Getting ready to start - have some concerns

[Red Barn Farms]

Howdy!

 

[mickey328]

We have 3 dogs as well. I doubt any of them would actually kill a chicken but I didn't want to take a chance, either. They don't have to actually grab a hold of them to do damage...just the chasing and barking and such can stress the birds enough to wear them down. We also have a doggie door, but for the first 5 or 6 days after we brought the chickens home, we blocked it off and only let the dogs out when we could go with them and supervise. At first they were all about checking them out...chasing around the outside of the pen and barking. But after a week or so, the "new" wore off. They still check it out but don't pay a lot of attention.

We built a portable pen along with our portable coop, and we move the whole rig every 3 or 4 days. The run is covered (we have hawks sometimes) and sturdy enough that the dogs can't knock it over or anything. Since we move it often, our chickens are "sort of" free range. Eventually, they cover the whole yard...just not all at once.



Here's the whole set up. The run is 9 feet on a side so they have lots of room (6 chickens); it's easy for one person to drag, or for 2 (just because of the size) to pick up and walk it to the next spot.

We're in "high desert" climate and the girls have coped well with the heat this summer. When the rig is moved to a spot that doesn't get much shade, we tarp one end of the run for them. We insulated the coop so it stays cooler in there than outside, and has lots of ventilation under the eaves. We make sure the water dish is always full, and give them cold treats as well.

 

[Sondacop]

We don't have raccoons in my region, none. On the outskirts of town there are foxes, but they don't venture too far in, they only come to raid the garbage cans. I don't know of any other predators. I will ask the neighbors, I have neighbors with chickens.The dogs have free access to the yard, but they like to sleep in the house.
The Golden hates to see birds up high, and barks at them, this is true for the chickens when they roost. He just stands and barks. I chase him into the house, but this needs to be resolved so that the neighbors don't complain when I am not home at dusk.

 

[Sondacop]

Mickey - that is a nice coop! I like the idea of insulation, but ventilation seemed to be so important. I move mine once or twice a day depending on the damage they caused the grass. I supervised the dogs the first 2 days and the last 2 days I was at work and I let them in the yard.
I am still working things out, like what to do about all of the flies!

 

[redsoxs]

I concur - that is a very seviceable coop! Good luck to you!

 

[Sondacop]

Thanks!

 

[Sondacop]

DISASTER!

When I stopped by the house today I found 2 chickens dead on the grass outside of the coop and the white one was gone. I now have only one chicken left. I was horrified to say the least. The survivor was petrified and stayed up on the perch till late afternoon. I immediately bought stronger wire and another metal panel to fasten it to. I can't understand how they got out. The rim of the breach is facing outwards, it is the size of a chicken, or maybe a small dog, but I found no dog hairs caught in the wire or any other signs that a dog got into the coop. I looks like the wire was pushed outward from the inside. I feel just horrible. From reading the forum I understood that things like this happen, but it is always different when it happens to YOUR pets. I'd hate to keep the dogs locked in the house all day, I need to be sure the coop is secure. Do the chickens need an area they can use to hide? I didn't put any walls up on the bottom part because I was impressed that they need air, and didn't need walls, and that they might confuse the walled area with a nest box. Any response appreciated.

 

[sumi]

I'm so sorry to hear that

I lost way too many chickens to predators. It's awful! Especially if you think you could've prevented it. The members here say hardware cloth is great for keeping predators out and chickens in. Maybe recover your run with that? I had a big run for chicks and moms and I built it with sink sheets and chick mesh on top, so snakes and other creatures can't get in or jump over and it doubled as wind break and shade provider. This is the only pic I can find now that shows it:




And I know it's probably the last thing you want to think of now, but you should get your remaining chicken a friend or 2. Chickens are social creatures and they get very lonely if kept by themselves. Good luck!

 

[Sondacop]

I already asked the friend who supplied the 4 chickens to get me 3 more. I can tell she is lonely and scared. I feel so bad for what she witnessed. I hate being a newbie! I wish I had a spy camera that would have recorded what happened. The not knowing is bothersome. It is also harder to correct mistakes if you are not exactly sure what they were.

I keep hearing the pigeons (it is 10 pm) and wondering if it is the white chicken, but I am sure she is perched in some tree in the neighborhood or is already in a pot.

 

[NCGrammie]

Aww I'm so sorry to hear this happened to your chickens...I can imagine the other one is lonely and upset. We use hardware cloth as well on our coops, and knock on wood haven't had any problems. We do own a mini schnauzer that loves to 'play' with the chickens...they are bigger than she is but she thinks its fun to stand on the outside of them and bark! So I would never let her in there with them. She's an indoor dog anyway. Now our Great Pyrenees pups are wonderful, they were born to two different breeders and kept outside around chickens so they don't pay any attention to ours. They are 10 weeks old now, but honestly I have no problems at all leaving our house with our little dutch bantam and/or ducks walking around them. They let them come right up to them and could care less. lol They already can be protective of our yard so they are doing their job already! I just wanted to stop and wish you luck with your new flock and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do here.