Official BYC POLL: Chicken Keeping - Easier, same or harder than dogs/cats?

[Chickeeaholic]

Same as a dog. I have a spoiled dog and I have spoiled chickens.

 

[FoggyFowl1719]

My cats are fixed & indoor only. I also don't have to brush and play with them everyday. One of the perks of having two cats is they will play with each other.

True. But there are still stinky litter boxes to clean, hair to lint roll, and scratches on the furniture. My cats used to be strictly indoors as well. But they always tried to bolt out the door every chance they got. When we realized that our cats were starting to father babies with the neighborhood feral cats, we had one neutered and the other is in a fully enclosed pen with the chihuahua. He doesn't try to escape there and he doesn't like to come in the house. The neutered cat has free roam but is only allowed in the house during winter and even then he sleeps in a crate. I still think chickens are easier.

 

[Eden83_haaretz]

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Many of us keep dogs, or cats and many have kept one or both before we took the plunge and started keeping chickens. We're curious to hear how you all think chicken keeping compares to keeping dogs or cats.

Please cast your vote in the poll options above and share your thoughts in reply to this thread

Dog keeping to me is the hardest, they are so needy, too loud when they bark, I used to love dogs, then I had cats and definitely preferred them, used to treat my cats as if they were almost people.

Now that we have chickens, I would never again have a dog; cats, yeah I do still have cats because they are great at killing pests (we don't have to worry about rodents and they don't bother the chickens) and they are not as needy as dogs. But in regards to the amount of work that goes into an animal, in the end I guess I'd say that the hardest are dogs, then chickens and then cats.

 

[Eden83_haaretz]

I find it easier in many ways than a cat or dog. Chickens don't steal half my bed, bark, or have accidents on the carpet. There's no shots, no fur to clean off my work clothes or the couch. They stay outside, and give me food for my belly and poop for my compost pile.

On the flip side, they don't snuggle with me and stay by my side when I'm sick, or get up with me in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. They don't miss me like my dogs, don't knock me down for kisses, or look at me like the sun and moon rise and set because I say so.

Heh I guess I could say that we have this one chicken that gives us whatever any dog or cat could (have had dogs in the past and have two cats right now).

This chicken, if allowed, would to live indoors she'd definitely snuggle with me (she actually kind of did it once; we left the cabin door open, we were napping in the bedroom and she came straight in and laid on my bed at my feet; noticed her when I woke up and she was napping too lol she just melted my heart). She does sit down to watch the garden and follows us everywhere, we just had a close relationship with her because we basically raised her.
Her mom sat to chill with me too, one day I was just sitting in the garden, and she came, sat next to my arm and all the chicks sat all around me, it was just so sweet.

 

[Eden83_haaretz]

Cats are harder than they're marketed. Or we've been unfortunate with our 4 (over the years).

Chickens are easier than cats. We can fill their feeders and waterers and they're ok for a few days. Cats are marketed as having similar needs, but when we've tried, we usually came home to some sort of disaster.

Our dogs require more than that if we're to be gone, but less day to day maintenance. Overall averages out, I guess.

Maybe you lack training techniques for the cats, my husband trained our cats to come in upon command with water balloons worked like a charm, he just did it once or twice and that was all that was needed. They definitely know what "no" means.
Our cats are indoors, they were when we lived in the city (had a garden, which is when he trained them) and then we moved to the countryside. Since there are dogs that people leave loose, we don't allow our cats out without supervision; do want to make them a cage so they can go out safely without supervision eventually; just haven't had the time or resources to do it just yet. But they nap most of the day so they're not too much work anyways.

 

[AgnesGray]

Maybe you lack training techniques for the cats, my husband trained our cats to come in upon command with water balloons worked like a charm, he just did it once or twice and that was all that was needed. They definitely know what "no" means.
Our cats are indoors, they were when we lived in the city (had a garden, which is when he trained them) and then we moved to the countryside. Since there are dogs that people leave loose, we don't allow our cats out without supervision; do want to make them a cage so they can go out safely without supervision eventually; just haven't had the time or resources to do it just yet. But they nap most of the day so they're not too much work anyways.

