I need to vent...

[Allthefloofs]

Oh boy, I read this and it brought up all the "beginning chicken" memories I have of introducing our girls to their coop. They still sleep on it instead of in it, but after three years they have figured out the ramp, they just won't sleep in it. it is maddening. I am planning on coop training them soon by sticking them on their roosts by hand every night for a couple weeks, but man alive, it is frustrating to get them to use that dang ramp. We tried to train them, but they would not do it.
One thing to realize is that they need a lot of time getting familiar with ground zero before they do something radical like a ramp. They have chicken brains, and those brains are the brains of animals that are eaten by everything so new things are more than scary, they may be deadly. I know that I got pretty frustrated with our girls initially for sure. Just give them time and be calm with them.

 

[Rampicruz]

We recently adopted a 7 y/o Jack Russell Terrier...omg, talk about prey driven. About the same time we got him, we also got three 10 week old pullets. The dog had never seen, much less been around chickens. After about two days, I was ready to give the dog back. Then I realized I hadn't given him a fair chance. Two months later, he is really good about not bothering the chickens (there are still sometimes he goes to the coop/run and barks, but not that much).

Couple things I noticed for our JRT, when he first was at our house and going to the chicken run:
1. The older pullets did not really react to his barking.
2. The new pullets would react and run, hide, flap wings, make noise, etc.
3. Dog would then react to the new pullets and bark constantly.
4. Dog responds better to multiple, quick commands. For instance, I use "leave it, leave it, leave it" said in a run on sentence format...not "leave it" "leave it" "leave it". Same with "quiet, quiet, quiet"

He has come a long way, but I will never trust him with the chickens. I have also installed a latch on the inside of the run door so I can lock him out, while I am in the run. I have no doubt he could open the run door.

Give you dogs and chickens (and yourself) a little time...it's all new.

Thank youuuu!! I was having so much anxiety and everyone on the forum has helped me TREMENDOUSLY!! Are chicken communities all this nice?!?!

Oh man if a JRT can handle it, then some old corgis can too! Considering my low riders are intended for herding, I am always amazed at how they will hunt mice and gophers till their legs are falling off. My boy is especially driven. He was shivering with adrenaline this morning when I was working with him around the chickens. He craves being a good boy and LOVES to know he is pleasing me but he was SOOOOO conflicted lol. Looking at mom...looking at chickens....crying...shaking....looking at mom ("please let me go chase them, please...no??? Are you sure???"). He did really good though. The "girls" were so chill they actually ate out of my hand while Link wined and danced and cried behind me haha. Never a dull moment.

The dogs did a LOT better this morning!! The chickens seemed so much more calm around the dogs too! YAY! I will take your sage advice (and the advice of others) and trust the process a little more.

 

[Rampicruz]

Here's my controversial recipe for accordance of chook and K9.

This worked extremely well for me, and in the course of one afternoon, the hounds realized exactly what was expected of them.

WARNING : Do NOT try this unless you already have excellent control of your K9s, and are not in a condition, or situation to IMMEDIATELY intervene !!! Your mileage may vary !!!

INGREDIENTS :

1 Pack of three adult dogs.

1 Flock of new adult chickens.

One afternoon.

1 mouth full of feathers.

1 Big stick.

1 Booming voice.

1 leash ..... Optional


In a fairly large, confined space, mix alpha dog with chickens, while other K9s are watching. Use leash if desired.

With a heavy hand, employ big stick.

Remove feathers from dogs mouth, while using booming voice.

Rinse, and repeat with other K9s.


If all goes correctly, the consequential K9s will be reluctant to acquire the mouth full of feathers.

If not, employ the big stick, and booming voice until desired consistency is achieved.


Seriously, this was my experience, with my dogs, and literally took about an hour. Once the dogs realized what a tasty treat chicken poop is, they followed them around, and are now best friends, and excellent protectors !

View attachment 2450478
View attachment 2450470

Once the novelty of the poop eating wore off, within a few weeks, it was fairly easy to discourage them from foraging for feces !!! Now they only occasionally partake in this disgusting practice, and just a "look" from me makes them spit, and move along.

No animals were harmed in this exercise.

hahahahaha!! My goodness!! Now that is a recipe!! For me, most likely a recipe for disaster. My dogs actually used to hang out with a large rabbit back in the day and I had to supervise. They were obsessed with sniffing her and then it would turn into...hey you taste good...and then suddenly bunny was getting mouthed a lot more than she appreciated. They were really good about stepping back if I caught them, but not sure what would have happened if they had ever been left alone together. Luckily the rabbit was almost as large as the dogs so she had that to her advantage. Popped them in the face with her front feet a few times....of course that just made them want to "get her" all the more. But they do seem to have some "listen" left in them. After the excitement of yesterday wore off they seemed to be much less intense about their interest today. I am not sure if my chickens will ever roam the yard when the dogs are out there but I will certainly introduce them and see how it goes once they are full hens. By then they should all have become really accustomed to each other through the wire of the run. Thank you for sharing you experience!!

 

[Rampicruz]

I have a Field Bred ESS & at least once a day for the last 7 years she charges the chicken pen & they all scatter & go about their day. She has only ever seen free range guineas when I had them & would was never really trained to avoid the chickens. As long as they are in the pen she is no threat & she is never outside unless I am out. Chickens still lay & act normal.

That is really good to know! Thank you!

 

[Rampicruz]

The dogs: it's a matter of training, if you're hoping they'll share the same space or at least back off a bit. My most chicken aggressive dog, we've worked on her with "Leave It" and she does now peel away from the fence on command.

