Turtles and chickens together???

[SophieInSTL]

My cousin just had to give up her pets for health reasons, and now we are the proud owners of a box turtle. I would like to keep it outside with the chickens but am wondering if it will be safe?? I saw a few posts about it but no one who's had the 2 together has given an update about success...Does anyone have experience keeping the species in the same enclosure (ours will be 1/2 of our back yard).

 

[JaeG]

I'd make the turtle it's own fenced off area. How would you feed it without the chickens getting most of its food? How would you keep its water and area clean and free of chicken poop? Chickens are messy creatures and I would worry they would peck at it which would at the very least cause the turtle a lot of stress.

What is your particular climate? Box turtles need a humid environment that doesn't fall below 50F. Their substrate needs to retain water and allow the turtle to burrow into it. I can just imagine how much fun chickens would have scratching around in it.

 

[Geena]

Maybe I can fence off a feeding area for it... We're in MO and I'm pretty sure it's an eastern box turtle which is native to here. I think (only just started researching this stuff today) I need just to make sure it has a good area to hibernate for winter.

My cousin had it in a tiny glass aquarium, and we don't have indoor space for what it should have. I'd really prefer to give it enough space for exercise and sunlight and not having its' soul crushed by captivity...

Did your cousin buy it from a pet store or catch it somewhere? It's illegal to collect and possess wild native turtles. If they caught it in the wild I would release it. If not then I would make the turtle it's own area, the chickens will likely torture and possibly kill it. My three toed box turtle hibernates in a bin filled with mulch and placed in my garage. Then she is in her outside enclosure for the warmer months.

 

[SophieInSTL]

Maybe I can fence off a feeding area for it... We're in MO and I'm pretty sure it's an eastern box turtle which is native to here. I think (only just started researching this stuff today) I need just to make sure it has a good area to hibernate for winter.

My cousin had it in a tiny glass aquarium, and we don't have indoor space for what it should have. I'd really prefer to give it enough space for exercise and sunlight and not having its' soul crushed by captivity...

I'd make the turtle it's own fenced off area. How would you feed it without the chickens getting most of its food? How would you keep its water and area clean and free of chicken poop? Chickens are messy creatures and I would worry they would peck at it which would at the very least cause the turtle a lot of stress.

What is your particular climate? Box turtles need a humid environment that doesn't fall below 50F. Their substrate needs to retain water and allow the turtle to burrow into it. I can just imagine how much fun chickens would have scratching around in it.