Who free-ranges chickens w/horses present?

[babalubird]

We have 4 horses. If I free-range my chickens in the same 16 acres, will my horses use them for horse-toys or footballs? Inquiring minds wanna know.

Any issues with USDA or state inspectors, mixing the two?

How do your horses treat your chickens?

Thanks.

Connie

 

[ninjapoodles]

My horses completely and thoroughly ignore my chickens, even when they're underfoot. The turkeys seem to mildly annoy them, though, because of the sudden noises they can make.

 

[CovenantCreek]

The only problems I've heard of when mixing chickens with horses is if you have small chicks -- they may get squashed. My flock loves to clean up the paddocks by scratching around in the manure piles (which helps them break down) while gobbling up any maggots or undigested grain they find. When I first got the chickens my 2 yr old colt enjoyed trying to sneak up behind them, but he never did anything but chase them out of his paddock. Eventually he quit even doing that.

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

Yes our two horses ignore the chickens.....they like watching them and plus one of the benefits of having your chickens free range with horses is they spread all the poop around.....my chickens prefer to stay close to trees and their coop for protection....

 

[Lobzi]

A farm house down the road a piece from me does. They all are fine together. The chickens like to hang around the horses and eat their left-overs, hay and grains.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I have a small flock of chickens, along with geese and ducks that live in the barn area with my two horses and my goats. They are all one big happy family.

I put a roost up in the corner of the one stall. Duncan (the horse that frequents that stall), really does not care who is with him. I have seen the chickens when needing a lift to their roost, fly onto his back and then to the roost.

There is risk. I would not have anything with a top hat, like a Silkie or a polish. I had a few Silkies in there and one of them got stepped on. I think because she could not very well because she had a huge poofy head.

Check out the barn chickens here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=4065-barn-chickens

 

[danischi24]

Just beware if you have stallions. My stallion took great delight in stomping every wild guinea & neighbors chicken he could get hold of...heart breaking

 

[ninjapoodles]

My own stallion ignores the chickens, but then, he's intimidated by poodles...

But I DID know a stallion at a training stable where I worked once, who would pluck chickens down from the walls of the stalls where they roosted--grabbing them in his teeth, flinging them to the floor of his stall, and obliterating them. That was downright weird. But in a wide-open space, I can't see that happening often.

 

[babalubird]

Thanks everyone. Looks like chickens and other poultry are the way we will go, at least at first, when and IF we get moved to the farm.

We have no stallions, just one mare and three geldings, collectively known as the "Three Stooges" because they are mischieve makers and comedians. Just wouldn't be so funny if they used my chickens for props.

You all have eased my troubled mind.

Thank you.

Connie

 

[what was i thinking]

i love to see my chicken venture futher out into the pasture. they also are running in the stal,l as i am trying to let the horses out. they want what might have fallen.