Keeping Chickens Free Range

[SmColorInDaPan]

A when you're HOME solution*******

Get a 60 cc syringe from the feed store, cattle, horses first aid dept. No needles needed. Fill it with water. Squirt the Meanies whenever they start. Makes them Mad but straightens them out REAL WELL! Good deter ante for cat, some dogs also.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Interesting about the Wyandotte rep.  I had a SLW, and she was a sweetie.  My experience is that RIR are downright nasty.  I'm also finding that birds with red feathering seem to have similar temperament.  Best tempered birds in my flock have been Dominique and EE.

I'm thinking the current strains of RIR tend to be just that.  Those I've raised in the past have been very sweet, almost moochy and pet like, while the two I got a few years back were nigh worthless for anything at all, but particularly didn't have the temperament I'm used to.  I've heard that standard bred RIR are sweet like the RIRs of old.  

You know what they say about those redheads..... 

I actually have a crate in our utility room in the house I use for sick birds, bullys or for any reason really lol. I like to keep them out of site that way when they get out they are to busy with the pecking order to bother the new chicks lol
Our easter eggers are also sweethearts. I've heard rir are known for being aggressive even though their are obvious exceptions..

I'll have to set up a separate area then

My RIR isn't nasty, but definitely does not want to be held, nor does the Brahma, but the Australorp squats and let's me pet her and pick her up, and the buff jumps on my lap. The RIR loves to jump on chair backs and will jump on my lap if I have food, but if try to pet her she jumps down quickly. The two BR will squat and let me pet them, and pick them up, and they will jump 4 feet off the ground for raisins or a bit of Apple or bread, they have pretty docile temperaments which is why I'm surprised they peck at the young ones so much, it's been months that they free range together, and housed together, with just a wire fence between them so I thought the integration would have happened already. They're all so pretty. I love all my birds.

I too have heard that RIR can be really mean especially roos. But I've also heard that hatchery RIRs are vastly different from heritage RIRs. Hatchery ones are basically just production reds and NHR, RIR, etc. All tend to be basically the same thing, light color, good layers, kinda nasty etc. But some of them are nice and people do enjoy them or they wouldn't still have them but I hear heritage RIR are the ones most people think of, the old/original ones people are used to. But that said it's not just the deep mahogany color that makes them heritage, they have a distinct brick shape, and temperament, yellow legs, etc. There is actually a heritage RIR thread on here but I'd have to find it. But I joined it cause eventually I wanna get heritage RIR and by eventually I mean it'll probably be years lol but anyway, I haven't read the whole thing but that's how I know most of this stuff.

        A when you're HOME solution*******  

 Get a 60 cc syringe from the feed store, cattle, horses first aid dept. No needles needed. Fill it with water. Squirt the Meanies whenever they start. Makes them Mad but straightens them out REAL WELL! Good deter ante  for cat, some dogs also.          

Lol we actually have a squirt bottle for our dog but a syringe would work well too. We don't use the bottle much but when other things don't work or he needs to be snapped back, like freaking out lunging and barking at things. But he's huge so I doubt he'd even feel a syringe LOL we got our bottle at Lowe's, just one of the commercial spray bottles, but anything would probably work

 

[maryann momhen]

 

[lazy gardener]

A when you're HOME solution*******

Get a 60 cc syringe from the feed store, cattle, horses first aid dept. No needles needed. Fill it with water. Squirt the Meanies whenever they start. Makes them Mad but straightens them out REAL WELL! Good deter ante for cat, some dogs also.

I like the syringe idea. Much more portable than a squirt bottle. How is it's range. The down side of it is this: If you miss (I'm a terrible shot) you're all out of ammo. I really like the hose on jet, but that can be a bit heavy.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

