Kitten OR chickens, wwyd?

[Disenchanted3]

I went with my sister to see kittens yesterday and fell in love with one, it wasn't the plan for ME to get one!

I took a photo of her and showed DH last night saying I would love her.

He then said 'but I thought you were getting chickens?'

I have wanted 2 chickens for years but never sreriously looked into it as I thought it was a bit of a daft idea until we wene to DS's friends house and they ahve chickens in their garden.

I never thought DH would actually go for the idea of chooks so not pushed it.

But last night he seemed really keen and was even looking at plans to build a coop!

But the litten was so lovely, am torn!!

I have had both.

Chickens are great but we got rid of them in the end (gave them to a friend with land) as we could only partition off a tiny of our garden for them (about 3 x 3 metres). They need a lot more space to roam than you think, otherwise they will turn a small area into a mud bath quite quickly. They also smell and poo A LOT, so whenever we let ours roam free in the winter they would defecate all over the lawn. Nice.

Still, if you have lots of space for them, they are the most fantastic creatures, they have a lot more personality that you'd think, and their eggs are wonderful. They also eat all your vegetarian scraps too.

I have a cat who is so easy it's untrue. Just make sure you get it neutered and vaccinated, and ensure it has access to roam in lots of outdoor space. Cats are so easy, they love cuddles and are so affectionate - but only when they choose to be!

Whatever you choose, good luck!

Go for the kitten, unless you are 100% sure you can cope with the poo and the wreckage of your garden.

I agree stealth, I've not ruled out chooks, but need to think alot more about them!

Will get the kitten

We have chickens, BTW - and I don't regret getting them - but they roam free in a large and scruffy garden (surrounded by commercial pheasant shoots, so remarkably few foxes) - The balance is about right, as they eat the ants nests in the lawn and rake out the dead grass and moss, as well as 'fertilising' the grass, although they do dig dust baths in random places. I cannot understand how people tolerate the damage and the poo in a small garden.

Get both, neither are difficult to look after. Also, if you decide to go for the kitten, it's usually recommended to get two as they grow up to be great friends, and with chickens it's recommended to get at least three so if one dies there won't be one left on her own.

We have both, well the kittens are cats now, and the hens are 3 years old and now past laying but still great - they get lots of scraps (including meat from our kitchen, everything except chicken).

We have a huge garden and the hens have a third of it with lots of cover(bushes, trees, sheds), they are still in great condition and haven't done any real damage, only three of them though.

kitten. Am indifferent to chickens but love cats and dogs to bits