Recent content by brainfog

As winter approached I realized that my 4' fence was going to get shorter. One year in fact, the snow was over the fence at about 5'. So based on the recommendations of a 5' fence, I'm looking into getting a 10' fence to keep my LGD in. But so far, I've been lucky and she's not gone over it...

From what I'm reading elsewhere, the mama duck, was actually quite tame and was likely an escaped domesticated one. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/in-love-with-a-rescued-mallard-duckling-can-we-keep-her.526285/page-2 But back to the real question - what to expect with these guys?

I guess this became illegal in the past 8 years? https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/incubating-wild-duck-eggs.498257/ So I'll return them to the nest.....

Last month, our LGD discovered a duck incubating eggs near in her yard. She barked at the duck endlessly and eventually the duck flew off and Kira helped herself to two 2 duck eggs. When the duck didn't return for the day, I took the remaining eggs and incubated them. I'll probably stop...

My hope is that her presence in the chicken yard will deter the fox. Possibly it has - how would I know? Since Kira is multi-purpose, I'm okay with her being fair at the guarding. Lately, she's been spending a lot of time in the chicken yard - as I've been leaving the connecting gate open...

I've chosen to do it more like 200 years ago - and then it was dogs and little or no fences. My fence is 48" (>1000 ft) and I believe her parents were kept w/40" for sheep - so I'm hopeful it'll work out. If not I'll adapt!

That's terrible. Long ago I had stupid chickens and a lot of hawk pressure. Had to lock up my two cockerels - and by 11 am lost 2 hens. Its a delicate balance and hate to make any changes!

Dr Dale - they're doing pretty well. She's a pure Great Pyrenees - from a working sheep farm - who's (I'm told) parents came from a large sheep range in Texas. I suspect they're ancestry is working on the farm since the breed was identified. She's doing well with everyone except adult geese...

Scrap feeding time is a lot of fun and great training opportunity. Chickens and rooster are seemingly acclimated to Kira now and they're eating from the same scrap pile inches away from Kira's mouth - while Kira is free to roam. These birds remind me of the Egyptian plover! But after Kira...

Its good to be aware of this. I had an idea of this, but noticed that her parents were kept with an even shorter fence for sheep. Of course we don't want to get rid of her, but clearly now is better than later for both her and my children. If the fence doesn't keep her then put up the...

Kira's been fun! She's grown alot and confidence is up. Yesterday, during food scraps time, she was darting in under the beaks of the geese (reaching through fence) 'nibbling her back' without fear. Now Kira's kept in the rather small backyard - which is rather unlikely to have predators...

These are good things to re-consider, but certainly not what I need. As I understand it, throughout most of history, poultry were successfully raised without fences and if I had one that kept out predators, then by assumption I would not need a LGD. Much in the world is far from ideal, and...

The night threats are minimal - after 6 years I have a handle on it. Even daytime attacks by hawks aren't an issue - due to geese and roosters. However for the past months, we've had daytime attacks by fox and coyote on the fenced (~1 acre) free range flock and I've been unable to stop it...

Cool. Seems like I should slow down a bit and keep her out of the poultry yard - even on my rounds for a few weeks or more. The birds are used to taking care of themselves - against things that move like Kira, so her being so small - they go on the offensive. I'll keep her in the dog and...

@Icwmt, thank you for the tips. I fear that outside at night is NOT an option due to barking and my hope to not further bother neighbors. So if there is night barking - Kira will likely need to be inside somewhere. What would be the best option? The chicken door automatically opens at 7am...