Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Beekissed]

Yep! I guess what I don't get is why the small dogs are all so very cranky? They get to live inside and sleep on the couch...how bad could it be that you have to walk around grumpy all day?

Maybe because they have no real job or purpose in their lives and so they don't feel fulfilled as a dog? I bet those little dogs could be put to good use outside looking for rats and mice, chasing off hawks and stray cats, etc.

My sister had some really good ratters that were Boston Terriers, Doxies and Schnauzers...loved living outside and even in the winter time. Where folks got the idea that small dogs can't grow a winter coat and live outside is beyond me.

 

[normanack]

Why do many people let their little dogs misbehave? I'm gonna guess that a lot of those owners project human emotions onto their dogs, and therefore never understand what is really driving the dog's behavior.

 

[rowerjen]

They get to live inside and sleep on the couch...how bad could it be that you have to walk around grumpy all day?

Big dog. Sleeping on the couch. Not remotely grumpy, although I worry she might not be comfortable enough. Might need to move that pillow.
Yep, totally spoiled. But she keeps a close eye out on the chickens from the sofa during the day.

 

[Beekissed]

That's not limited to small dogs...I see that in dogs of all sizes wherever I see dogs who live indoors. They get treated like humans and so they wind up being very confused dogs. They will jump up on you, jump on the couch beside you, etc. People sleep with them in the bed, let them eat off their plates, let them beg at the table..the list goes on. It's like they are hairy humans who cannot talk or understand to behave well. Like very misbehaved and hairy children jumping all over the visitors and the visitors having to act like it's cute. It's all very weird.

 

[Beekissed]

Big dog. Sleeping on the couch. Not remotely grumpy, although I worry she might not be comfortable enough. Might need to move that pillow.
Yep, totally spoiled. But she keeps a close eye out on the chickens from the sofa during the day.

She probably has a real mean stare down with the hawks through that window!

 

[WVDan44]

Beekissed is right about dogs needing jobs. I am a working terrior judge and have kept the little buggers for nearly 20 years. Most of mine worked in the field until the age of 7-8 years old, when their reflexes and ability to squeeze through dens 6 feet underground diminished and I was forced to retire them for their own safety. It was a heart break to load up the younger dogs and leave the old veterans at home. It seems they knew instinctively when I was planning an outing. After a time, some of them would "act out" by pooping on the floor or tearing up a toy or pillow. They definitely have ways of getting even HA!. So many of the breeds no longer do the work for which they were originally used. I can't help but believe it is in their DNA and they have no choice but to try to make work for themselves. We've all heard the story of herd dogs that, in the absence of something to herd, will attempt to herd the children of the family. Most small breeds (18 inches in height or less at the shoulder) do make good ratters and mousers if they have been properly raised and trained to be around livestock and poultry. Most of the time, the little tykes end up training us tho!

 

[bobbi-j]

Yes! Anyone ever try to hear heart, lung, and abdominal sounds while a 7 lb yapper is dancing and snapping a few inches away from your face? And STILL maintain your smiling and gentle nature towards the patient, time after time after time after time.....?

Or when you bend to take a blood pressure and the darn rat growls and snaps at you and no one says a word of correction? I would just love to bring in a big dog and let it snap and growl all through the visit at those who reside in the home, all the while shouting over the din, "Oh, HE doesn't mean it! He's just trying to protect his mommy!".

Do that for 19 years with a smile on your face and all the while saying, "He certainly is a feisty little guy!" as if you don't really want to twist his head off in front of the family so that they learn how to control their dogs with a very graphic "hands on" lesson.

Trust me, it can wear on a person's soul until they just want to lie down and have a full body seizure right there on the floor!

It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't across the board...I've rarely ever seen nice little dogs being mannerly and staying out of your way as you examine a patient or dress a wound. It would have been a lovely break from the reality of how it is 9 out of 10 times one enters a home to care for someone.

Bee, I love it when you tell it like it is! It's a good thing I didn't have anything in my mouth because I would have spewed it all over my computer when I read that!

 

[71stbrew]

Nothing personal, but most small dogs are neurotic, yippie, scared and/or aggressive out of fear.
For my money, if you can drop kick it more than 3 feet, it isn't a dog.

Bruce

Funny, I call the little darlings footballs.

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, I love it when you tell it like it is! It's a good thing I didn't have anything in my mouth because I would have spewed it all over my computer when I read that!

Sorry....years of smiling through all the things that make it hard to smile tends to make one a little crusty.

 

[Leahs Mom]

When you bought these did they already come with everything you needed to mount them to the bucket? I wasn't sure if you would have to buy anything additional to mount them?

I have looked into these and the nipples and the one thing I worry about with the nipples is the water that would hit the floor and freeze in the winter. I thought that maybe with the cups you could eliminate some of this?

I know the weather here is not a lot different from yours and winter can create its own unique challenges.

These are really designed to go on a low pressure pvc pipe system. I purchased them to use specifically on a bucket and just drilled the bucket and screwed them into the bucket. I did put on some plumbing tape on the threads. I experimented until I found the right size drill bit. Here are links to the original posts - hope they will help make it more clear:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...r-and-lay-some-wisdom-on-us/9150#post_9853024


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...nt-to-follow-their-progress/1960#post_9868132


PS: I also tried the nipples before I got these but they dropped too much water and it was always stinky and wet under them when used inside the coop. They didn't leak - just dropped too much water. Since I water inside the coop, I needed something that would not be making a mess undernieth.