Official BYC Poll - Are Chickens Easier or Harder To Raise Than....

[Nifty-Chicken]

Okay, this poll was initiated by this thread.

Some say that chickens are more work to raise than other pets. Obviously we're going to have a bit of a biased result asking this on a chicken website, but a lot of our members have many different pets, so I think it is worth a shot.

Try your best to keep this an "apples to apples" comparison. For example, keeping 5 chickens will be different from keeping 20 horses as keeping 10 chickens will be from keeping 10 dogs.

This isn't about the direct "costs" of raising the animals, but about the amount of time and worry. Consider:

• Getting everything setup for the animal(s)
• Frequency of health problems
• General care (feeding, housing, exercise, protection, etc.)


NOTE: YOU CAN (should) CHOOSE MORE THAN ONE SELECTION!

 

[Wynette]

Just a quick comment...I think in large part, at least for me, the care involved equates very much to the time involved. My barn is over 300' from my house, so just getting there & back, putting on boots & bundling up (this time of year) takes extra time. Letting my dogs out to potty & putting food in their bowls takes much less time that getting to & from the barn. However, dogs and cats require more one-on-one time....yes, this is a difficult one to call, for sure!

 

[Namble]

I think caring for chickens is less work than dogs and cats. Because you don't have to give them shots, take them to the vet and all that stuff.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Chickens don't have to be walked at 5 in the morning and entertained all gosh-darn day like dogs.

They are slightly more work than cats for me, only because I have to go out to the coop in freezing weather to change their water and rake their run...

 

[eggsrcool]

Less work than dogs, but more work than cats IMO

 

[KellyHM]

Quote:
I agree.

 

[Imp]

I only have chickens and cats.
Chickens are way easier- mostly just feed and water daily and opening up the run. Clean up occasionally
With the cats you throw in the
LITTERBOX (Ghostly echoing sounds) and daily cleaning.

Imp

 

[eggsrcool]

It can also depend on your 'setup', if you have a 'flap' for cat, as I do, just means you feed and water them and make sure they are healthy. Chickens you just need to let them out, clean them out when necessary, feed them, water them and check overall health. Dogs though, let them out quite early, walk them, feed, water, walk a bit more etc.. check overall health, and put to bed at night.

 

[SeramaLife]

I have all three and I think they are more work than the cats or working dogs. Of course, I am not a dog person, and I hate dogs, so someone else takes care of them.

 

[hinkjc]

I would say less than dogs and cats. I did the following comparison (from actual experience)..

13 dogs (2 adults, 11 puppies) was a recent experience. Between feeding (3x a day), cleaning up after this many dogs numerous times a day

, playing, vet visits for vaccinations, worming and other health conditions/possible euthanasia which requires a vet, they are a ton of work. Adult dogs pest to go in and out every hour on the hour. ugh!

Compare to a coop of chickens with the same number of animals - fill feed/water once daily, open them up in the morning and close them up at night, daily raking of hen house with a full clean out every 3-4 months. No vet visits and self euthanisia. Minor vet care can be done at home. Pretty simple requirements.

4 cats compared to 4 chickens. My cats get feeding morning and night, litter box cleanings throughout the day and lots of attention/snuggles, plus vet visits (including spay/neuter, vaccinations, etc). Oh and don't forget all the hairball cleanups.

Chickens don't even get close. 4 chickens - feed/water once daily, clean coop quarterly, open in the morning, close at night. Pretty simple requirements imo.