Integrating a cockerel into a flock of mature hens

[speckledhen]

I don't know as she'll be much of a flock protector but I couldn't ask for a better fit for us.

Well, you never know. She may surprise you.

 

[Sylvester017]

My daughter pointed the nest out to me, it's much too high to reach or it would be down already. I'd love to be able to get it down in one piece so I'll have to check around for an extending ladder.

@speckledhen I'm seeing more of those Husky traits coming out as the pup's personality develops but not any of the stubborn, defiant or prey-driven traits. She's very eager to learn and even when she's playing with other dogs and I give her a command, she tries her best (despite other dogs being distractions) to follow commands. Though she's energetic, she's still very calm and gentle when she plays. She loves people and is extremely submissive to ALL other animals. She does mimic me whenever I pet the cat or Willie and when I brush Willie. They're both very tolerant of it and the cat seems to enjoy it. They play their own games of tag and when the pup gets to be too much for the cat, she'll give her one good swat and it's over. Then they'll groom each other. She also tends to lean into people when she plays and hugs with force. If I can train her to stop with those behaviors, I think she'd make a wonderful therapy dog when she's older.

I love starting with puppies to train to my liking. The leaning into people or sitting on a handler's shoe are traits that would be good to break as it is a dominance behavior that you don't want. It is an endearing action when we humans see it in a puppy but to a dog it is a dominance trait saying "I'm the boss" which is not what you want in a dog that may get quite large as an adult. I've learned to be "hard-hearted" since starting to train puppies when I was 10 yrs old. My first Olde Boston Bulldogge (Helen Keller had one) - he always sat to my left whether I was standing or sitting. People thought he was so in love with me but it was just habit with him from the consistent training he went through.
c. 1957-58

c. 1957-58

 

[islandgirl82]

Quote:
I typically wouldn't choose a puppy for many reasons but this one has been great. As for the leaning behavior, I believe it's fairly typical of huskies and when she does it, it's immediately followed by dropping to the ground and rolling on her back which is submissive. It's still a habit to try to break if I want to train her as a therapy dog.

 

[Sylvester017]

I typically wouldn't choose a puppy for many reasons but this one has been great. As for the leaning behavior, I believe it's fairly typical of huskies and when she does it, it's immediately followed by dropping to the ground and rolling on her back which is submissive. It's still a habit to try to break if I want to train her as a therapy dog.

We went through 3 Rottweilers -- DD gifted one to a friend, one she kept for herself and spoiled rotten with no adequate training, and one I got sufficiently to myself and of all 3 Rotts the one I trained was the best behaved. He would not be allowed to position himself in front of me. All the Rotts (even my DD's spoiled mutt) sat to the left and never in front -- UNTIL I gave the command for protection which I only had to use once in 10 yrs when someone tried to break into my car while I was still in it. They didn't see my big dopey Rott calmly relaxing in the back of the SUV until I gave the command - he rose immediately to task when I allowed one of the windows to crack open so the Rott could bare his teeth and snarl in the intruder's stupid face who then promptly fled. That was when I saw all that good training come to light on a dog I had always thought was too docile to be of much protection, a dog who let toddlers hug and kiss him or roll on his back to let the babies crawl over him! Working dogs live for command training - especially the breeds at the top 10 most intelligent list. The only sad thing is that with big dogs it takes longer for them to train and mature for 3 or 4 years and then there's only another 5 or 6 years of quality dog before they're gone at 10 or 11 yrs. I love big dogs but it's so difficult to lose them earlier than the smaller breeds. Had a dog class trainer who had a Pug that was 17 yrs old and still bouncing around. I would love to have a bigger breed that would live so long! Even if a bigger breed does go past 10 yrs it's seldom a quality span.

 

[islandgirl82]

Just what I like to see - with the exception of how pathetic everybody looks when they're molting. The girls who are going through it the worst avoided the camera.

 

[Sylvester017]

Just what I like to see - with the exception of how pathetic everybody looks when they're molting. The girls who are going through it the worst avoided the camera.

The puppy almost looks like she's sharing the drinks! How sweet that the chickens are so relaxed around her! That is so excellent to start a puppy around adult chickens - just look at that peaceful serene flock! Your Dom girls are beautiful. I'm hoping to get a Dom pullet next Spring since we lost a couple of our favorite hens to illness this past year. Someday I would love to try a Hamburg like the sweet girl you had - she seemed such a gem! I know Ham's can be skittish but if you got yours to be such a sweetheart toward Ichabod then all things are possible.

