My boyfriend and I are getting chicks tomorrow and we are so excited! I have learned so much from all the info here and from everyone's posts. I will definitely be posting some pictures tomorrow. Feel free to give me any advice that I may need for the first few days getting adjusted. We do have two dogs, that shouldn't be a problem should it? They are both very sweet and we both feel that the dogs are going to love having the chicks around.
Welcome to BYC! When you get your chicks I would recommend that you just let your dogs look at them and smell them. As they get older and bigger you can let them be around your dogs WITH SUPERVISION! Your dogs can be the sweetest things to you, but you can't forget that they have the instinct to kill, especially birds. Hope this helps!
Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. It's always so exciting getting those first chicks. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. What kind of chicks are you getting?
Hello there and welcome to BYC! Be VERY careful with the dogs. Most dogs, no matter how sweet they are, see chickens as dinner. I see so many threads in the emergency section on how "my dogs ate my chickens". So please be extra cautious with the dogs. There are a few threads on training dogs around chickens. Here is one you might take a look at....https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/700017/how-to-train-your-dog-not-to-kill-chickens Have you stopped by our learning center yet? All kinds of good articles on raising your new birds...https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center Enjoy your new chicks and welcome to our flock!
Hello and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your new chicks, how exciting! X2 on check out the Learning Center TwoCrows linked for you Here is a nice article from the Learning Center on raising chicks the first few months https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens and be very careful with your dogs around the chicks, also watch that they can't get into/ knock over the brooder etc.
PLEASE DO take TwoCrows advice on dogs and chickens very seriously. Never hold a chick up to a dog's face so he can smell it. In the blink of an eye he will have grabbed it. Good by chick. Dogs think you are offering them a treat. We always hear about dogs massacring the owners flock - maybe they just want to play but, the chickens end up dead. You NEVER hear of chickens killing a dog.
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help. You've gotten good advice above. Take extreme caution with your dog and flock.
Thank you all for your advice!! I will be very careful with the dogs and the brooder will be in a separate room where the dogs cannot get to the chicks. Thanks again! It's nice to know I have somewhere to go to ask questions and get great info! I'm so excited to go pick them up tomorrow!!
Glad you joined us! The other posters have given you good advice. Lots of dogs can be trained to leave chickens alone, but they are by nature predators, so be very careful. Feel free to ask any other questions you have! We're all here to help.