Hi from laura

Date sort Score sort
lcr123

lcr123

In the Brooder
6 Years
Joined
Jul 17, 2013
Messages
31
Reaction score
3
Points
22
Hi! Happy to be here, just found the site when I was "scratching around" on the web:) My name is Laura and I live in San Diego County. We got our first chicken, a Rhode Island Red, as one of the 9 that I hatched in my 5th grade classroom about 12 years ago. She lived in a big dog crate in our side yard and was let out daily to eat snails and romp with our elderly lab mix, our elderly cat and our young Rat Terrier. One big happy family, "Friend", the hen, was "top dog". She died at age 6 and I just got two more hatchlings in May from a fellow teacher and bought them a really lovely (but flimsy) outdoor coop. Sadly, a stray Labrador broke the latch on the coop nest box this morning and killed the white rooster, so I only have the pullet. She is brown with black barred wings and is grieving her best friend. They were so sweet together! Thankfully, I am getting another rooster today, from a friend who has one of my hen's incubator mates, so I hope she cheers up. I've learned my lesson the hard way about stray dogs and cheap coop latches.....I have a wonderful daughter who will be off to college in the fall. We also have a darling indoor cat named Katniss. I'm thinking of getting a collie - puppy or young, purebred or rescue depending on availability - as I hear they are gentle, intelligent, protective and good with small animals if properly introduced and trained. Any thoughts on that? Happy to be here with a like-minded "flock".
 
Greetings from Kansas, Laura, and
welcome-byc.gif
! Great to have you with us! Glad you are getting a replacement chicken - chickens need company! In terms of the the dog to get...I think any dog can be socialized to chickens. There are some on BYC that are dead set against dogs and chickens mixing - seeing dogs as just another predator. I disagree - the big fellow in my avatar is great around my bird and protects them from predators. I also have a golden retriever who pays no attention to them. It's hard to say if you'll have issues or not but it can be done!! Good luck to you!
 
Last edited:
Thank you, wow, I appreciate how quickly you welcomed me:) Thanks for your ideas on dogs and chickens...it probably just takes time....our Rat Terrier barked for 3 hours straight at our cat when we brought her home....we kept them in separate rooms for a month...then they duked it out for another month..but by month three, they were sleeping together on our bed:) I'm sure it's the same for most gentle dogs and chickens....I'm keeping the new rooster and our hen in separate quarters next to each other for a few days too, just in case.
 
Thank you, Laura. Nice to meet you. Puerto Rico....sounds lovely, conjures up images of beaches, fresh fruit, "Rent" and "Westside Story" :) but I will have to travel there someday:)
 
Wow! I don't have room for that many on my 1/3 acre suburban lot, but that's cool! Maybe you can teach me about breed identification, I have no idea what I have now, except that they are probably crossbreeds.
 
welcome-byc.gif
It's not quite the same having a dog get used to a cat - as you say they duked it out. A chicken doesn't have any good defenses, except flying away if they think about it. Yes. if "properly introduced and trained,' they can get along. One thing I would suggest is Do NOT hold a chick up to a dog's face to have them meet. It usually ends in disaster - the dog thinks you are offering them a treat...
 
lcr123 said:
Thank you, Laura. Nice to meet you. Puerto Rico....sounds lovely, conjures up images of beaches, fresh fruit, "Rent" and "Westside Story" :) but I will have to travel there someday:)
Click to expand...
We'll be happy to have you in the Island! We are very blessed to live in such a beautiful place. On the other hand one of my dreams is to see snow and ski... Hope I can do that someday too.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom