Finished the New Chicken House! Thoughts and Ramblings on Things That Need Input...

[ColtHandorf]

I'm not putting shaving on the floor of my house...I was talking about the mess the dogs made when they came inside with me...

 

[Kris5902]

"If your poodles are fairly chicken friendly it could be a very happy partnership. I’ve also met standard bred poodles better trained as guard dogs than most of the breeds that jump to peoples minds at that description. They are one of the smartest breeds out there, and no laughing matter when the get defensive!"

@Kris5902 - lol Chicken friendly? Let me paint a picture of the first day shall I? There should be plenty of mud to use. So it poured, three inches in about an hour to an hour and a half. Immensely frustrating after the yard had almost dried out with like four to five days of little to no rain. I had to wait until 10:30 or so to quite literally wade out there to let them out. I let the dogs out into the yard so they could go to the bathroom and splashed my way to the chicken pen to let the Orpingtons out. The dogs were mildly interested in watching me, but were having more fun running at high speeds through the wet grass and puddles (poodles) or finding a spot with shorter grass to not be completely soaked (dachshunds).

The hen figured out the whole ramp/ladder situation relatively quickly and made a beeline for the feeder inside the house, thus avoiding detection by the chicken police (dogs). The rooster after several minutes of half-hearted and pathetic attempts to get down the roost pole to the ramp was rescued by me and placed on the ground where he could join her at the feeder as he was very interested in what sort of goodies she'd found. After a few minutes he wandered out and my female white/cream party poodle Anastasia (Anna) saw him for the first time. She completely lost it. Barking frantically, literally bouncing up and down the fence through the largest stretch of mud and water slinging it everywhere. This of course drew the attention of Romanoff, my male black/white tuxedo party poodle and Evelynn (Eevee) and Maribelle (the two dappled miniature dachshunds; one red and one silver). Everyone came charging across the yard at full speed. The little ones at least had the decency to stand in grass and bark at full volume. While Romanoff and Anna both barked, bounced, splashed, jumped over each other and on the fence and I screamed at both of them to stop and behave, the rooster looked on completely unimpressed and unafraid...lol

I should probably mention at this point none of them have ever seen a chicken.

Wow! What a tale to read for my morning entertainment! Now we know how the doggies really feel about chickens

I'm now brandishing a stick from my side of the fence and screeching while my roommate laughs from the back porch.

I don’t suppose the roommate thought to record this epic moment for posterity?

I suppose it’s safe to say the poodles are not going to make the best guardians for your flock... Let’s hope they also feel similarly about big birds with pointy beaks, eh?

 

[ColtHandorf]

Well with all the barking I certainly won't have to worry about random predators coming up. Of course I won't have to worry about collecting eggs if they keep up all the barking too. lol Really once she's acclimated she's much less of a pest. So I'm hoping in the coming weeks to just desensitize her to them. My mornings before work will be much calmer, more quiet, and less stressful then. lol

No thankfully she was too busy playing a game on her phone to think of recording me. She hates her picture taken so I guess she assumes everyone else does as well.

 

[Nardo]

"PS "

I am glad you thought so...lol I could have just cried when I saw my floors after they came inside... They are all due for baths again also...lol

We have four large dogs. That's 16 paws. Just in case anyone is counting.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I've got 16 dog paws and 12 cat paws...lol Thankfully only 8 of them are large.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Yup 4 dogs, 2 inside 2 outside guardians 4 indoor cats 3 outside cats