Sulcatas and Farm Animals

DarkerGraphic

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Hi all,

I own 3 large sulcatas (over 20 yrs) and have recently purchased a 22 acre farm. Other than the tortoises, we don’t currently have any animals, but are considering adding a few.

My question is: has anyone had success keeping other animals with their sulcatas?

So far we’ve considered adding sheep, chickens, or Guinea Fowl to name a few. While they would be separate part of the time, I could see the fowl wandering in while free ranging and potentially the need for another grazer to help maintain their new space. Thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Rick
 

Jan A

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Hi all,

I own 3 large sulcatas (over 20 yrs) and have recently purchased a 22 acre farm. Other than the tortoises, we don’t currently have any animals, but are considering adding a few.

My question is: has anyone had success keeping other animals with their sulcatas?

So far we’ve considered adding sheep, chickens, or Guinea Fowl to name a few. While they would be separate part of the time, I could see the fowl wandering in while free ranging and potentially the need for another grazer to help maintain their new space. Thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Rick
@EllieMay
 

EllieMay

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Hi Rick and welcome!
I have 3 Sulcata’s on 8 acres. I have a horse, chickens, geese and ducks. The horse has the majority of 6acres that he shares with fox and deer. every now and then he will slip through the main gate into the “yard”.. All of my sullies are males and each has its own area in the immediate 2 acres surrounding the house. The birds are free range during the day time and occasionally the chickens will pass through one of the yards . All coexists well with its individual space.
 

wellington

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As EllieMay stated, they all have their own space. They should not share with other animals on purpose.
Of course if the birds happen to go in the torts area then that's just like wild birds landing in their area.
 

Tom

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Hi all,

I own 3 large sulcatas (over 20 yrs) and have recently purchased a 22 acre farm. Other than the tortoises, we don’t currently have any animals, but are considering adding a few.

My question is: has anyone had success keeping other animals with their sulcatas?

So far we’ve considered adding sheep, chickens, or Guinea Fowl to name a few. While they would be separate part of the time, I could see the fowl wandering in while free ranging and potentially the need for another grazer to help maintain their new space. Thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Rick
First, where are you? Please add this info in your userCP.

I would not intentionally house these animals together. They will eat each others feces and this can lead to problems. I've seen many people do it, and sometimes they get away with it and other times it causes major problems, including deaths.

Definitely don't house the tortoises with any hoof stock animals. I don't think GF of chickens occasionally wandering through a large sulcata pen in low densities will be any problem. I think it would be a problem if the tortoises were living in the same space as the chickens and GF.
 

DarkerGraphic

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Hey all, Thanks for the feedback. Location is the panhandle of FL near Tallahassee. Intent wouldn’t be to house them and other animals together in any permanent capacity, mostly wander throughs. Are there any livestock you would avoid having near the tortoises?
 

DarkerGraphic

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Hi Rick and welcome!
I have 3 Sulcata’s on 8 acres. I have a horse, chickens, geese and ducks. The horse has the majority of 6acres that he shares with fox and deer. every now and then he will slip through the main gate into the “yard”.. All of my sullies are males and each has its own area in the immediate 2 acres surrounding the house. The birds are free range during the day time and occasionally the chickens will pass through one of the yards . All coexists well with its individual space.
@EllieMay
All of mine are boys as well (had them since the 90s), currently they’re all housed separately, but that’s recent as of a year ago, but I’ll confess there is some part of me that hoped with enough space I could consider attempting them together once again. Have you had any luck doing so on your larger acreage? -Thx
 

EllieMay

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@EllieMay
All of mine are boys as well (had them since the 90s), currently they’re all housed separately, but that’s recent as of a year ago, but I’ll confess there is some part of me that hoped with enough space I could consider attempting them together once again. Have you had any luck doing so on your larger acreage? -Thx
I have not.. I had the same hopes as well but all of mine vary In sizes by the 10lb range.. I have tried to put them close enough to get just get a single photo with all three in it and it’s a rat race.. ?
 

DarkerGraphic

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Anything large and heavy enough to do damage if they step on the tortoise. No goats, sheep, horses, cows or pigs.
I wouldn’t have thought goats or pigs would be a problem as my guys are bigger than both. Any other concern than stepping on them for those two?
 

Tom

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I wouldn’t have thought goats or pigs would be a problem as my guys are bigger than both. Any other concern than stepping on them for those two?
Pigs will sometimes go carnivorous and those side tusk can do some serious damage. I've known pigs that eat whole pigeons, and I seen lots of people get stitches from getting their leg gashed open from pigs. We have a one eyed goat at the horse barn. The other goat gouged his eye out. It was nasty. All hoof stock barnyard animals can also get territorial, and they have dominance hierarchies. We can only guess where they'd see a tortoise in that. These types of large barnyard animals should not have access to any sized tortoise. Eating each other feces would also not be good.
 

jeannettep

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I always ask myself, if the tortoise got stepped on by an animal, would it get hurt. If the answer is yes, they don't ever have access to each other. The other question would be is the other animal possibly on the food menu of another. If the answer is yes, they don't ever have access to each other. Years ago I had a Peacock baby and a juvenile leopard tort together in a 10x10 pen for 1 day. The next day my peachick had a big bite out of it and survived. But now aggressive. My tort died a few days later. The occasional chicken or guinea fowl I haven't had a problem with going thru the tort area, but large fowl have large poo that I will pick up out of my tort area & I keep the fowl wormed regularly with wormer that will not hurt the torts, but I try to keep them out of the tort area during that time. But still wouldn't want my torts to eat it and turkeys have big poo! My chickens & guineas make a pass thru the tort area sometimes probably just to see if I'm going to drop tort food for them, which I never do. They do not have access to the torts food or water & they cannot perch above it.
 

Yvonne G

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Here's the thing. . . tortoises are grazers and farm animals poop and pee wherever they happen to wander. I wouldn't want my tortoises to have to eat grass and weeds that other animals have been pooping and peeing on.
 
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