Hello BYC! I have some questions about managing my flock(s). Last year in July I bought a flock of 5 RiR chicks, all female. On March 25th, I bought 6 Tetra Tints, and they're all female ,too. The two flocks live in the same coop together and have gotten along beautifully since day one of introducing them to each other.
1.) My first question is about my 9 year old English Springer Spaniel, and in case you didn't know, she was bred for hunting. I need a way of introducing her to the chickens without her trying to snap their little heads off. When she goes outside, she runs laps around their run in a crazed fit trying to get in, which really gets the chickens and me nervous. I've avoided introducing her to them for a while now because in the past I had already attempted it once, which ended in her staring with crazy eyes and drooling, so that didn't look too promising. Is it too late now to try to train her to get used to them?
2.) My second question is about free ranging my hens. How do I teach them to not run off into the depths of our neighborhood? I've only taken them out into the yard a few times, and that was when I had treats with me to lure them back to the safety of the run. My hens are too mature now to be taught voice commands, so I wanted a way to make sure they stay in the yard during the day and head back to the the coop by night. I have no fencing at all around my yard, so containing them that way is out of the question since fencing is so expensive. The chicken run is used to be a large dog pen, but I converted it to a chicken habitat. It is fairly large with plenty of room to flap around and do whatever, but I feel bad keeping them in there all the time. They don't get to forage much, since the ground is completely dirt. If I just frequently take them out to the yard and lure them back with treats, will they learn that way? My girls are a curious bunch who are sure to be tempted to run off into the neighborhood on an adventure.
3.) My third question is about scratch. I usually feed it to me hens so they can be kept busy during the day and don't go hungry, but I'm not totally sure about giving it to the pullets. I know the bag usually says "For Adult Chickens", but would some corn and seeds really harm the younger chickens? I've given it to them and they don't seem to show any signs of sickness or discomfort, but I'd just like to make sure.
4.) My final question is meal worms. Can my pullets eat meal worms? I give them to my older hens, but again, is there any harm in giving my younger girls these snacks?
If anyone could answer these questions, just number them. You could answer just one or all, but please number them according to question so I know which you are answering.
Thank you!!
1.) My first question is about my 9 year old English Springer Spaniel, and in case you didn't know, she was bred for hunting. I need a way of introducing her to the chickens without her trying to snap their little heads off. When she goes outside, she runs laps around their run in a crazed fit trying to get in, which really gets the chickens and me nervous. I've avoided introducing her to them for a while now because in the past I had already attempted it once, which ended in her staring with crazy eyes and drooling, so that didn't look too promising. Is it too late now to try to train her to get used to them?
2.) My second question is about free ranging my hens. How do I teach them to not run off into the depths of our neighborhood? I've only taken them out into the yard a few times, and that was when I had treats with me to lure them back to the safety of the run. My hens are too mature now to be taught voice commands, so I wanted a way to make sure they stay in the yard during the day and head back to the the coop by night. I have no fencing at all around my yard, so containing them that way is out of the question since fencing is so expensive. The chicken run is used to be a large dog pen, but I converted it to a chicken habitat. It is fairly large with plenty of room to flap around and do whatever, but I feel bad keeping them in there all the time. They don't get to forage much, since the ground is completely dirt. If I just frequently take them out to the yard and lure them back with treats, will they learn that way? My girls are a curious bunch who are sure to be tempted to run off into the neighborhood on an adventure.
3.) My third question is about scratch. I usually feed it to me hens so they can be kept busy during the day and don't go hungry, but I'm not totally sure about giving it to the pullets. I know the bag usually says "For Adult Chickens", but would some corn and seeds really harm the younger chickens? I've given it to them and they don't seem to show any signs of sickness or discomfort, but I'd just like to make sure.
4.) My final question is meal worms. Can my pullets eat meal worms? I give them to my older hens, but again, is there any harm in giving my younger girls these snacks?
If anyone could answer these questions, just number them. You could answer just one or all, but please number them according to question so I know which you are answering.
Thank you!!