If we had your cat whispering skills that would have been a game-changer. That's awesome our cats are loving when we're in line, but the positive vibes with them stop there.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

Okay, I like keeping all three, but my least favorite yard job in the entire world is cleaning up dog poop.

I also had a hard level difficulty dog for a first dog... so my answer probably is skewing the results.
Scooby was a lab German Shepherd mix. He had so many food allergies and past trauma that he was a hot mess. When we brought him home he was crusty and bald from his chest down, all the way from front to back. He constantly licked himself, his ears were packed with pus. He was allergic to wheat, among other foods, causing hives. he had a fungal infection on his skin that was being spread when he licked.
His vet prescribed a special shampoo and some other medications to help him deal with the allergies. We bought him expensive anti allergy food. I had to bathe him with the special shampoo every other day for a week, then every four days for a month, then once a week.
Finally, he started growing out his fur. For a few months he was fine, his fur looked good, his real personality appeared because he started feeling better. Then he started loosing hair and itching again. We had kept his food the same, had stayed on top of his flea medicine an thought maybe he was eating out of the trash can, so we got a metal can with a lid... treated his issues, re started the bath cycle on recommendation from the vet.

Then I just happened to see the cause of the issue while I was doing some yard work. I heard someone talking to Scooby through the fence, and figured one of the residents of the care home next door was outside and liked dogs. But then, a sandwich and an apple came sailing over the fence and my dog downed the sandwich in one whole gulp. Well I went round the corner and let the care providers know that this was happening, and that the dog is allergic to the food the resident was giving him. The care providers said well this explains why that resident is still loosing weight. It turned out this resident had an eating disorder and would sneak out "for a smoke", then toss their daily lunch over the fence.

I could not allow my dog to have free run out back anymore and eventually I had to fence off that end of the yard, because that particular resident continued to toss the sandwiches over the fence. Not as often, but one was enough to get the dog sick.
When I had my second child the cycle began again, as she would feed him people food. He had to be outside while we ate. It was a lot of work every time he got something into his system and I'd have to treat his ears, bathe him with the special shampoo (not as much as when I first got him, at least) and keep an extra vigilant eye on him if we took him anywhere. He was a great dog and a good boy, but so much work. His ear infections smelled awful and he would scream actual screams if I needed to trim his nails, so I always had the vet do it.

This is why I have not gotten another dog yet... I don't want to bring home another animal with so many health issues. It was a lot of work and I was the only one who did it.

Chickens on the other hand... so easy they can eat almost anything. Sure their poop is gross but it's less work than big German shepherd size dog poop. Just add bedding, and empty the coop and run out every so often. I love my chickens!!

Our cat is pretty easy. He does scratch the doors at night...

 

[BuffetChicken]

Trying to make sure they are safe from predators was my biggest problem, as dogs aren't as fragile and not everything in my backyard wants to murder and eat my dogs.

Exactly! Setting up properly for chickens is MUCH harder than for a dog. And it seems there's always someone new out there who's looking for a way to access and kill the chickens so the chickens' space requires regular maintenance and adjustments/additions.

 

[kurby22]

Exactly! Setting up properly for chickens is MUCH harder than for a dog. And it seems there's always someone new out there who's looking for a way to access and kill the chickens so the chickens' space requires regular maintenance and adjustments/additions.

This is why I said chickens are harder! Their upkeep is CONSTANT. Is their bedding dry? Have I cleaned up enough poop? What is in their poop? What new parasite or bacteria or virus do they have/could they get? Is their water clean enough? Are they safe from all the predators? And on and on...they are a daily concern!! My dogs eat and poop and sleep...yes picking up their poop and scooping cat boxes sucks...but at least I can leave a bowl of food and water and not worry they will still die from something or by something every single minute. Sighhh, I sure do LOVE them though! And my quail are worse, they actively TRY to die. haha.

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

Dogs are by far easier. They don’t need coops cleaned out, have to scrub waterers for days, constantly lay eggs that need collecting, and so much more. When you’re sick your dog is perfectly fine but the chickens need to be let out fed, waterered, coops cleaned, and it’s awful. I’m in that boat right now and my little Sophie needs out a couple times a day and she’s fine.