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

[JedJackson]

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.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

I think dogs are the most time consuming. They need to be walked and in my neighborhood that means picking up any poop that may arise from the walk. This of course means multiple walks or trips to the "dog park" so the dog gets the exercise and playtime needed. They also need time spent training them unless you want a wild dog who sticks his nose up your guests butts when you have visitors.
Cats are similar to chickens. Cats do need to be litter trained and trained to come when you call. They also need to understand some commands.
Chickens need to be trained to come when you call, allow you to pick them up to check for injury or illness. They also need to obey certain commands. Roosters help greatly with this, however if you don't or can't have a rooster, you can teach your chickens to treat you like the rooster, That requires taking on some of the rooster's behaviors. All in all, I find chickens to be the easiest to care for.

 

[Deezchix]

I used to live in the city and I've always had cats. I love cats. I've had cats that lived 15 & 17yrs. Since we've moved to the suburbs with a much larger yard surrounded by a higher fence, it has been easier with our cat. He is mostly indoors, but we occasionally let him out in the yard to enjoy nice weather. Caring for him is scooping waste from his catbox and filling the auto feeder and water fountain weekly and occasionally playing toys with him if he looks bored. We've had our chickens since Aug '21. They are adorable and so much fun to watch and interact with. For us, they are more work than cats. Our chickens must be let out daily(we don't use a pop door), turn their bedding daily, fed and watered daily(since we had a rodent problem), check their poops daily, look over each chicken daily and collect the eggs daily. Putting them in at night is easiest, they pretty much go in and perch by themselves, we just lock up. Now in all fairness, I'm not sure what having one chicken would be like or having 9 cats.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

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.

YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!!

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

As a dog breeder, poultry breeder AND poultry rescuer.... I would say dogs most of the time are more difficult to care for. Having to feed, water and clean the big air conditioned dog shed is just a teeny fraction of what we have to do daily. We raise bloodhounds. That's means we are constantly cleaning their ears and wrinkles. Bathing, brushing, nail clipping, teeth brushing ect. Let's not forget all the work that goes into raising puppies! First the dogs breed then over the first couple weeks you eagerly wait for signs of pregnancy. When she is pregnant you will often notice weight gain, swelling and pinking of the nipples, change in appetite and mood ect. Sometimes they get morning sickness like us humans. Fast forward to week 7+ of pregnancy. At this point the female will have a large belly, swollen pink nipples ect. She will begin searching for a place to give birth so we have to set up the whelping room. Blankets, towels, pee pads are put down for them. Whelping kits are prepared. This includes aspirator bulbs, scissors, iodine, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, gloves ect. Then we wait for her to get her temp drop. When the temp drops that means she is in the beginning stages of labor. When she starts getting contractions I give her some cal paste to help with contractions. When she has each puppy I immediately dry remove the sac off the head and dry their head with a towel. I cut the umbilical cord only if mama can't do it herself. Then I use the aspirator bulb to suck all the fluids out of their nose and mouth. I then listen to them with a stethoscope to make sure there is no fluid stuck in the lungs. I then finish drying them off and put them beside mama. Then mama gets some more cal paste between each puppy and we repeat this whole whelping process with each puppy. For a bloodhound average litter size is 8-12. THEN after whelping the puppies we put a chicken heat lamp up to keep them warm the first 6 weeks them slowly when them off before they are 8 weeks. Then can't regulate their body temp for the first 4-6 weeks. When you have a dog breed that has large litters the mom doesn't always have enough body heat to keep all of them warm enough. I weight the puppies every other day and keep track of their weights. We also have to worm them all every 2 weeks. Again with cleaning up poop, pee, vomit ect. Clipping nails, bathing mama AND puppies now.... anyways... writing all this to let people know that dog breeding is NOT EASY and not just something you should do just to make a quick buck. It's hard, heart breaking, time consuming and overall a pain in the rear which is why you have to be totally dedicated to caring for your animals. We don't even breed AKC. I just believe in taking great care of our babies even if we only get $500 after all that work. I also don't let just anyone get puppies from us. Bloodhounds especially aren't for everyone. They are destructive, goofy, hyper yet lazy dogs and require trainjng if you don't want them to eat your couch. They are also the biggest sweethearts ever though and constantly make us laugh. Never a dull moment here. We will be having another litter in March. ❤ Feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook so you can see puppy pictures when they are born! I also post all my rescue updates and stuff there. Kenna's Kritters is my name on Facebook. We live in Polk City, FL. Now about those chickens! I have birds of all kinds here and they're all rescues. I even have a emu! They aren't near as hard to take care of as the dogs but they are still a pain in the butt! Cleaning coops at least once a week, changing hay in nesting boxes, changing coop bedding, refilling feeders and waterers, dealing with health issues, collecting eggs, building coops ect. Lots to do every single day! No days off on the weekends either. We work nonstop because we LOVE our babies. We also put a ton of work into our garden. We grow stuff for us and the animals to eat. It's just me and my dad doing all the work out here! ❤ I am also getting into canning/preserving foods. I am starting us our own little homestead!

 

[WallyG74]

Dogs are a pain. Cats, well they’re cats. Chickens are pretty great.

 

[wolf-deer88]

I have a had dogs, I presently have a cat and chickens. Dogs are definitely more difficult than chickens. And cats. I mean, they have to be altered, and vaccinated. Frequent trips to the vet. Plus, they're social animals so they need more attention. Chickens seem to be lower maintenance, but I think when it comes to cats and chickens, it's more of an opinion.

 

[WallyG74]

I have a had dogs, I presently have a cat and chickens. Dogs are definitely more difficult than chickens. And cats. I mean, they have to be altered, and vaccinated. Trips to the vet every month. Plus, they're social animals so they need more attention. Chickens seem to be lower maintenance, but I think when it comes to cats and chickens, it's more of an opinion.

Are you trying to find something wrong with your cat? Why do you take it to the vet every month?

 

[wolf-deer88]

No, my cat's fine. I was exaggerating. Might have the fix that...

 

[lv9777]

I would say it depends a lot on the personality of your dog, cat or flock. I have an indoor high maintenance cat, a low maintenance outdoor cat, a high maintenance barred rock chicken and two low maintenance Cochins. I will admit that I enable the high maintenance behavior a bit.