Introducing myself

[Kenneth Zweerink]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens. The Best of Luck with your Chicks! And a Big Hello from Eastern Nebraska.

 

[Hope Hughes]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hello, and welcome to BYC! It's very nice to meet you! Please make yourself at home!

 

[Soadnathan]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome everyone!!

 

[Tookie]

Hi, welcome! We're so glad to have you here.

 

[N F C]

Hi Nathan, I don't know how old your dog is, but you might find some helpful pointers on training in this article from the Learning Center: How To Teach Your Puppy to Be Trustworthy

Best wishes!

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, Nathan and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[triciayoung]

Hi everyone! I'm Nathan and I just got some chicks today and wanted to finally join this community since I'm sure I will be seeking advice from yall in the very near future.

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?

New-ish but not totally ignorant. I took a class at the local ag center several years ago and have cared for a couple friend's flocks while they were out of town. I just acquired my own flock today.

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?

6

(3) What breeds do you have?

2 each of Rhode island reds, buff orpingtons, and black sexlinks.

(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?

Generally being more in touch with where my food comes from. The fact that farm eggs taste way better than store bought is an added bonus.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?

I am a big gardener during the summer months. Over the years I've gravitated towards growing obscure varieties of tomatoes and hot peppers. I'm also trying to do more woodworking and fixing. I love the idea of recycling and reusing rather than throwing things away so I'm interested in learning more about soldering and welding too.

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.

One of the things I'd love advice on is how to get our dog acclimated to our new family members. There is a lot of conflicting info on the internet and id feel better directly interacting with real people with real experience.

(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?

I've known about the community for a couple years now but finally pulled the trigger on starting my own flock so it felt appropriate to formally introduce myself, especially if I'm going to be asking a bunch of questions.

Welcome. Here is the advice I can give you regarding any animals with your chickens...animals will, at some point, be what they were genetically pre-disposed to do. You can train a dog to "get along" with your chickens, but, if that dog gets excited (could be days, could be years) and the chickens trigger a chase and catch with the dog - the dog will respond and the chickens will get hurt/killed.

I think many people fail to see through the eyes of an animal combined with how they have been bred through the decades. I mean heck, hounds have bird hunting in their DNA from long ago. Having akita's as dogs has helped me do this...and this has also helped me understand roosters.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS!​

 

[Yard Farmer]

Howdy, welcome to BYC!
Glad you're here with us. Hope to see you around.