Will chickens hassle a tortoise?

[Ukyou]

I have a friend who wants to start raising chickens, but, she is worried that they might peck at the eyes of her slow moving tortoise.
Has anyone had any experience with both chickens and tortoises in the same yard?

 

[ScotianChick]

I've had chickens who pecked buttons on my shoes for like an hour straight... a tortoise might get the same treatment as my shiny buttons...

 

[DianeS]

Mine peck everything that doesn't peck them first!

I would not allow them to be in the same area as the tortoise.

 

[Pinky]

Mine roam with gopher tortoises all the time. They were curious about them to start with but now they ignore the tortoises most of the time. I think they think the tortoises are moving rocks

. One time I did have a hen try to peck one and when it went in it's shell, she left. Sometimes the gophers investigate when the chickens are taking a dust bath.
They should do fine together as long as each of them can get away from the other.

 

[twadiane]

I have had a tortoise in my chicken area for a few years. Once the hens got used to this strange moving hump, they cohabit very nicely. No one pays any attention to each other. They just go about their own business. However, if you have a lot of chickens you may have to separate the tortoise to feed it because the ladies will eat it all before the tortoise gets its dinner.

 

[ChickenEllis]

i was just going to ask this very question. i am inheriting a California Desert Tortoise in a month and i was wondering how it would interact with my small chicken flock. it sounds like it won't be a problem. we have a wild rabbit that frequents our backyard and the chickens completely ignore it.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
I have gopher tortoises as well and my birds seem to ignore them. If they were tightly confined they might not, but my tortoises are wild and free and only come into contact with my birds when I let the chickens free range.