Moving into a farmhouse. What animals are safe to raise with parrots in the home?

[Able1]

I am hoping for some advice here. My family is moving into a rural area (in Idaho :42 with a bit of acreage and we have 3 African Greys (2 Timneh, 1 Congo). This will be our first home with land to play with and we are so excited!!
We would like to raise other animals and were hoping to raise chickens but I've read that there are diseases that are fatal to parrots that can be transmitted. While I'm sure there are precautions that can be taken, my 7 year old niece lives with us and that being said, there are bound to be slip ups in safety practices. Our feathered daughters mean the world to us so we want to be safe!
What animals are safe to raise outside of the house? Would ducks be dangerous? How do I keep my girls safe? Can someone offer some guidance?

 

[Terry57]

I don't know the answer to your questions, but am going to bump your post up so someone who does can answer

 

[getwozzy]

I believe there are a few members on here that have ducks, chickens, turkeys, geese, etc as well as parrots, so hopefully one of them will pop in...


What kind of chickens were you looking to raise?

 

[Birdman666]

Correct me if I am wrong, but most chicken diseases relate to poor husbandry, and the filth the chickens are raised in.

If the chickens and their droppings are kept away from the CAGS and you wash up after messing with them, I would think it wouldn't be all that risky...

 

[NiRD]

I have a whole menagerie. What are you asking about specifically?

 

[BeakFace]

The rescue has chickens in the flight cages with no problems. So I can't say first hand but I'm sure someone here will know/

 

[NiRD]

Well, I have parrots, a corvid, do falconry, have chickens, ducks, geese, guineas, and had a pea hen. I also have a horse, goats, cats, dogs, reptiles. Never a problem. I always wash my hands between animals, though.

 

[Able1]

Thank you, everyone! I a big "worry wart" when it comes to my babies, as I am sure you can understand. We are totally undecided on what animals we would like to raise. We were hoping to raise hens for eggs for sure, and and ducks as well simply for the cute waddles and quacking. We're really looking to go as organic as we possibly can. Huge garden, fresh eggs, chickens.. my sister in law wants to raise rabbits.
It seems that as long as we follow some simple guidelines (washing up before re-entering house, leaving shoes in the mudroom, etc) we should be safe?
My husband and I have the top floor of the house to ourselves and that is where the girls are 90% of the time anyhow. We only bring them downstairs for dinner and the occasional family movie - otherwise they're on the second floor on top of their cages or roaming the floors looking for unsuspecting feet to attack.

 

[NiRD]

Did you know that duck eggs are the best eggs to use for baking? They are richer than chicken eggs.

Brown chicken eggs are great for frying, because their yolk membrane is thicker, resulting in less of a chance to crack the yolk when flipping.

I was also told that the green and blue eggs are best for boiling, but so far I haven't noticed a difference there.

And yes, that's what we do. We just remove our shoes and wash our hands.

 

[Able1]

No, I did not know that! Thanks for the heads up. Can ducks and chickens be brought up together when they're chicks or should they be kept separate?

 

[NiRD]

I keep my farm fowl together in a barn. Babies are raised in the basement.

 

[SpotsandSally]

Ello!


We raise our ducks/turkeys/all birds together. However, some risks.

Ducks & geese can get niacin deficiency. Varies per strain / duck, so not all will have that. Duck food has enough niacin for geese/ducks.
When we have chicks & waterfowl together, we sometimes buy duck food and feed everyone together, but mostly raise them on chick starter. So far we have few niacin deficiencies & usually cull those who have it, but you can add niacin supplement or feed duck food. I haven't long-term fed all duck food, but haven't seen any ill effects from it.

Turkeys can be a hazard. Sweet but dumb, big birds that can crush.

Ducks are MESSY!! I hate ducks. I mean, I love them, but I hate having ducklings. 1 ounce of water turns to a gallon EVERYWHERE with ducklings. I enjoy filling the bathtub up with water & watching them swim.

If you keep the ducks & chickens together, they won't fight. They probably won't fight if kept separate, but it can vary. We usually keep them separate and integrate when their a bit older (because the chicks don't like being drowned) and they do fine like that. Diet is the biggest issue, second to the ducks spilling EVERYTHING

Also, NiRD, I suppose you might be able to tell a difference, but if you have 2 birds fed the same diet, same life essentially, but one lays brown eggs & lays white eggs, than there shouldn't be a difference in frying & membrane. Brown eggs are just white eggs with brown pigment on the outside. Crack open a brown egg & the inside is white. You can also scrape off the pigment on some eggs. Any insight on this would be anecdotal, and probably have to do with species, individual hen (some hens have issues with their egg laying tract) &/or store egg vs farm egg (ie comparing frying a store egg vs frying a farm egg, the farm egg would likely have the stronger membrane)