Or consider setting a hard rule in the household that the dogs and chickens are never to be out at the same time. If my dogs are outside, my chickens are fenced in. If the chickens are out of the run, the dogs are indoors, period.

The chicks: change is scary and upsetting. That's why they were upset when night came and they couldn't see well in this new environment.



Nothing "natural" about a ramp - you'll need to train them to use it, either via treats or herding them physically up and down. I actually prefer steps because chickens seem to be able to use them without any real training. Also take a good look at your ramp - it could be too steep for ease of use, so reducing the angle could encourage them to use it.



You can go with an automatic door, or make them wait until you get up (which I did for 2 years, then I opted for auto door). I personally am not willing to increase risk of predator attack by leaving the door open.

The only caveat is if you live in a hot climate, they can die of heat exhaustion if your coop isn't well ventilated and they can't get out to get to water quick enough in the morning, however I don't know your location or coop placement to know if that's an issue.



That depends. Realistically, is the run safe enough? Is it covered? Is any opening larger than 1/2" covered? Is all the wire safely attached (i.e. is wire is sandwiched between pieces of wood screwed into more wood, or attached to wood with screws and fender washers to prevent pull out)? Is there an apron around the entire perimeter?

I think I could say No to 50% of that lol. It is a tractor supply kit that we put together and I painted. It is fully roofed and I believe the wire is sandwiched. All openings are safe/covered. No apron though and we still need to make the base more sage considering the ground is not super flat which has caused a few areas to not be sitting flush against the ground. For now I am for sure leaving them "locked up" at night until we get things secure. I would never forgive myself if anything got to them.

 

[Rampicruz]

Oh boy, I read this and it brought up all the "beginning chicken" memories I have of introducing our girls to their coop. They still sleep on it instead of in it, but after three years they have figured out the ramp, they just won't sleep in it. it is maddening. I am planning on coop training them soon by sticking them on their roosts by hand every night for a couple weeks, but man alive, it is frustrating to get them to use that dang ramp. We tried to train them, but they would not do it.
One thing to realize is that they need a lot of time getting familiar with ground zero before they do something radical like a ramp. They have chicken brains, and those brains are the brains of animals that are eaten by everything so new things are more than scary, they may be deadly. I know that I got pretty frustrated with our girls initially for sure. Just give them time and be calm with them.

HAHA thank you!! I am so relieved that I am not alone in the struggle!! Hopefully these girls will figure it out. I do not mind hand placing them on the roost bars but last night they thought it was party time...jumped off the bars and then scratched around in the potty pan. We shall see how this unfolds lol

 

[Rampicruz]

The dogs: it's a matter of training, if you're hoping they'll share the same space or at least back off a bit. My most chicken aggressive dog, we've worked on her with "Leave It" and she does now peel away from the fence on command.

Or consider setting a hard rule in the household that the dogs and chickens are never to be out at the same time. If my dogs are outside, my chickens are fenced in. If the chickens are out of the run, the dogs are indoors, period.

The chicks: change is scary and upsetting. That's why they were upset when night came and they couldn't see well in this new environment.



Nothing "natural" about a ramp - you'll need to train them to use it, either via treats or herding them physically up and down. I actually prefer steps because chickens seem to be able to use them without any real training. Also take a good look at your ramp - it could be too steep for ease of use, so reducing the angle could encourage them to use it.



You can go with an automatic door, or make them wait until you get up (which I did for 2 years, then I opted for auto door). I personally am not willing to increase risk of predator attack by leaving the door open.

The only caveat is if you live in a hot climate, they can die of heat exhaustion if your coop isn't well ventilated and they can't get out to get to water quick enough in the morning, however I don't know your location or coop placement to know if that's an issue.



That depends. Realistically, is the run safe enough? Is it covered? Is any opening larger than 1/2" covered? Is all the wire safely attached (i.e. is wire is sandwiched between pieces of wood screwed into more wood, or attached to wood with screws and fender washers to prevent pull out)? Is there an apron around the entire perimeter?

I just realized you gave me feedback on multiple areas of my post!! Thank you! The ramp is pretty steep and they are still small so I will see what I can do....maybe I will install an elevator HAHAHA.

I am in sunny southern california. It was 80-90 degrees all september. Luckily bar a few nights it still gets cooler in the evening. The upstairs encloser has a side window with wire and the roofing does allow air to flow out but I am not convinced it would constitute great ventilation. In the summer I may implement a sliding screen door panel in liu of the solid wood panel that is in place right now. Would not be too difficult to construct. Can always add a little vent to the roof area as well. Just trying not to give my fiance too many more projects than I have already given him haha.

 

[Rampicruz]

I think you need to keep them where they sleep for a few days and then open the ramp and let them come out them selves. Then check up on them at night to see if they went back up.

My 2 - two month old chicks sleep on the ground. I tried putting them up on the perch a few times and gave up, But I did train 12 other chicks to perch in that same coop before. I put in more effort on my first batch, then I did with these two. I am pretty sure they will figure it out when they get older. Their survival instincts should kick in.

Thank you!! Yes if they do not start to figure out that "mom" needs them to go to sleep in the upstairs enclosure then I will probably have to consider leaving in there for a few days as long as I can make sure the ventilation is good.

 

[Rampicruz]

Can you post a pic of what you have just described?

I will do even better than that. Here is the link with all the specs

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...NdxbGNL0RNvRgCjMXJ6vdmEYD7hP0bQwaAgDrEALw_wcB

 

[Rampicruz]

These are also young birds. I have a trio of Phoenix chicks that finally learned how to use the ramp a few weeks ago and they're like 4 or 5 months now. They would have rather perch next to the wire on the tree branch.

haha yes I think I am expecting WAY too much from these young girls. Thank you for sharing your experience!