I LOST almost all my babies....

[gottalovemychickens]

Quote:
IMO , and this is only IMO i would have put my dogs down , that is just something that is not tollerated at my house . the dogs know if they get to close to the chicks and or hens they will get a zap from their collars

 

[CHICKENBOY 1]

i'm very sorry about the chicks.But i'd say put a fence around the coop and keep the chicks in the fence thats what I did and it works for me.Best of luck with the rest of the chicks.

 

[CHICKENBOY 1]

One got out and was gone just as fast.

 

[CMV]

An electric fence is going to be your best bet. It's easy to install, relatively cheap to get both the chargers and the fencing, and probably a lot quicker than burying any standard fence 1-2 feet underground. It's also very effective. My dogs accidentally discovered our live fences about a year ago and still won't go within 100 feet of the fences. The live lines are not powerful enough to cause lasting harm to children, either, so no worries there.

Good luck.

 

[CHICKENBOY 1]

Quote:
But what if a chicken touches it?

 

[M To The Maxx]

Quote:
But what if a chicken touches it?

I was thinking that too.

 

[jenjscott]

The what to do with the dog debate will rage on forever. In my case, my dogs were here first, and their job was to rid the premises of varmints. In their eyes, the chickens were just more varmints. I couldn't expect them to change after encouraging that same behavior for years. So after losing a few chickens, I finally got my coop fencing fine tuned, with an electric fence and anti-dig wire around the bottom in case of hotwire failure. But the dogs won't go near the hot wire, and my three year old grandson knows not to get close, because "it bite you".

 

[rileysgranny]

Put the electric fence outside of the pen. That way the chickens won't get shocked. It'll keep the dogs and other predators away from the pen. Then just tell you children that it will shock them and they will learn to stay away too. You can turn off the current when you want and then turn it back on when you're not around.

 

[CMV]

I've had chickens, ducks and geese touch the fence and all have lived to tell the tale. Their feathers seem to insulate them somewhat from the snap, so it's rare that they actually get popped by the fence. And once they get popped they tend to avoid a repeat performance.

 

[Rebel Rooster]

Electric fence is "not deadly" force! High voltage-Low amperage, which means uncomfortable, not life threatening! Most all animals that I have confined in electric fence can actually hear the voltage running thru the wire, and once it's touched, it's avoided and accepted as an uncrossable barrier! Give it a try... it works! All componants can be purchased at TSC, Lowes, Home Depot, and relatively inexpensive. For less than $50.00 in my case, you can get the charger, fence-wire, and insulators...