Which Animals Are Best to Keep with Chickens?

Keeping animals on a homestead can be rewarding and fun. No matter whether you need eggs and meat to sustain your family, or just want to enjoy their company and disposition, keeping farm animals can be extremely fulfilling. If you have chickens and are comfortable with their behavior, you might want to consider adding more animals. You may be thinking about adding chickens to the mix if you have other animals.

Many things need to be considered. A few of them include the amount of space you have available, the amount of time you can devote to caring for the animals, the purpose of the animals you already have, and the purpose of the ones you might add.

How Much Space Do You Have?​

First of all, you'll need to think about how much space you have to work with. You won't need much space for chickens. With a house, shelter, and some room to roam, they are content in a small backyard. Similarly, chickens like to run around freely in large fields. They are, therefore, very adaptable in this regard.

As you weigh the pros and cons of each animal, consider the amount of space they need to thrive without crowding the chickens. You should also consider zoning regulations in your neighborhood. Some city areas are fine with a few chickens, as long as there is no rooster. Small goats are allowed in some areas. Dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks, and geese might be possibilities. However, any larger animal, or more than a few types of animals, would likely push the limits.

Alternatively, if you have a large yard or even several acres, and it is zoned agricultural, you have many more options. Consider how you are going to use it. Can you subdivide it into animal zones, or would you prefer to have them all together? There are different needs for different animals, so don't just bring home cute little ducklings without thinking about a water area. Think about the animals' housing and roaming requirements.

How Much Time Do You Have?​

The size of your chicken flock will determine how much time and energy you need to devote to them. Keeping their coop clean, gathering eggs, feeding them, and keeping them contained and protected is the bare minimum you can do. Take the time to learn about the general care of each animal type and make sure you are ready to provide them with a healthy and safe environment. Adding more birds will increase your workload. Adding new animals can be exciting, so make sure you take it slow to avoid getting overwhelmed.

What Is Your Purpose for Adding Animals?​

Will there be horses and donkeys to ride? Do you plan to add goats for milk production? Would you like to expand your egg or meat production by adding more fowl? Do you plan on raising rabbits for meat? Will you raise pigs or cows? How about barn cats and guard dogs?

Chickens are susceptible to predators. It is a good idea to add animals to protect against hawks, bears, mountain lions, and raccoons. Although you may consider a dog to be the most logical choice, other animals may offer better protection.

Other Fowl to Keep With Chickens​

Perhaps the easiest and most logical way to grow your flock would be to add more poultry. Ducks and geese lay different kinds of eggs. You can raise turkeys and guinea fowl for meat.

It might seem that birds naturally share their space, but that isn't always the case. It is likely that you will have a few issues with the birds if they are friendly, but sometimes they can be territorial and get into fights.

If you have enough room to free-range your chickens, you should also have enough room for other fowl to roam. You won't need to worry about them competing with each other for space or food. Adding birds in pairs is a good idea since they are social animals. In a flock of chickens, a lone duck may be shunned or picked on. If you raise birds for their meat, you will want to separate varieties of birds during feeding time. Their dietary requirements differ.

You will need to be concerned about predators if you have a flock of only birds. Even large flocks of birds are at risk of being preyed upon. You will want to build high fences with protection against tunneling creatures as well as protection from the sky if you do not have larger animals, and perhaps limit their freedom.

Here's a look at several types of fowl and how they get along with chickens.

Ducks​

Ducks get along well with chickens. As ducks eat some bugs that chickens won't, there will be less competition for those bugs. They also need a pond or pool for splashing around. Make sure chickens don't wander into this water and drown. Their food has a different nutritional composition, so they need to be fed separately. It is also important to keep chickens and ducks in separate, clean housing because they tend to spread diseases among each other. Baby ducks should be protected until they are older because chickens will chase them.

Geese​

When there is space in the fields, chickens and geese get along. It is not unknown for geese to chase chickens away from their favorite spots due to their territorial nature. Similarly, ducks and geese enjoy the water, so precautions are also needed to prevent chickens from drowning. You should also provide separate housing and sleeping areas for the geese.

Turkeys​

In the yard, chickens and turkeys can roam together just like other fowl. Be sure you have plenty of room as turkeys require lots of space. Because turkeys are large, they don't have any trouble repelling curious chickens. In order to ensure the turkeys get the nutrition they need from specific foods, house and feed them separately. This is vital if you will be raising turkeys for meat.

