first time bird owner

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rmcclure

rmcclure

In the Brooder
5 Years
May 5, 2014
29
0
24
I have lived in the country for about 2 and a half years now, in fact one of my neighbors is literally a cow! lol, and several of our neighbors have chickens and goats but this has been my first time with raising birds, I have always wanted my own farm fresh eggs and chicken meat... so far it has been an uphill battle and my dogs are making it a pain in my rear! we started out with 4 ducks, 2 turkeys and 6 chicks, then my dog darted past me into the pen they were in (it was a warm day and everyone was about 4 weeks old) and proceeded to kill 3 of the ducks, 1 turkey and 2 chickens... I was devastated but determined so I went and got two more ducks so my duck wouldn't be lonely, two more turkeys (I wanted 3 anyways) and 5 more chicks... it wasn't long after this that my other dog (small thing) managed to jump into the pen and got my last Rhode island red luckily that was all he got! and 2 of the 5 new chicks have died... seems turkens are not as hearty as i would have liked lol but everyone else is doing great and I couldn't be more excited about the new flock.... I am also looking into getting some more chickens for meat! I only wish I could have a rooster so I could breed them :) I have been impressed so far by the experience of raising these guys and hope I can give them the best lives while they are here and hopefully we don't have any more mishaps!
 
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Welcome to BYC!

So sorry about all the loss of birds due to the dog attacks. Unfortunately most dogs see chickens as dinner. So you will need to keep the dog penned at all times, or the poultry in a safe run all the time.

If you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask. Enjoy this new journey you are on and welcome to our flock!
 
Hi and welcome - sorry you have had such a rough start.
The good news is, the issues that have caused you heartache so far are things that can be addressed. You have identified a weakness in your security as it is (from above) so now all you have to do is secure your pen from above to prevent further "over and in" attacks on your birds. You have identified another mode of entrance by a predator in the first attack so, again, you know where you need to strengthen your security measures there. Also, keep in mind, your own dogs are not even half as much of a challenge as other predators when it comes to your security measures, so it may be a good time to revisit your security all together and evaluate how well it would stand up to other, more crafty attacks.
In addition, since you'll be keeping the birds and dogs both long-term, it's time to start working on some training with the dogs -- in addition to helping to protect your birds, the extra time spent on the training will strengthen your relationship with your dogs.
 
Sorry to hear of your loss from doggie attacks. Hopefully the chicken run can be enlarged so they will not need to walk outside of it and the doggies are on tighter reins while you are out and about doing your chicken business.
 
we have changed security a bit on the pen, we added more posts to support it since the little dog was going under the fence for a while then over this time... we are also working on getting the materials to raise the fence its like 2ft tall right now and under a big tree which helps with some of the predator issue, when they are old enough to stay outside all day/night we have a coop that is almost finished that will have a fenced in area that is covered with chicken wire, they will be a lot safer in there, we thought the smaller thing under the tree would work since we were going to be out there with them all the time but apparently we were wrong lol... normally our bigger dogs are not in the same yard as the chickens (and have a 6ft fence between them), this was a fluke, I was going to work with one dog and the other darted past me (never seen her move that fast lol)... I have been working with all four of them but its slow going, one is a 9 year old chow mix that is arthritic so has little interest in doing anything involving movement... unless apparently there are chickens involved >.<, then we have a 3 year old labradoodle who is hyper as all get out and has seizures, been working hard with that one! We are still trying to figure out a way with one of our small dogs, he is not food or attention motivated it seems (he was a stray we have had about 5mo I think he is about 2 years old not sure tho) :/ and our fourth dog is a work in progress he is only 5 months old so haven't had much time to work with him yet...
 
Welcome to BYC
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Glad you joined us! I'm so sorry to hear about your losses. Dog training around chickens can be a challenge, but it can be done over time. There are some wonderful discussions with good tips on it here, like these:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/829562/training-teaching-a-dog-about-chickens/0_30

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/866449/can-you-train-a-dog-to-not-hurt-your-chickens/0_30

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/700017/how-to-train-your-dog-not-to-kill-chickens/0_30

Best of luck!
 
I apologize. I wasn't attacking you specifically, at least not intentionally. It was more of a general rant, and I'm sorry that I didn't word it better. I do a lot of volunteer work at the local shelter, and sometimes the stupidity of people in general just gets to me. We had to put down a dog yesterday that killed a neighbor's cat in an incident that could have easily been avoided.

I should know better than to post when I'm emotionally charged. I tend to make assumptions in that state, and it usually ends poorly.

Again, I'm sorry. I applaud your efforts to rehab a dog that has been poorly treated by someone.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your projects! Sorry about your losses, you've gotten some good links and suggestions about about figuring out the dogs.
 
yes thank you guys I am working hard with these guys and I will definitely try some of the things those links suggested... the chow mix is normally really slow and well behaved so I was surprised by the get up and go she had for the chickens lol but I am sure with time I will be able to make it so she at least wont try to eat them when I am there but I am not sure I could trust her alone with them ever... our labradoodle and the 2 year old chi mix almost have the basics down, but the chi does not listen worth a darn when he doesn't want to he is a bolter (no doubt how he ended up on the street) and I am trying to not have to use a shock collar on him but it seems like I might have to as he doesn't come back when called and runs every chance he gets (if there is a way out he will find it too!) luckily our yard is escape proof for him... unless of course the mail man opens the gate (our ups guy is an idiot instead of dropping packages off at the front of our house he drops them at the side >.< which kinda looks like the front but is not on our address street...) the five month old is sharp as a tack and I have no doubt he will be good to go in no time, he sits, comes and stays most of the time already!
 

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