can Emus and Chickens live together in the same pen

[tonycee]

Hello:

I am new to the group, but would like to ask a question.

Can Chickens and Emus live together in the same pen?

Looking forward to repies.

 

[Wolftalk]

Sorry I dont know.
But I do want to know the answer to same question!

 

[kathyinmo]

Mary (The Sheriff) has a video that may answer your question.

See it HERE.

 

[The Sheriff]

Yes they can but the emus will chase the chickens. This has not been a problem until recently when two juvenile chicks ventured out into the yard. The emus gave chase, stomping and tossing the two chicks. One now has an injured leg and I am deciding how to proceed. Totally my fault. The emus have to get very familiar with any living thing coming into their territory then they are fine with it. But if something new is introduced suddenly, the chasing and stomping is seriously bad. So if you house them together, you have to make sure that new arrivals are in a penned area, in sight of the emus but out of their reach until they are completely familiar with them or a tragedy can occur as did here. They are just doing what comes natural. Mine are good watch guards and chase off hawks, cats, etc. I just have to find a way to fence off new birds until safe. Be careful.

 

[Chickenpoor]

Yes they can but the emus will chase the chickens. This has not been a problem until recently when two juvenile chicks ventured out into the yard. The emus gave chase, stomping and tossing the two chicks. One now has an injured leg and I am deciding how to proceed. Totally my fault. The emus have to get very familiar with any living thing coming into their territory then they are fine with it. But if something new is introduced suddenly, the chasing and stomping is seriously bad. So if you house them together, you have to make sure that new arrivals are in a penned area, in sight of the emus but out of their reach until they are completely familiar with them or a tragedy can occur as did here. They are just doing what comes natural. Mine are good watch guards and chase off hawks, cats, etc. I just have to find a way to fence off new birds until safe. Be careful.

I agree with The Sheriff and she is 100% correct. I've had a similar incident with juvenile chicks and the same thing happened to them. Luckily my mom happened to be on the back porch and saw him throwing them in the air and I was able to rescue them.

 

[Nicophorus]

I would not unless MAYBE if they where raised in that flock from baby chicks onwards.

My emus that I've had since they were 4 months old or so, I do not trust with anything smaller then them, and she has lived in close proximity (one field fence between them) to the other birds for over half a year now.

 

[Albanydog]

We raised Emily with our chickens, she went to bed in the coop when the chickens did, so she has no problem with them, except...... when the baby chicks arrived she had to be banished to the goat field. Interesting enough she never killed a chick, just played toss with them, same thing she did with the basket of live mice we caught in the garden and gave to her! She likes to chase the bantams too if they wonder into the field and she can't figure out the Polish so they all pretty much stick to the chicken field and only the larger birds venture out into the pasture.

She is a great guard too, we haven't lost a single chicken to predators since she arrived nearly 3 years ago now! She adapted quite well to the main pasture, lots more room to run. When the goats or llamas run, Emily is right there with them. Anytime we drive the gator in the field she is ready to race!! She is a big sweetheart, just watch your ponytails scrunchies, hearing aids and glasses as she loves to sneak up and grab them and occasionally with get your ear in the process. Ouch.....Hoping to find her a boyfriend one of these days but I think we need to hand raise him too so we would have another friendly emu like Emily. For now Emily likes to snuggles up in the barn at night usually with our orphaned doeling stuck between her and one of the bucks.

 

[Kt2u]

Im afraid my Emu tries to stomp the chickens. They run for their lives because he will kill them. Mine is 1 1/2 years old.

 

[Haida]

Our chicks and emus have been raised together since one week of age. The chickens take advantage of the emus in the sense that they can get yummy things for them (ie: pulling food out of a hanging wire bird feeder I set up with fresh greens inside) and that emus are nice and warm (good to snuggle up with!). The chicks will also keep the emus entertained and busy (the emu will copy the chicks). BUT, that's the positive side... the negative of it is you must set up hidey-holes for the chickens... the emus start running/having their little spaz-a-thons, and they don't see where they're going... then they run, jump and flop all over, sometimes kicking chicks on accident.The chickens learned very VERY fast that when the emus squeal and jump, they'd better hide now! When we first introduced the chicks to the emu, they did pick them up by their little tails, almost trying to figure them out. But they only did it a few times. I haven't lost any chicks, either.

So I mean, it's do-able, only if you take precautions and follow the advice given by other members

. I should also mention my emus and chicks are only 9 weeks old (the emu are about 36" tall) but I don't plan on keeping them together forever, probably will separate when the chickens start laying. Good luck!

 

[ES Emus]

Bottom line is that there is no sure answer to the question. There are lots of considerations that go into the equation. First, emus cannot/should not be kept in a "chicken pen", with the possible exception of young chicks. Emus need large running areas with secure fencing. Not many chicken pens are at least 120' long and constructed to stop a 150 pound emu running 30 mph! Emus chicks raised with chickens tend to get along with chickens and can actually bond with them. However the addition of new birds/chicks can trigger aggressive behavior in older birds. The only likely successful introduction of any animals/birds to emus (including other emus) involves a slow process of familiarizing the emus with the introduced creatures, keeping them separate, but in eyesight until the sight of the new creatures does not excite the adult birds. This process can take days, weeks, and even months and we have to do this every time someone brings us a rescued or rehomed emu.