Introducing my dog to the biddies

[GAchick]

A real newbie here. I had chickens many years ago, but only for a few months, before I sold them. So this website is a real treasure trove of information. I'll be reading the old stuff for weeks. My question is this. I got 18 day old chicks yesterday. (4 RIR, 4 Barred Rock, and 10 Amerucanas) I have a sweet young dog, and she's extremely curious about the biddies. Right now, my brooder is my bathtub. Are there any health concerns with allowing the dog to sit in the tub with the babies and let them at her? I put her in there while watching her very closely, and she sniffed everyone's butt, and then lay there watching them, fascinated. They were all comfortable with her there. They walked right up to her,and pecked her toenails, and rabies tag. She was cool with it. I'd like for her to accept them as part of her pack, so hopefully she won't want to chase them (much) once I have them out free-ranging in the yard. As long as she's not being aggresive, and I never leave them alone together, am I okay? Also, I have no cover over the tub. How many days do I have before they're flying out? If the temps are above 60 degrees at night, how soon can I move them outside?

 

[JennsPeeps]

You can expect the chicks to get out in about a week or maybe just a little more.

No worries about diseases from dog <-> chicks but you shoudl be very, very careful with dogs who might think chickens are squeak toys. Every dog is different and will behavior uniquely. Some would never hurt a chicken, others would never do it in sight of the owner, others go all out trying to get at them. Its at your discretion how you handle their interactions.

Look at a construction salvage store for an old window screen. You can probably find one that would fit (or be close enough).

I just moved some young chickens (7 weeks old) outside. Our temps are in the 40s overnight. They huddle & are fine. If overnight temps are ~60, they could go outside around 4-5 weeks old.