chukars

[michael94]

Can anyone tell me if you can raise chukars and chickens together without having to many problems?

 

[greymane]

I think that is not a good idea (because of disease issues), but I am sure others can give you more information.

 

[Chinchilla2]

Quote:
This question is very similar to the "Can I raise quail and chickens together" question.

The simple answer is MAYBE.

First, chukar can get chicken diseases. If they get something that a chicken can shake off with a few feather ruffles and a small dose of medication, it can be potentially fatal to the smaller chukar.

Chickens can get chukar or gamebird diseases. If the chukar get something they shake off with a few feather ruffles and a small dose of medication, it can be potentially fatal to the larger chicken since it may mimic a chicken disease and, as a result, you or the vet doses them with the wrong medication.

If you are going to raise the two of them, you are better off if you house them separately. A distance of 10 ft between pens is suggested, more if at all possible. When caring for everything, work with the chukar first, wash your hands or use a sanitizer, and then work with the chickens. In simple words, implement a few biosecurity measures. If you do that, you can raise the two at the same time but not in the same pen.

Now we get to where the maybe answer comes in. There are those who have no problems WHATSOEVER putting chukar (quail, pheasant, etc.) in with their chickens. The birds can get along, they all stay healthy, and other than the occasional nest takeover or chick adoption by a broody chicken or chukar (rare for the chukar to be broody BTW) there are no problems.

Others will present pictures of how gamebirds are affected by chicken diseases and tell you that they lost an entire or most of an entire flock of either chickens or gamebirds (usually the gamebirds) due to disease crossover even when implementing biosecurity measures. As a result, gamebirds and chickens should NEVER be raised at the same time.

There will be those that say the only way one can raise gamebirds with chickens is if the chickens are in Florida and the gamebirds are in Washington state. Others will say you can house massive flocks of each all within the same <insert a size> coop and run. Everyone has had their own experiences here. I have no problems raising my bobs near my chickens but I will not raise them in the same housing space. It has been my experience that once both of these types of birds reach the 2-3 week age, chicken toes look like worms and bobwhite chicks look like grasshoppers. They begin to attack each other. If they did not do this, I would probably run an experiment on them just to see if a pair or quad of bobs could live happily with chickens but the mutual snack fest puts a halt to the idea.

As a result, I would endorse the idea of using separate but equal pens here. The chukars can have a home and the chickens can have their home but other than the occasional conversation through wire and around the corner, they never meet up.

If you do decide to try a joint living arrangement, I would be prepared for potential problems and separate your chukars into two flocks, one with the chickens and one away from the chickens. This way you can monitor the health status of both flocks closely and determine if being coop mates results in problems and you do not lose all your chukars.

<edited to clarify a point to help prevent potential arguments, or at least I hope so>