Official BYC Poll: Are Chickens Easier or Harder To Raise Than Dogs/Cats?

[calboy147]

Dogs are the easiest for me. Probably because i have had at least one dog around for the past 65 years. I can tell them once or twice a day for two weeks and they will learn where they can or cannot go. Or where i want them to go at any specific time. They can help with chores and work, and they enjoy playing what i like playing. They are better company than then chickens; or cats. And do not destroy any and everything they manage to get access to.
Chickens pro, 1:fun to watch
2: help me with eggs, usually
3: help me with meat
4: are occasionally entertaining
5: are sometimes calming to watch
con, 1: totally destructive if left alone to free range
2: poop every where including their feed and water
3: cannot be left alone due to being at the top of menu for everything on the planet
4: do not comprehend fence or property boundaries
5: have to be cleaned up after constantly due to smell, bugs and microbes
6: not good companions
7: have no loyalty
Dogs are, 1: fun to watch
2: help me locate eggs the chickens tried to hide from me
3: help me with meat
4: help me protect crazy chickens
5: do not poop in their water and/or my everything
6: my dogs can free range my property alone for a week or two with the occasional over look by friend or security camera.
7: easily trained; especially fence lines, boundaries and where to poop and pee
8: great companions
9: loyal to a fault
cons, 1: short lived
Cats pro, 1: uh, mmm, ah, " cricket sounds"
cons, 1: see chicken list above

 

[calboy147]

I think that chickens are less work than dogs because they don't have to be walked, poop-scooped, socialized, and trained. You *can* do some of these things if you want to, but you don't *have* to.

It's about the same as cats because you have to manage their litter at intervals, feed and water them, and let them in and out. *Maybe* the daily egg collection makes it a little more work than an all-indoor cat, but at least you get eggs instead of hairballs.

Given appropriate space and facilities, chickens manage their own social needs just as cats do in a multi-cat household. Cats might be a little more trouble if you only had one and thus had to provide for all it's social needs, but I've never only had one cat.

???? I have to poop scoop my coop once a week, manage their litter once a week, and let them in and out every day. I do not have to do any of that with my dogs. I do occasionally have to "rassle" them to come in the house to hang out with me.

 

[calboy147]

I sure feel like I work a lot harder raising chicks/chickens. Maybe its because I've only had them about a year and the extra effort it is taking me during the learning curve. Ive had dogs and cats all my life and I already know what I'm doing with them, so they feel easier to me. When I think of all the needs of chicks vs kittens/puppies, kittens and puppies are easier to me. I'm thinking your experience level may influence how you answer this.
( chirp, chirp )

Oh wait! I may not have read the question correctly. Are we talking Dogs, Cats and Chickens? Or Puppies, kittens and chicks?

 

[calboy147]

The problem with cats is that they'll nag you mercilessly every time you open a can of tuna. I swear they can hear it a mile away.

My wife's insane crazy cat acts like she is my very best friens if i am in the back bedroom cuz she knows i have to walk past the cat snack jar to get out. Sometimes i think i may eat her.

 

[calboy147]

I have a had dogs, I presently have a cat and chickens. Dogs are definitely more difficult than chickens. And cats. I mean, they have to be altered, and vaccinated. Frequent trips to the vet. Plus, they're social animals so they need more attention. Chickens seem to be lower maintenance, but I think when it comes to cats and chickens, it's more of an opinion.

Dogs do not "have to be altered, or vaccinated for that matter. What is the difference between an annual vaccine for a dog and the constant vigilance and cremes lotions sprays and food additives for chickens. Or your rooster constantly chasing down and mating with the neighbors chickens?

 

[themotleycoopchic]

Oh wait! I may not have read the question correctly. Are we talking Dogs, Cats and Chickens? Or Puppies, kittens and chicks?

I'm not sure...in my mind I took it to mean raising them from start to finish..??. My 1st flock is 9 mo old..I just integrated 12wk olds into the flock .so I'm still not over the extra work of caring for chicks. I love doing it, the reward,of fresh eggs, sweet chickens, and training them is all worth it to me. And in my opinion, at this stage in my experience with chickens, it seems like more work to me. I cant wait to get to that point where its easier than cats and dogs for me too. I'm also working on getting my husband to automate my coop.(door. waterer) That would be a game changer

 

[3KillerBs]

???? I have to poop scoop my coop once a week, manage their litter once a week, and let them in and out every day. I do not have to do any of that with my dogs. I do occasionally have to "rassle" them to come in the house to hang out with me.

I use Deep Bedding in my enclosed coops and Deep Litter in my Open Air coop and in my runs. These require minimal attention a couple times a month between major cleanouts that take place no sooner than every 6 weeks and up to every 6 months or a year.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

Opening a door in the morning and closing it at night is not onerous compared to a dog's need for multiple outdoor excursions daily.

Of course the installation of an automatic coop door or a doggie door relieves that for either species.

What is the difference between an annual vaccine for a dog and the constant vigilance and cremes lotions sprays and food additives for chickens. Or your rooster constantly chasing down and mating with the neighbors chickens?

What "cremes, lotions, sprays, and food additives"?

I give electrolytes in the chickens' water once a week in high summer when it's over 90F for most of the day, but that's not much trouble. Other than that, they get all-flock feed, clean water, and all the food prep scraps and garden weeds that I'd otherwise be putting into the compost pile.

My roosters are securely inside their runs. Escapees -- male or female -- get their wings clipped the second time I catch them out. Since I live in the rural south, if my rooster caused trouble on my neighbor's property he'd have ever right to shoot the rooster and I'd have no right to complain.

I will admit that it will be a good morning's work next week or the week after to butcher the 3 cull cockerels who didn't sell on Craigslist, but at least I'll get a good chicken dinner.

 

[CrazyCochin]

Thank you! However, there’s this one lady who has a YouTube channel I haven’t watched in years, Becky’s Homestead, and she taught one of her roosters to poop in the toilet.

 

[Deezchix]

Thank you! However, there’s this one lady who has a YouTube channel I haven’t watched in years, Becky’s Homestead, and she taught one of her roosters to poop in the toilet.

I love Becky's Homestead!

 

[wolf-deer88]

Dogs do not "have to be altered, or vaccinated for that matter. What is the difference between an annual vaccine for a dog and the constant vigilance and cremes lotions sprays and food additives for chickens. Or your rooster constantly chasing down and mating with the neighbors chickens?

It's inhumane to leave a female dog unaltered (a male is a different story.) Female dogs can have up to 14 litters in her lifetime. 1-12 puppies can be in a single litter. It's also wise to vaccinate your dogs. Wanna deal with a rabid dog? Don't think so. And it's not a big deal if a rooster mates with a hen. Who cares if they're eggs get fertilized? If your neighbors unaltered female dog get pregnant, somebody's gone be in some deep shit. Just saying. Having so many puppies can actually kill the mother.