What poultry are similar to chickens to keep?

[PotassiumJunkie]

I love my chickens!

I feel like I’ve got the bug now lol. Are there any other birds that are similar to chickens that can be kept in your back garden?

What about keeping a rooster? I live in a terrace row of houses and my neighbour has a rooster. It does crow but not loudly enough for you to hear from inside the house. How does the care differ? Are there quieter roosters?

 

[Wezdin]

The care of a rooster is pretty much the same as standard chickens, but i'm not sure if you can get breeds that crow quieter...

Quail keeping is a lot like chicken keeping but you have to keep them pretty far apart so they don't transmit diseases to each other.

 

[JaeG]

Coturnix quail are easy and fun to keep in small spaces but care needs to be taken with any game bird that they don't have direct contact between them and chickens. Being less domesticated gamebirds haven't built up an immunity to diseases that chickens have. The Coturnix can be very friendly if you raise them with a lot of exposure to people and ours are friendlier than most of our chickens. They do like to stand right where you are trying to clean.

Coturnix are very docile in general and the chicks are simply adorable. Other breeds of quail are more wild so need larger enclosures, though I think Bobwhites can be sweet if raised with a lot of handling. Bobwhites should be kept in pairs though as odd birds out will be attacked and killed during the breeding season as they are highly territorial.

 

[PotassiumJunkie]

I’d thought of quail but had been told about how skittish they are, I suppose a lot depends on how they are raised and how much handling they get. How far away would I have to keep them from the chickens? Also can they stay outside all year?

 

[JaeG]

Keep them 10ft apart and you should be fine. It's best to feed them first, then move onto your chickens because some diseases can be transferred by you. Quail are hardy little birds so as long as they can shelter out of the wind and are kept dry they are fine outside all year round. They love to hide in straw.

 

[BantyChooks]

I'm not saying to copy me, but I keep my cots in the chicken coop and have never had an issue. I think that quail can be bred to resistance just like any other bird, and whatever local strain of birds that I have seems to be sturdy enough to take it. Just some food for thought. I'm not advocating for it, just putting it out there that it's not always a guarantee that you will have issues.