 

[islandgirl82]

She was sharing their water! She has what I would consider to be the closest thing to a Newfie personality without being a Newfie as she could. I really did have reservations about the Husky part of her but her eagerness to please far outweighs her prey drive, thank goodness. I did let them out for supervised free range time one day a few weeks ago and she started to give chase but ONE quick, firm "NO" and that was it. She pays them no attention when they're out now. With her joining me for daily chicken chores, they've grown much more relaxed around her (not that they were terrified to begin with). They kept a healthy distance for a while but not anymore (as you can see). She does much better when she's able to be with them vs. being stuck on the outside of the run. Otherwise she paces along the fence. I'm sure that has more to do with the Border Collie herding instinct than wanting to play with or kill them.

I'm sorry about your losses. I love those Doms! My Hamburg was 16 weeks when I got her and it took a LONG time to get her to the point we had reached. I'll try again (maybe this coming spring) with day olds and hope to have even half the bond with them that I had with her.

 

[Sylvester017]

With her joining me for daily chicken chores, they've grown much more relaxed around her (not that they were terrified to begin with). They kept a healthy distance for a while but not anymore (as you can see). She does much better when she's able to be with them vs. being stuck on the outside of the run. Otherwise she paces along the fence. I'm sure that has more to do with the Border Collie herding instinct than wanting to play with or kill them. She's young yet and everything is new to her. One day she'll be so mature like Willie that you'll all be in relaxation mode. New puppies do take time to mold but so worth it. She sounds like a better choice than the Westie experience. Supposedly Pitbulls are aggressive dogs yet my DD's Pit never bothered my little Silkie toodling around the house when I had to keep her indoors to recuperate from illness.

I'm sorry about your losses. I love those Doms! My Hamburg was 16 weeks when I got her and it took a LONG time to get her to the point we had reached. I'll try again (maybe this coming spring) with day olds and hope to have even half the bond with them that I had with her. Yes, losses are never easy but I happened to lose two of my gentlest hens 2 months in a row. It was hard to take. I won't replace the sweet 3-yr-old Ameraucana even though she was the gentlest bird around the bantams because Amer's and EE's don't fare well in our hot humid climate. She was the only hen that suffered thru our long hot SoCal summers -- she was way too heavily under-downed. Losing our Blue Breda was a shocker, however, because she turned out to be such a pleasant docile outgoing non-combative funny sweet surprise and she was barely 11/2 yrs old when she died suddenly. We have another Breda juvenile, a Cuckoo variety. The Cuckoo is sweet and docile too but not quite the punch of personality that the Blue was. Sometimes a chicken comes along that can never be replaced by another in the same breed. The Blue was very similar to a Dom personality -- outgoing, curious, unafraid, pesty-friendly, and non-combative toward flockmates. We once owned a Dom pullet too that went above and beyond a usual Dom personality to become very special to us. I loved your story about your Hamburg with Ichabod. I know Ham's (in fact any of the Braekel-Campine-type birds) are a bit skittery but when they specially meld into a flock it is very rewarding and a joy to watch. The rose comb feature seems to carry the sweetness genes!

 

[islandgirl82]

This pup is a much better fit. Her herding instincts are already very strong. She does it to my children all the time but she's thankfully not nippy about it. She doesn't always pace by the chicken run...most of the time when she goes to visit them, she sits at the run door and watches them with more curiosity than intensity. Maybe I should dissuade her from even doing that but when she does it, she's not trying to get in with them. There's a lot of vegetation that grows around the run and I have a wooden fence along the outside of it so I don't have a clear view of the flock when I'm not near it. I should try to see whether they're all together or scattered when she paces the perimeter. She may very well be trying to get them all in one place.

The Westie was very aggressive and would growl, snap or bite whenever he was given a command (other than performing tricks) that he didn't want to do, even when he was given praise. I've never seen such negative responses to receiving positive attention. I introduced him to our family's mini donkey in a very slow and controlled setting. Everything was going well, they got to the point when they were sniffing each other's faces and he was even licking hers. The very moment I praised him, he jumped up and bit her muzzle and not some light little nip either. I had stayed in contact with a couple of people from the rescue he came from throughout the time he was with us so they had full disclosure when I brought him back.

I know animals are very receptive and I find Ichabod's responses to each dog very interesting. He has no problems with the hens being around either Willie or the pup (just a little apprehensive with each when he first met them) but ALWAYS stood between the Westie and me and/or the girls and he did that from the very first day right up to the last. I'm sure he picked up on the hens' responses to each and has acted accordingly.


I got some video of this evening's feeding. Zero commands were given (please excuse the feather stuck to her chin):

 

[aart]

She looks pretty relaxed, alert but relaxed.