Getting ready to start - have some concerns

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Sondacop

Sondacop

In the Brooder
7 Years
Jul 24, 2012
66
1
31
Hello,
I am glad I found this wonderful forum, I have been reading and gleaning.
I am planing to have 4-5 chickens as pets and for eggs, and garden fertility. I am currently designing a chicken tractor coop combo that I can move daily.
My main concerns are the heat - as I live in a desert and my dogs
.For the heat I am looking into max ventilation and shade by having an A frame with sides that can be propped up in the summer like wings to shade and to give maximum air flow.
I have 3 dogs - raw fed on meaty bones including chicken. All of the dogs are old - 10-13 years. One is too small and has too few teeth to cause harm. The Golden Retriever barks at pigeons all day and can be violent but is blind in one eye. The third, a Springer Spaniel used to belong to my parents, has not been trained with voice commands and used to kill pigeons for fun. The SS fears the GR and stays separate in the house all day. The GR stays outside all day. I would like to free range the chickens, but I fear for their safety.
I would be happy to hear any advice on the heat and the dogs.
Thanks!
 
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I learned the hard way about free ranging my chickens with my dog, didn't end well. I would keep them seperate and make sure your coop/run is dog proof. My chickens are fine in 100+ degree weather as long as they have shade and plenty of water. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the welcome and info. I will keep them separate and see how it goes. I hope my GR wont bark at them all day, my neighbors WILL be upset.
I have a friend whose mother knows a lot about chickens and she will chose some for me from a market. She will get me sturdy desert breeds. I hope that works too.
 


We free range some of our chickens. The dogs have a separate area (fenced back yard). They only bark a lot when they are on the front deck and the roosters come up to the deck to taunt them.
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Thanks for all of the welcomes! I hope to learn so much here, I really want to be as good as I can with this undertaking.
I AM so used to dogs and humans! While researching coops it took me a while to wrap my head around the 3 dimensional aspect of a chicken. My friend who has cats, has an easier time with this. Chickens and cats have a 3 dimensional terrain, humans and dogs keep feet on the ground. I have a lot to learn!
I talked to the man who will be making my coop based on my design, and gave him the green light to start today, I hope the coop will be a good home for my chickens! It just seems so important to get the coop right, I hope I didn't make any mistakes.
Graymane - My yard is not big enough for me to feel comfortable fencing. I also have a "dogie door" and the dogs - free range themselves from the house to the yard. The yard is completely walled in (half a wall, metal bar fence with honeysuckle climbing it. I have fruit trees and grass, and one part includes flowers herbs and veggies. I really hope the dogs and the chickens get along, I will definitely train any future puppies to tolerate the chickens.
 

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