that we will have something along the lines of a Mastiff, a Newf, our a GPyre. LOVE them!!!