Can Pigeons And Chickens Live Together?
Pigeons and chickens can absolutely live together with some slight precautions and monitoring. Most of the time, they tend to be peaceful and mind mind their own businesses.
However, it’s important to look out for a few things, like giving them their own separate space, sufficient food and water, monitoring for any attacks, and taking necessary action to prevent conflicts.
Let’s see the advantages and disadvantages of keeping pigeons and chickens together and how to prepare everything when housing them.
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Can Chicken Live with Pigeons?
As we have already said, chickens can live together with pigeons without any serious issues, especially if they are both provided with their own space and don’t interfere with each other’s way of living; pigeons and chickens can live together in harmony.
There might be some conflicts regarding food and shared space. However, most of the time, it’s very minor, and soon they will go back to ignoring each other.
But it’s important to look out for any serious fight as it can quickly turn into a violent pecking fight and hurt both birds.
Can Pigeons Get Chickens Sick?
One of the main things to consider when raising pigeons and chickens together is how they can get each other sick and ways to prevent them.
For starters, chickens are sensitive to diseases, so they can get affected very easily by sick pigeons. It can even cause the chicken to develop serious illnesses, including respiratory problems, digestive issues, and nervous signs.
Studies also show that 2 to 3 out of 5 chickens die when in contact with sick pigeons. However, the threat is not so much if they are healthy. So, it’s important to check on their health regularly when raising them together. [Reference]
On the other hand, chickens can also pigeons sick, especially since they tend to carry bacteria and diseases from eating different bugs and insects.
Chickens are also known for carrying bird diseases that are very often fatal to cohabitating birds.
Overall, regular health checkups and attention to any signs of diseases should be taken very seriously when raising them together.
You can read our article about “Pigeon Habitat“
Is It Safe for Pigeons and Chickens to Live Together in the Same Coop or Pen?
It is not safe for pigeons and chickens to live together in the same coop or pen.
Sharing the same coop will lead to them fighting over who sleeps where. Since one is bigger than the other, it becomes intense very quickly and even fatal.
Chickens are usually more violent between the two, so sometimes they will attack first. But pigeons being naturally timid, and without any place to hide, can get seriously injured or die in the fight.
While living in the same coop, they happen to share food and water as well. And, since birds tend to fight over food most of the time, it can be an issue too.
Not to mention the diseases will also spread much more rapidly when keeping them together in the same space.
What Are the Benefits of Keeping Pigeons and Chickens Together?
Keeping pigeons and chickens together has it’s benefits. Let’s see what they are –
01. Saves Space
The main advantage of keeping pigeons and chickens together is that it saves space. Even though they will still need a fairly large space for free-roaming, it’s more efficient than keeping them in an entirely separate area.
Since pigeon lofts are made at a higher place from the ground, you can attach them over the chicken coop. Both birds can share the surrounding ground space to flock and roam around.
This way, they will be in the same place but still separated. The pigeons can hide in the high lofts if they feel threatened, and the chickens can go inside the pen.
02. Similar Food
The second advantage of raising them together is that they require the same types of food. Most of their natural food contains grains and seeds. Both being natural omnivores, they can share the same feedstock.
Plus, they occasionally eat insects and bugs as well. So, no need to go through the trouble of buying different food except for issues like health, dietary needs, sickness, etc.
03. Easier to Maintain
And lastly, keeping them in the same space, it’s easier for maintanence as well. Since they eat the same type of food, you can feed them at the same time, also monitor them more closely. Other routine tasks like cleaning the space, filling water and food bowls, etc is also easier in such scenario
Are There Any Risks to Keeping Chickens and Pigeons in the Same Coop?
You can keep chickens and pigeons in the same coop without much issue. However, it’s got some risk factors.
01. Fighting
Especially if living in the same coop, there might be fights regarding food, territory, ways of life, etc.
Chickens have a pecking habit where they develop a hierarchical order by pecking the smaller and weaker members. The biggest member becomes the flock leader and eats first. Usually, they will peck once or twice until the weaker ones show submission.
However, if the weaker ones keep resisting, they might get pecked to death in the process.
As for pigeons, they are usually very social and peaceful towards other birds. However, being territorial, pigeons will fight to defend themselves in times of distress. You may also notice some conflicts regarding the share of food.
02. Pigeons are Likely to be Bullied
Since pigeons are usually smaller than chickens, they may also get bullied by the chickens. Especially when sharing the same space, these incidents are almost inevitable.
As a result, The pigeons will not have a space to hide and thus get bullied to death.
03. Peaking Issue
Also, chickens like to roam around in flocks and peck everything they see. So, if there are baby pigeons or pigeon eggs in the coop, there’s a possibility that they will hurt or break eggs by pecking.
Overall, keeping them in the same coop has more negative sides than positive ones. So, it’s better to make them separate houses even if you are planning to raise them together.
For example, a coop for the chickens and an aviary or loft for the pigeons is a better idea than keeping them in the same coop.
How Much Space Do Chickens and Pigeons Need When Living Together?
One of the intentions of keeping pigeons and chickens together is to use less living space for accommodation.
To find out exactly how much space chickens and pigeons need when living together we’ll do a little math.
A single chicken requires about 3 square feet space. They also need space for roaming around which is about 15 square feet. Meaning a single pigeon will need about 18 square feet of the area altogether.
On the other hand, pigeons require a loft or aviary where they usually rest and sleep at night. These lofts are made at a higher place from the ground, so you won’t need to consider extra ground space for them.
Assuming the pigeons will also occupy the same ground space when they are not in the loft, we will take that as another 90 square feet for 6 pigeons. Meaning you will need about 200 square feet of space to raise six chickens and six pigeons together.
Always make sure to make them separate housing when keeping pigeons and chickens together. Also, a large space prevents fights over territory among the birds.
Frequently Asked Questions
01. Can pigeons and chickens breed together?
No, it’s not possible for pigeons and chickens to breed together. Only closely related or same species of birds can breed together which is not the case for pigeons and chickens.
02. Do pigeons eat chicken eggs?
Under natural circumstances, it’s unlikely for pigeons to eat chicken eggs. Being peaceful in natural, they tend to stay away from chicken coops even when kept in the same space.
However, many owners like to feed their pigeons the white part of the boiled chicken egg. Even in the wild, pigeons are sometimes seen to eat bird eggs though very rarely, but never chicken eggs.
03. Can pigeons eat chicken food?
Yes, pigeons can eat chicken food without any issues. Both are naturally omnivore animals, so they can share food. Usually grains and seeds are the main food source for both birds. But they will eat small insects and bugs like worms, ants, flies, mites, etc.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this answers the question “ Can pigeons and chickens live together?” Our take is as long as you monitor them closely and keep them in a large space with separate resting area, they won’t mind the other that much.
In fact, its quite beneficial to raise them together as long as they don’t cause much trouble.
