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

[CrazyCochin]

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.

I agree to this statement!
My aunt had a Siamese cat that would nag, and every time he would sound like he was either dying, or the sky was falling.

 

[CrazyCochin]

I love Becky's Homestead!

I know! She is great.
Haven’t watched her in forever though. Does she have any recent videos?

 

[Deezchix]

I know! She is great.
Haven’t watched her in forever though. Does she have any recent videos?

Yes, she does. I don't know when you last watchrd her videos, but she moved to a bigger homestead, she literally brought her log cabin there LOL

 

[Melontine]

From birth/hatch? Definitely chickens are easier here. Set them up in a brooder and they'll be good to go, whereas a newborn puppy or kitten will need to be bottle-fed around the clock and really no one can do as well raising them as their mom.

Yeah... Chickens are way easier to raise.
Maybe a full-grown cat is easier than a 2-week old chick, but that's really the only way I'd see chickens ever being more difficult.

 

[livesimplecolorado]

I think chickens are super easy to keep and are very hardy. The only two issues with chickens, first you have to keep their main area clean and it's easy to let go because they poop so much! If it's clean, then fewer diseases and issues. Second, they are pretty much defenseless against almost any other critter, so keeping them in a contained area or keeping a watch when they are free-ranging so nothing can get at them.

If you have things automated, like waterers and feeders, that makes it even easier.

 

[Suzz]

The time and money I have spent on my 5 dollar chickens is enormous and I scoop poop ,daily so to me chickens are harder I have 6 outside/ garage cats and 2 indoor dogs but I’m not in any way complaining though I knew what I was getting in to and love every minute of it sometimes when its 40 below its a little tough but I loves spending time outside doing my chores hanging with my animals!

 

[Cackel Shack]

Many of us keep dogs, or cats and many have kept one or both before we took the plunge and started keeping chickens. Some say that chickens are more work to raise than other pets and vice versa. So, we're curious to hear how you all think chicken keeping compares to keeping dogs or cats.

Try your best to keep this an "apples to apples" comparison. For example, keeping 5 chickens will be different from keeping 20 cats as keeping 10 chickens will be from keeping 10 dogs.

This isn't about the direct "costs" of raising the animals, but about the amount of time, worry and effort. Consider:

• Getting everything set up for the animal(s)
• Frequency of health problems
• General care (feeding, housing, exercise, protection, etc.)

Place your votes above, and please share your thoughts in reply to this thread.

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(Check out more exciting Official BYC Polls HERE!)

It depends on how many chickens a keeper has. A daily chicken chore for me is cleaning the poop out of the henhouse daily. Then I collect eggs twice a day, supply fresh water and food every 2 days and clean surrounding areas of chicken poo too. My chickens free range during the day but require putting to bed at night as well, so keeping a feathered flock is more labor-intensive than having a dog for a pet. But if a keeper enjoys chickens this is not work, just chores related to a hobby.

 

[Weeg]

so keeping a feathered flock is more labor-intensive than having a dog for a pet. But if a keeper enjoys chickens this is not work, just chores related to a hobby.

This is a very good point. Nice post.

 

[jeansweezey]

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.

If you have a hen volunteering to be the mother, then there is hardly any work at all! She keeps them warm, so no need for a heat lamp, and she teaches them what they need to know.

 

[jeansweezey]

I interpreted the word 'raising' to mean from babyhood to adulthood, not the daily maintenance required for an adult flock.