Hi from Dallas

[DallasKJG]

I am new to chickens, so I don't have any currently. It's an interest, so I wanted to join and get some ideas and see the possible pitfalls.

One interesting question - how do you have chickens and other pets co-exist? We have a Chihuahua who protects the yard whenever he's outside, so I'm wondering about keeping other critters safe.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

how do you have chickens and other pets co-exist?

I don't. I fenced off about a third of an acre of my property and put the chicken coop and run setup inside the pen. The pen is constructed of electric poultry netting powered with a 10,000 volt charger.
My dogs do not like the chickens.
My dogs think chickens zap them in the nose and make them scream.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place to explore and hang out. Fences are good no one gets hurt.

 

[Bsmac]

Hello! Welcome to BYC! Good luck if you decide to get chickens! I would agree with DobieLover on the separation of pets & chickens. I don`t have any pets well, actually my chickens are my pets! I just would not trust more traditional pets around my birds!

 

[GodLovesU]

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC, and good luck establishing your flock.

 

[N F C]

Hi, glad to have you here with us! BYC has a great source of info in the form of member-written articles, you can find them in the Learning Center: Learning Center Articles

Some dogs can be trained to leave a flock alone and other dogs never seem to get the message. You don't say how old your dog is, but maybe there is something helpful you can pick up from this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-to-be-trustworthy-around-your-poultry.78407/

Best wishes!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

We were fortunate that both of our dogs, a border collie and a corgi, protect the chickens and keep predators out of our yard.

The miniature Dachshund we recently babysat for a week quickly learned. She's smaller than the chickens anyway, so she was a little intimidated by them.

Your Chihuahua, I'd test on a leash, but I'm sure could also be trained not to chase the chickens.

That article posted above by @N F C would be very helpful!

We're glad you're here.

 

[BoundlessLove]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens!
Lots of great articles here!!

 

[Birdlove2011]

I am an owner of both duck, chickens(pinned and free range) and 1 dog. Schnauzer specifically. My dog at a young age was able to be trained to be around my chicken flock that free range, actually she was exposed to be around various types of animals at a young age. So it can work but I think it will depend on the age of your dog and maybe test on a leash as @Debbie292d recommended. My flocks duck and chicken are also use to my dog as well, if anything I think they chase her around lol. My dog really pays no mind to them. To her its just another one of moms animals. I feel thats her mentality lol.