Chicks for the first Time

[schimbare]

I am new to chickens - other than the pre-packaged kind. I live in the suburbs with 1/6 of an acre lot. And my house is small, so there is not much room anywhere.

 

[schimbare]

Sorry, I accidently hit the wrong key.

Anyway, I am concerned with the level of dust the chicks produce. I want to keep the chicks in the house for warmth and so they can become accustomed to the human and dog members of the family, but my house is tiny, and large amounts of chick dust would not be a good thing.

Is there anything I can do to keep down the level of dust? I would like to keep the chicks in the kitchen or living room, where the people and the dog are. I don't want to put the chicks in the bathroom, where they will be isolated and without natural light.

I live on Long Island, and it will be quite a while before it is warm enough for the chicks to be outside.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Oh, I ordered six chicks. I can't wait till they arrive!!

 

[heby]

Don't know about the breed...but I've had our dog (pit bull, sweet as can be, an overgrown baby at 7 months) get ahold of one of ours earlier in the week when it escaped.

The husband says, since he grew up raising both parlor roller pigeons and pit bulls with his stepfather, that dogs naturally want to go after smaller things that move - therefore they need to be trained not to. He's getting a shock collar and I won't have any part of it, but he swears by putting the dog on a short leash/lead with the collar on, turned down, and holding a bird nearby. When he tries to snap at it or get at it, he pushes the button. Then, moves up to the next setting, and repeats the process, until the dog no longer snaps at the bird. He swears by it - I don't like it - but if it keeps our dog from killing our birds, then I'm going to let him do what he's always done in stopping the threat. Other people's dogs getting into our pasture/coop is one thing - it's a trespasser and the owner, if located, should be notified that the next time it happens they'll be burying their pet. After all, chickens are many people's pets AND sources of food (like us here) so who's to say which pet is more important?

I don't know what else to do to train dogs not to go after the chickens...so I'm going to let the man do the training and hope for the best. :/

Our 6 mon old Boston Terrier has started attacking our chickens at times. Some days he will just run right by them but then if he gets a notion, he will run over and try to grab them. There is no growling or barking just running. He has bit the back of one of my hens and then the other day he attacked the rooster. Luckily, the roo survived tho he seemed knocked out for a while. My husband is also going to borrow a shock collar from a friend who has hunting dogs. Thank you for posting how he trains them tho cause I was at a loss since he doesn't attack all the time.

 

[Jeanna Marie]

Sorry, I accidently hit the wrong key.

Anyway, I am concerned with the level of dust the chicks produce.  I want to keep the chicks in the house for warmth and so they can become accustomed to the human and dog members of the family, but my house is tiny, and large amounts of chick dust would not be a good thing.

Is there anything I can do to keep down the level of dust?  I would like to keep the chicks in the kitchen or living room, where the people and the dog are.  I don't want to put the chicks in the bathroom, where they will be isolated and without natural light.


I live on Long Island, and it will be quite a while before it is warm enough for the chicks to be outside.


Any suggestions are appreciated.  Oh, I ordered six chicks.  I can't wait till they arrive!!

Chicks can create a lot of dust but I have found that the bedding you use is the biggest contributor. Fine pine shavings will be dustier than larger shavings. Depending on your set up you could cover a portion of your brooder with fine mesh screen to cut down on the dust and dander.

 

[kynewbchickie]

Our 6 mon old Boston Terrier has started attacking our chickens at times. Some days he will just run right by them but then if he gets a notion, he will run over and try to grab them. There is no growling or barking just running. He has bit the back of one of my hens and then the other day he attacked the rooster. Luckily, the roo survived tho he seemed knocked out for a while. My husband is also going to borrow a shock collar from a friend who has hunting dogs. Thank you for posting how he trains them tho cause I was at a loss since he doesn't attack all the time.

