Hi! We are new here :)

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RoxBox615

RoxBox615

Hatching
Apr 25, 2016
7
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7
Hi, My husband and I just got 6 black sex linked chicks and we are excited about this new adventure! They are living in a big plastic tote with chicken wire on top and the the heat lamp. They are about 3 weeks old now and growing like weeds!

We have both been reading everything here and its a great resource!

We are hoping our 2 hounds will adjust to life with chickens, but we are nervous that are dogs won't adjust. I am sure everything will go fine once the chicks are in the hen house and unaccessible to our pups. Our plan is to let the chickens roam our fenced backyard whenever the dogs are inside and put the chickens in their run when we have dogs out. Any helpful suggestions for dogs and chickens appreciated :)

Thanks!!
 
I'm new here too! We got six chicks on Friday (3 white leghorn pullets and 3 black Asian sex link pullets). One of our white leghorns didn't make it. And Saturday we got three older pullets ( I'm not sure what kind they are). I'm hoping that my dogs don't eat my chickens too!! We are almost finished building their run and then we will build the coop!
 
Hi Spark,
Nice to meet you! Sorry to hear one of yours didn't make it :( One of ours wasn't doing so well, but she did pull through.

Where are you located?
 
Hi I was given 5 hens no idea what breads two roosters a duck and 6 ginneys I have had for about a month and a half an love it
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Good morning Rox, welcome to BYC.

I have 3 dogs that I have introduced chicks to twice so far. For me we start as soon as the chicks come home. We safely let the dogs sniff, see, and hear. Each dog is an individual. 1 has strong prey drive, 1 is a heeler, the other a food bully. My dogs know I am the alpha and I make it clear that the chicks are not food, prey, or toys. The chicks look and sound so much like the fluffy, squeaky toys my dogs love to rip the stuffing guts out of! Every interaction is supervised until I am confident with the dogs behavior. My dogs are used to going after anything that doesn't belong in the back yard. Once they didn't know I was out there and they came after me. Of course I was proud, since that's why I have dogs, as a criminal deterrent. Now the chickens are in a tractor until the dogs get used to seeing them and know they belong there. The strong prey drive one pounced at the chick fence when I started the mower the other day, she's not ready yet. The food bully went by them to stand over the food they were eating and stared them down. Now the heeler lays by the tractor all day. He would protect our previous flock when his dog friends would come over. The dogs may just want to play, not kill (depending on the dog). But they don't know their own strength sometimes and is dangerous until they know lips/teeth/ paws are off limits.

Ranging at separate times is a good idea, but if they happen to get out at the same time it's good for your dogs to know what your expectations are. Dogs ultimately are people pleasers for the most part and want to do what makes us happy. They look to us for guidance. It can be done, many people have all kinds of animals together, cats dogs, chickens, multiple roos, pigs. However I started with chicks so the chicks weren't already conditioned to react excitedly when the dog approaches (seems easier for me). And I have very good communication with my dogs. If you are close to your dogs you will know when the time is right, if ever.

Chicks grow so fast, I'm glad you are enjoying your new adventure!

Spark, also welcome to BYC!
 
EggSighted, thanks so much for the info. We have been slowly introducing them to the chicks in the guest bedroom. They are fairly well trained and we work with them closely on obedience. We will see how they do when outside!
 
Welcome RoxBox615! EggSighted4Life has given great advice! We have two hounds, a Beagke and a Pointer mix, and we were very surprised at how easily they accepted the chickens as friends. We started when the chicks were young and would hold them in our hands and just love the chickens and tell the dogs "no". Then we would let the chicks on the ground and if the dogs got too aggressive just tell them "no". We also had the chicks and dogs interact through a fence, like chicken wire, and it seemed to help a lot. Both of the dogs got the idea quickly. To be honest, the Beagle is afraid of the chickens and wants nothing to do with them! :lol: Good luck and your flock sounds great!
henny1129
 

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