Any Other Fowl Possible for the Coop?

[linuxusr]

Hello All,

Let me introduce my question by way of an analogy to fish keeping. I used to keep African Cichlids. They are aggressive and territorial. However, there was the possibility of introducing dither fish. A dither fish is a fish that will peacefully co-exist with members of a different family. In this case, my dither fish were tinfoil barbs, a schooling fish. It's as if the tinfoil barbs and cichlids were in parallel universes, unaware of each others' existence.

Is there any other fowl, like the dither fish, that I could introduce to my flock with a strong likelihood that they would get along?

 

[21hens-incharge]

What kind of flock do you have now?

Breeds? Ages?

How big is your coop?
How big is the run?

Just as with fish....to many in a small space and success rate decreases greatly.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What kind of flock do you have now?

Breeds? Ages?

How big is your coop?
How big is the run?

Just as with fish....to many in a small space and success rate decreases greatly.

Yes, what do you have to work with? What species are you interested in? Are you willing to build a separate coop?

Behaviorwise people keep all kinds of species together, often without a problem. But sometimes there are issues. Sometimes there is fighting or bullying, especially if space is tight. But many people keep different species without any problems.

But there can be issues. A male duck's penis is corkscrewed. The way the female ducks are made, this allows ducks to mate on the water. I don't know about other waterfowl. When chickens mate the rooster does not have a penis, they just touch vents so the hens are made differently. If a male duck mates with a female chicken he can damage her and maybe himself. If you don't have a male duck this isn't an issue. Usually it's not an issue anyway, ducks stay with ducks and chickens stay with chickens, but some people say they have had an issue.

Blackhead is a disease that chickens can have and be carriers but it usually doesn't affect chickens that much. However, it is fatal to turkeys. Lots of people keep chickens and turkeys together. If blackhead is not in your flock, no problems. If blackhead is in your flock your turkeys will die.

Waterfowl need water. Ducks especially can make a mess with water. That means your coop or run could be a real wet mess. A wet coop or run is not healthy for chickens or other species. If you can isolate that wet mess to a part of your run it's probably not a big deal. If you can't you might have issues and may even need a separate coop or run.

Guineas and turkeys fly really well. They often ignore fences and may really enjoy roosting in trees. You may need a different kind of run if you keep these.

Usually if they have sufficient room there are not a lot of behavioral issues. The problems come in with their different requirements. But if things are tight you are more likely to have issues. Of course, if things are tight you are more likely to have issues even if you only have one species.

 

[linuxusr]

What kind of flock do you have now?

Breeds? Ages?

How big is your coop?
How big is the run?

Just as with fish....to many in a small space and success rate decreases greatly.

My space is limited. I was thinking of adding only one fowl. I live in the Dominican Republic and my breed is known as jabao, same breed but different varieties depending on color. I have black and grey striped; yellow; brown; one black. When they are adults, I believe they will each weigh about eight pounds. One member suggested a turkey but I definitely have no space for a turkey. How about a guinea hen?

 

[linuxusr]

Yes, what do you have to work with? What species are you interested in? Are you willing to build a separate coop?

Behaviorwise people keep all kinds of species together, often without a problem. But sometimes there are issues. Sometimes there is fighting or bullying, especially if space is tight. But many people keep different species without any problems.

But there can be issues. A male duck's penis is corkscrewed. The way the female ducks are made, this allows ducks to mate on the water. I don't know about other waterfowl. When chickens mate the rooster does not have a penis, they just touch vents so the hens are made differently. If a male duck mates with a female chicken he can damage her and maybe himself. If you don't have a male duck this isn't an issue. Usually it's not an issue anyway, ducks stay with ducks and chickens stay with chickens, but some people say they have had an issue.

Blackhead is a disease that chickens can have and be carriers but it usually doesn't affect chickens that much. However, it is fatal to turkeys. Lots of people keep chickens and turkeys together. If blackhead is not in your flock, no problems. If blackhead is in your flock your turkeys will die.

Waterfowl need water. Ducks especially can make a mess with water. That means your coop or run could be a real wet mess. A wet coop or run is not healthy for chickens or other species. If you can isolate that wet mess to a part of your run it's probably not a big deal. If you can't you might have issues and may even need a separate coop or run.

Guineas and turkeys fly really well. They often ignore fences and may really enjoy roosting in trees. You may need a different kind of run if you keep these.

Usually if they have sufficient room there are not a lot of behavioral issues. The problems come in with their different requirements. But if things are tight you are more likely to have issues. Of course, if things are tight you are more likely to have issues even if you only have one species.

My coop/run is completely enclosed. My pullets are about two months old and growing fast. One young guinea fowl might be a possibility . . . If any behavior problems, I remove it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have no idea what a jabao is so no idea how that might work. You can always try but you may need to act fast if it doesn't work. With a totally covered run a guinea fowl might work but they are fairly large too. With limited space anything may be a challenge.