Guinea Fowl​

It is possible for chickens and guinea fowl to roam in the same field or yard and even consume the same food. In the presence of predators, Guinea fowl can make a lot of noise, making them good "watch birds.". Keeping chickens and guinea fowl separate is a good idea since guinea fowl and chickens can crossbreed. If you have offspring from that union, they will be sterile.

Domestic Animals to Keep With Chickens​

You might be wondering how your household pets get along with chickens. That depends.

Cats​

Many people assume cats and birds would not get along well together, but this is not always true. In fact, cats can be a great asset, especially in the housing area. Besides carrying diseases that could harm your chickens, mice leave droppings that get into the chicken's food. Rats may bite your chickens as well. Cats can help control this population.

Baby chicks should be kept away from cats since they might be too curious, but cats tend to stay away from grown chickens. There's a part of this to do with chickens being larger than many cats, and part of it to do with cats not really caring. To find out how cats react to chickens around them, it is best to watch them for a while.

Dogs​

A livestock guardian dog is a good idea when looking for ideas to protect your hens. However dogs need to be watched closely when they are around chickens. How they react to chickens depends on their breed and their training. There are some dogs that are predators and will play with chickens believing they are toys. Some dogs have killed entire flocks of chickens by digging under the chicken wire/hardware cloth into the chicken coop. On the other hand, some dogs will ignore chickens and get along just fine, and some might even protect them. Check to see if your dog has any tendencies one way or another.

Other Pets​

Chickens are also curious about creatures smaller than themselves. It is a good idea not to keep guinea pigs or other pets nearby chickens. Occasionally, they will chase and peck those smaller than them.

Rabbits​

Rabbits may be domesticated or raised for meat. Chickens and rabbits are generally friendly toward each other. You should protect baby bunnies from the chickens since they may peck and harm them; however, the chickens will generally enjoy chasing the rabbits around because it keeps them from becoming bored.

Bigger Animals That Can Be Kept With Chickens​

Here are a few larger livestock animals you can keep with chickens:

Goats/Sheep​

Sheep, goats, and chickens can all live together in the pasture without conflict. In addition to keeping each other company, they provide your chicken protection against smaller predators some larger predators. Birds of prey, such as eagles, hawks and owls, will be deterred from diving into an area where goats are. Even smaller ground predators will be hesitant to approach goats and sheep in a field, especially if the animals wear bells.

Chickens help goats and sheep by eating bugs that annoy them. There is the possibility that goats or sheep might accidentally step on chickens, although it doesn't happen very often. However, chickens are quick, so they are not likely to get injured.

Chickens shouldn't be allowed in goat shelters. Goats dislike chicken poop in their sleeping areas and have been known to throw a fit when they find it. In addition, chicken poop can make them ill. Providing they have room to roam, and they are fed and housed separately, they have a good relationship.

Donkeys, Horses, and Cows​

It's okay to let chickens run around in pastures that also have horses, donkeys, and cows. There are several benefits to this relationship, for example, the large animals keep predators at bay, and the chickens eat the pesky bugs and maggots in cow manure and horse dung. Sometimes seeds and feed in horse and cow feed are not digested by the animals and end up in the manure. When chickens find these tasty treats, they will eat them. They will even help spread the waste, which benefits the soil. Normally chickens don't get under hooves, but there is a possibility the larger animal might step on one.

Animals You Should Never Keep With Chickens​

Chickens should be kept away from certain animals because they can cause harm to them.

Pigs​

Pigs are often not friendly with chickens. Pigs are carnivores, and they will devour your chickens. The chickens will appreciate the fact that the pigs turn up a lot of dirt and expose a lot of bugs and roots if you take the chance and put these two animals together.

Summary​

As more and more people choose to homestead and find sustainable methods of food production, chickens are an excellent choice. After you have a flock of chickens established, you can add one or two more animals. Take into account your space and housing availability when deciding which is best for you.

Be attentive to any animal's reaction and behavior when introducing it to another, and always have a backup plan to separate the species at the first sign of trouble. There are many farms with animals that coexist and range together forming a symbiotic relationship.