That's what my husband says to do, and I figure if he was raised while raising pit bulls and parlor roller pigeons for competition, he probably knows better than most on how to get dogs trained to not go near the chickens. I'm not going to be able to be a part of it. Even though I'd not have a problem shooting and killing a random dog that attacks my birds - it's different with my own dog, as I've raised him from 5.5 weeks old to the present. He's my big four-legged baby, and I just won't be able to stand it. Although, my husband suggests that I be the one to induce the shocks while he holds the bird nearby because my dog still doesn't recognize me as Alpha. With his job, he works from 5am til 5 or 6pm 5 days a week, sometimes 6...so it's me here to handle the dog, the farm, the kids, and the house. He says it's more important for our dog to behave for me better than he does my husband. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that one.

This is why I was always a cat person.

 

[one old chick]

Mine will eat from my hand and even perch on my arms if I sit withmy hand on the brooder. They get very jealous. If one is on my arm...there are at least four on my arm..

i know they do get very jealous, so funny. i have a couple that will sit on my hand. one actually flew up when i took the screen off to change the water and there she was right there in my face. i slid my hand under her belly and lowered her back down into the brooder. they watch everything i do, like children. LOL

 

[one old chick]

Sorry, I accidently hit the wrong key.

Anyway, I am concerned with the level of dust the chicks produce. I want to keep the chicks in the house for warmth and so they can become accustomed to the human and dog members of the family, but my house is tiny, and large amounts of chick dust would not be a good thing.

Is there anything I can do to keep down the level of dust? I would like to keep the chicks in the kitchen or living room, where the people and the dog are. I don't want to put the chicks in the bathroom, where they will be isolated and without natural light.

I live on Long Island, and it will be quite a while before it is warm enough for the chicks to be outside.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Oh, I ordered six chicks. I can't wait till they arrive!!

i agree, we put in regular size shavings and i pull out and replenish every other day or so. not all of it only about ten handfuls and replace with fresh. we haven't really had any dust to speak of but i also cover the brooder with a window screen. we have nine in our brooder in the house. they are three weeks old today. we are planning on putting them in their forever coop next weekend. we won't put them outside but they will go into the coop which is in our barn. we might let them out a little at a time if the weather gets warm. good luck with yours and enjoy them they grow really quickly. mine are on their second brooder that's another reason we decided to just move them to the coop.

 

[Jeanna Marie]

I don't cover my brooder and its in my bedroom. But I live in the country and have a long dirt drive so I'm used to tons of dust anyways. But now that they are feathering I am finding downy feathers everywhere!

 

[heby]

That's what my husband says to do, and I figure if he was raised while raising pit bulls and parlor roller pigeons for competition, he probably knows better than most on how to get dogs trained to not go near the chickens. I'm not going to be able to be a part of it. Even though I'd not have a problem shooting and killing a random dog that attacks my birds - it's different with my own dog, as I've raised him from 5.5 weeks old to the present. He's my big four-legged baby, and I just won't be able to stand it. Although, my husband suggests that I be the one to induce the shocks while he holds the bird nearby because my dog still doesn't recognize me as Alpha. With his job, he works from 5am til 5 or 6pm 5 days a week, sometimes 6...so it's me here to handle the dog, the farm, the kids, and the house. He says it's more important for our dog to behave for me better than he does my husband. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that one.

This is why I was always a cat person.

I can concur. I am home with the dog all day and for the past few months my hubby has been working late most days. He does listen at times (like a child lol) but he is also almost 7 months old so still a lot of puppy in him. It just puzzles and irritates me that he is just sporadic and doesn't do it all the time. Hard to know when he will attack, which makes the prevention harder IMO. But as much as my kids love the dog, they love the chickens too and refuse to see one hurt. They start screaming and crying. They are all for the shock collar and have been asking me everyday if their dad has gotten the collar yet. haha. We have been out of town for a few days so they aren't there to keep "check" on things.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[kynewbchickie]

Anytime! You mention having a Boston Terrier - they're varmint dogs, so they're good to have for varmints that can cause issues for your chickens. The husband says varmint dogs like terrier breeds may be harder to break of the habit than pits...he had Jacks growing up, too...let's hope he's wrong. I wish you the best of luck in training!