Can you safely have chickens living on the floor of an aviary along with budgies/cockatiels etc? For both the chickens and budgies?

I've personally never tried it. I guess you never know until you try.

I was thinking about it once. Wanted to put bantams in the parrot aviary. I was advised against it due to cross infections and parasites.

Okay then, I was worried about the chickens having some sort of bacteria that could hurt the budgies. Plus I read somewhere that chickens can have red mite which will wreak havoc in an aviary.

So, not worth it? Too risky as the chickens could have a lot of things that could hurt the budgies, or vice versa?

Personally I would not do it just because the size difference and the big beaks on chickens. And they make a huge mess.

I agree with the size difference and cross infections. Even if the chickens are friendly most of the time, all it takes is a warning peck when it's in a bad mood one day and the budgie can be injured badly, even if it was not the chicken's intention. If you were to do it, make sure they have enough space. Chickens have a (sometimes fierce) heirachy system and need a lot of space between them to stop bullying/injury, and the budgies must be able to escape easily.

 

Another concern is that chicken faeces that might accidentally be ingested by the budgies as they forage on the ground. Chickens can make a huge mess and lower the general hygiene in the aviary. The chickens can handle budgie bacteria, but chickens have (normal) gut bacteria that are harmful to budgies. Chickens can also handle having a higher worm burden than budgies, so they can carry it without looking infected whereas it would be very harmful to budgies. If you were to do it, you would need to quarantine and treat your chickens before putting them in the aviary, and step up with the cleaning. However, treating them does nothing for the normal bacteria in chickens that are harmful to budgies. Regular cleaning will lower the risk but not eliminate it.

 

So in my opinion: no, not worth it, because of the potential harm to the budgies.

Edited July 17, 200915 yr by Chrysocome

I breed show poultry aswell, and keep a good distance between parrots and chickens. Most chickens carry chlamidia. mycoplasma, coccidiosis, e coli, salmonella, listeria, worms and mites. 9 times out of 10 it dosn't hurt chickens, and people don't seem to catch chlamidia from chickens, but I dont know if it can transfer to budgies. Better not to risk it. And they poop and poop and poop.

Hi,

i have had Chickens i my aviary a few times when they are sitting on eggs so that the rooster can't get to the babies! i have never had any problems!

Hi,

i have had Chickens i my aviary a few times when they are sitting on eggs so that the rooster can't get to the babies! i have never had any problems!

A couple of posts above you should take notice of veterinary advice from Chrysocome.........just because you think you have had no trouble right now doesnt mean there arent things going on you havent noticed yet.

Wouldn't recommend it. Maybe I just had aggressive chickens. They used to peck me. I wouldn't trust them with the budgies. Chickens are omnivores, they like fresh meat too, and don't mind if it tastes like budgie.