Excited new urban chicken owner

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Lyndseyshort

In the Brooder
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Hello! My name is Lyndsey and I am a brand new chicken owner. As of tomorrow I am picking up two black sex linked chicks and later this week I am receiving a Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red, and Black Laced Wyandotte. I have a lot of valuable information from this site already but I do have a couple of questions.

1. At what age is a good age to transfer the chicks to the chicken coop?
2. I have 2 dogs and a cat. Any advice as to training them that these new family members are NOT food/toys?

Thanks is advance!
Lyndsey
 
Hello, Lyndsey, and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
If you can, I would brood in the coop using a MHP or brooder plate. Pull the heat when they are fully feathered, usually around 5 - 6 weeks old.
All my dogs have high prey drive so I would never even try to acclimate them to the chickens. My flock is kept in a large electro-netted pen.
Good luck.
 
Hello! And welcome to BYC! Always feel free to ask any questions or concerns about your animals.
You can move your chicks out into the chicken coop at 5-6 week of age. One of my dogs was fine with chickens when he was a baby, now he doesn’t do well with them and I’m not going to give it a chance. My other one I know already because her siblings at their previous owner house age their chickens, not going to take a chance with her.
If I were you I would put your dogs on a leash behind a fence and see how they react to the chickens.
I had chickens before I got a cat and my cat wasn’t at all families with chickens. She did try and attach one of my girls but the chickens just attach back and now my cat is chilling out in the sun in the yard knowing “if I don’t attach then they won’t!” Now that was with my cat, it may be different.

What type of cat do you have.
I have a siamese.
Yet it may be different with younger smaller chicks.
Good luck!
 
Welcome :welcome Nice to have you here! As long as the chicks are little I wouldn’t let cats or dogs near them unless you have a sturdy brooder with a strong wire top. Close supervision when you let anyone see or sniff the little ones. It took almost a year of having one of my dogs on a close leash for him to be ‘chicken safe’ but I am usually outside when he’s loose with the chickens. My other dog..... no! He behaves and sniffs the run when I let him but he loves to chase. So no free ranging with chickens for Beau. My cats don’t mess with the chickens but they have little contact and the chickens are big and will peck the cats given a chance. In a nutshell.... depends on dog/car, training and in the case of cats....size
 

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