Howdy from Ohio!

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3rdtimesacharm

3rdtimesacharm

Chirping
Jul 2, 2020
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Howdy! Just introducing myself. I'm Michelle from Ohio. Married with three older kids, and currently have my son's displaced college student girlfriend living with us. We've attempted chickens twice, so as my username implies, 3rd times a charm!!! I'm bound and determined that this time we will not lose the flock to predators!!

I'm a Girl Scout leader, 16 years, as well as a 4H advisor. Stay at home mom battling a few diseases. Otherwise, that's about it!! Ohhh, we have two dogs (one is a seeing eye flunkies I raised for Pilot Dogs last year. Her entire litter failed so I don't feel too bad!), a cat, a rabbit and a horse named Koda. We bought him at two days old and we're raising him ourselves which is quite the challenge, but also VERY cool to have such a relationship with a horse.

So, that's it!! I can't wait to chat, ha! I've been reading a lot of posts, just never registered until now because I have a few questions...
 
DobieLover said:
Hello, Michelle, and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
1/2" hardware cloth covering all openings and getting locked up in a well ventilated coop go a long way towards night time protection.
Electric fencing does wonder for ground predators during the day.
Click to expand...
I've got that going on. My main issues are an automatic door, and I'm pasturing them...

I bought a lil too with the ladies this time, Stephen Cluckbert. He's fine with Stephen or Lil Roo. He's a BPR.

And I'm training my two dogs. Here's my good dog, Sunny. She's ten. Dad was a lab, mom was half Golden, half Aussie. My other dog WILL learn that this is her mission in life. She's a GSD who was career changed from Pilot Dogs. She's got EXTREMELY high prey drive, but she's eager for a job. She's coming along much better than expected.
 

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3rdtimesacharm said:
I've got that going on. My main issues are an automatic door, and I'm pasturing them...

I bought a lil too with the ladies this time, Stephen Cluckbert. He's fine with Stephen or Lil Roo. He's a BPR.

And I'm training my two dogs. Here's my good dog, Sunny. She's ten. Dad was a lab, mom was half Golden, half Aussie. My other dog WILL learn that this is her mission in life. She's a GSD who was career changed from Pilot Dogs. She's got EXTREMELY high prey drive, but she's eager for a job. She's coming along much better than expected.
Click to expand...
The EXTREME prey drive in the GSD will be just as EXTREMELY difficult to control around the chickens. Things may be okay early on if the chickens are just meandering around. But if they startle and fly/run, that may trigger a reactive attack in the GSD. Just something to always be cautious of.
Sunny looks like she'll do a great job!
 
DobieLover said:
The EXTREME prey drive in the GSD will be just as EXTREMELY difficult to control around the chickens. Things may be okay early on if the chickens are just meandering around. But if they startle and fly/run, that may trigger a reactive attack in the GSD. Just something to always be cautious of.
Sunny looks like she'll do a great job!
Click to expand...
DEFINITELY aware but thank you!!! I live on 22 acres that backs into a summer camp (thus the LARGE amount of predators!!) so she's never free. She's on a 60' cable tie I move around. She's EXTREMELY intelligent (she figured out how to intentionally get out of working for the blind!! Haaaa) and she quickly learns/remembers her boundaries. As long as you're playing ball with her, nothing else in life matters. And that's a fact. I'm hoping that as long as she's out and loud that she'll scare predators from coming too close.

Also, I should comment that they're only 3.5 weeks right now, and I'm A FREAK. I am sleeping with them in the brooder in the living room WITH her. Her name is Aiko. She's in her crate. She's learning all their sounds, movements, and hopefully bonding and watching me carefully. Let's be honest-I've got nothing else going on up in my mini mountain during a pandemic! Nothing but time and determination!!

So far, she's doing really well making good decisions/choices and remaining calm even when things happen. GSD have it in them I know, but, they were also THE herding dog in Germany in the early 1900s. And she's bred from a top secret breeder. Haaaa, Pilot Dogs refused to tell me who the breeder is, and my equine vet who also raises GSD LOVED her and wanted the breeder's contact info-it was like pulling teeth. By the time they agreed to give it to her (forcefully, not through me!) she had moved on and gotten one elsewhere. But, she's a western working line, bred for jobs, so she WILL learn her mission in life is to protect the chickens at all costs!!!!!
 

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