Many people beginning to keep farm animals are confused about what species of animals can be kept together. The picture that comes to many peoples mind is a barnyard teeming with all sorts of animals who peacefully co-exist. Things are not quite that easy. If you are considering adding animals to those on your Michigan homestead you need to keep some things in mind.
Chickens are often the first farm animal that people get because they are reasonably priced and not intimidating. But if that was a success they want to move on to other animals. Chickens can get along fine with most farm animals, if they are not confined too closely, and if larger animals are kept out of the chicken feed.
It isn’t that the chicken feed will be eaten up and the chickens will be lacking that makes keeping farm animals away from chicken feed important. Commercial pellet or crumble chicken feed can make some farm animals very sick and even kill them. Horses and goats are two species that if they eat chicken feed, can founder, bloat or in the case of goats get a syndrome called overeating disease. Sheep and cows may be affected to a lesser extent.
Chicken feed contains a high level of protein and carbohydrates that isn’t suitable for most large animals. Even scratch grain, a mixture of natural grains, will make many large animals ill if they eat very much of it. Chickens, however are generally not affected by eating the rations of other animals, unless they consume too much of a medicated feed.
If you can arrange for the chickens to be fed inside the coop and there is absolutely no way your other animals can get inside to the feed then allowing chickens to free range in the pasture with the other animals will probably be fine. Remember that goats can be very clever at getting to what they want. They may climb on chicken coop roofs or through coop windows and will get on their knees to climb through chicken level doors. Horses and other large animals may push on flimsy fences to get to feed they can see or smell.
If your goat or horse eats more than a mouthful of commercial pellet or crumbled chicken feed call a veterinarian for advice and keep an eye on the animals for signs of distress. A small amount of scratch grain may be tolerated but if the animal eats a whole dish of grain talk to your vet.
Occasionally horses, cows, goats or sheep may chase chickens for fun or even try to bite or stomp them. This is generally done by younger, playful animals, especially males. In this case your chickens will need to be kept away from them. Also if chickens lay outside the coop eggs may be stepped on. Chickens should not be in stalls or small pens with large animals because there is a good chance they will be stepped on.
Pigs may eat chicken feed without any harm; however pigs are prone to eating the chickens along with the feed. While some experienced barnyard chickens can learn to stay out of the way of a pig it isn’t advisable to let them mingle. Pigs are surprisingly agile when it comes to catching something they like to eat, and pigs like chicken as much as we do. Pigs also love eggs.
Other types of poultry such as ducks, geese and turkeys and guinea hens will generally co-exist with chickens if they are in a free range situation. Sometimes one of the larger birds will become a bully and need to be separated. Ducks and geese keep chicken quarters quite messy and wet, and it’s advisable to separate them in the winter when they are kept in close quarters.
Turkeys do get a disease from chickens that can be deadly to them but doesn’t make chickens very ill. Blackhead disease isn’t too common anymore and if you buy your birds from a reputable hatchery and don’t buy and sell poultry or attend shows with your birds your flock is unlikely to catch this disease. If you have rare breeds of turkeys or birds do come and go from your farm, separate the turkeys from the chickens.
If your chickens are sharing a pasture with sheep, goats, horses or cows and the large animals can’t get to the chicken feed things will generally run smoothly for you. Large animals may be a deterrent to chicken predators, although they generally won’t actively protect them. Chickens sort through manure, eating many fly larvae and helping keep the place fly free. Just be alert for signs that a large animal is being a chicken bully and keep chickens out of the pig pen.
Get more information about chickens at this site.
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/home-garden/Hobby-Farming/Raising-Chickens...
See the articles on this site about poultry.
http://www.examiner.com/country-living-in-detroit/raise-your-own-turkey
http://www.examiner.com/country-living-in-detroit/keeping-ducks-for-eggs
http://www.examiner.com/country-living-in-detroit/what-do-pet-ducks-and-geese-need-for-winter
http://www.examiner.com/country-living-in-detroit/where-can-i-get-some-chickens-for-egg-laying
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