# Pigeons & Chickens



## homer II (Mar 10, 2007)

Does anyone know if pigeons and chickens can live in the same coop if there is enough room? I wanted to get two chickens but do not want to endanger my current pigeon flock. 

Homer


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I think the general conscensous has been that they are different species with different needs, and I for one say no. While some have been successful, most have said don't do it as they have suffered tragedies in their loft-they never expected. 

Please do a SEARCH on the subject and you will come up with various opinions.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Chickens are control freaks. I put some in with my doves just to watch them for an hour and see what they did. Well you know chickens love to peck stuff and they tried to peck the doves (they didn't succeed since I was there). They flew up to the dove perches and ate all the dove seed. (It's the chicken's favorite treat, who knew?) And the doves looked scared. I would never keep large, aggressive, territorial birds (chickens) in with any smaller bird.
I've seen large chickens tear bantam chickens apart, and had to rescue the resulting injured small birds from a neighbor's farm. I can show you pictures, but nobody wants to see that. Horrible. After that, I would never house birds of very different sizes in the same pen. Never.


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## Grim (Jul 28, 2007)

For one I would never let pigeons go near chicken droppings.


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

Hen's and rooster can be down right mean! They tend to be very territoral, I've seen hen's beat each other up just to get to one tasty piece of food. Rooster's can be very protective of who and what is coming around their hen's.
I have 4 chicken's and would never mix pigeon's or dove's with them, IMO.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Nope, not a good idea, unfortunately. I had one chicken who was able to live with pigeons (she was raised with them) until she got a few years old, and then started picking on them. It is also hard to feed them, too, as they eat different foods. I have heard horror stories of what chickens can do to pigeons and doves, which is a shame. Hopefully you can set up another coop for the hens, that would be best.


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## bigislerollers (Jan 20, 2008)

Aloha Homer,

I used to have a flock of egg layers that I would free range during the day and lock up at night in a large pen. You don't want to know what happens to the doves that used to sneek into the pen to get some feed.

Chickens are *MEAN*. They will even cannibalize their own young.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Grim said:


> For one I would never let pigeons go near chicken droppings.


Nor chickens near pigeon poop!


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## BabbaYagga (Jun 24, 2005)

I did it once and it was nothing but trouble. The pigeons were never able to eat or drink because the chickens chased them away; I had to install seperate waters and feeders high on the wall of the coop where the chickens wouldnt see them. The chickens flew up into their nests and laid eggs, ate pigeon eggs, pecked at young and just in general wreaked havoc. When the fledgeling pigeons came out of the nest they were pecked at and one was killed by the chickens.


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