I'll have to set up a separate area then
I too have heard that RIR can be really mean especially roos. But I've also heard that hatchery RIRs are vastly different from heritage RIRs. Hatchery ones are basically just production reds and NHR, RIR, etc. All tend to be basically the same thing, light color, good layers, kinda nasty etc. But some of them are nice and people do enjoy them or they wouldn't still have them but I hear heritage RIR are the ones most people think of, the old/original ones people are used to. But that said it's not just the deep mahogany color that makes them heritage, they have a distinct brick shape, and temperament, yellow legs, etc. There is actually a heritage RIR thread on here but I'd have to find it. But I joined it cause eventually I wanna get heritage RIR and by eventually I mean it'll probably be years lol but anyway, I haven't read the whole thing but that's how I know most of this stuff.
Lol we actually have a squirt bottle for our dog but a syringe would work well too. We don't use the bottle much but when other things don't work or he needs to be snapped back, like freaking out lunging and barking at things. But he's huge so I doubt he'd even feel a syringe LOL we got our bottle at Lowe's, just one of the commercial spray bottles, but anything would probably work

Not sure about hens but water bottles aren't effective at teaching roosters. It's a temporary fix that you have to reapply everytime. Much better to fix the behavior then treat it.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Not sure about hens but water bottles aren't effective at teaching roosters. It's a temporary fix that you have to reapply everytime. Much better to fix the behavior then treat it.

That's a very good point and probably true. And I actually feel that way about any animal, it's part of why I don't like using choke and prong collars, e collars, etc. Of course, all have their place (though i try to train more positively anyway) but I find that some people tend to just slap it on a dog and call them trained rather than fixing the real problem. And then you run into the issues with collar wise dogs and a dog that won't listen if he gets loose without it, etc. So finding and fixing the actual root of the problem is definitely important. Of course they can have their place to help fix the problem if one so chooses but should never be the sole tool or a case of just slapping one on and calling a dog trained. ALSO. I don't personally use a prong collar but a huge pet peeve of mine since I learned this info is people putting them on improperly. They're supposed to be fairly tight, high up on the neck (like behind the ears is good) with the prongs on the side of the neck and of course it should be for corrections only when they're bad but people just slap em on extremely loose, at the base of the neck, prongs on the throat, whatever. That can also be dangerous to the dog. And of course the people that not only do that but slap it on a Lab for control. Of course I get that any dog could have a use for it and yes even a Lab, hyper or not, but it annoys me when A. there are many other ways to train the dog and it's not NEEDED but they choose that (though everyone is obviously entitled to train their own way) and B. When they aren't even training with it but just have it on 24/7 for control. It's a training tool not a regular collar. For instance I saw this English Lab at an ice cream shop once and to me she seemed fairly calm and well behaved but they had about 3, 4 collars on her, one of which was an extremely poorly fitted prong collar, and they pulled her back a few times which of course was attached to the prong collar thereby correcting her for no reason. Stuff like THAT annoys me.

But sorry for the huge rant hahah

 

[jenniferlamar70]

That's a very good point and probably true. And I actually feel that way about any animal, it's part of why I don't like using choke and prong collars, e collars, etc. Of course, all have their place (though i try to train more positively anyway) but I find that some people tend to just slap it on a dog and call them trained rather than fixing the real problem. And then you run into the issues with collar wise dogs and a dog that won't listen if he gets loose without it, etc. So finding and fixing the actual root of the problem is definitely important. Of course they can have their place to help fix the problem if one so chooses but should never be the sole tool or a case of just slapping one on and calling a dog trained. ALSO. I don't personally use a prong collar but a huge pet peeve of mine since I learned this info is people putting them on improperly. They're supposed to be fairly tight, high up on the neck (like behind the ears is good) with the prongs on the side of the neck and of course it should be for corrections only when they're bad but people just slap em on extremely loose, at the base of the neck, prongs on the throat, whatever. That can also be dangerous to the dog. And of course the people that not only do that but slap it on a Lab for control. Of course I get that any dog could have a use for it and yes even a Lab, hyper or not, but it annoys me when A. there are many other ways to train the dog and it's not NEEDED but they choose that (though everyone is obviously entitled to train their own way) and B. When they aren't even training with it but just have it on 24/7 for control. It's a training tool not a regular collar. For instance I saw this English Lab at an ice cream shop once and to me she seemed fairly calm and well behaved but they had about 3, 4 collars on her, one of which was an extremely poorly fitted prong collar, and they pulled her back a few times which of course was attached to the prong collar thereby correcting her for no reason. Stuff like THAT annoys me.

But sorry for the huge rant hahah

Haha I know what you mean. We prefer positive reinforcement training although I'll admit I have way better luck with chickens and roosters then my dogs. We have a doberman and a husky mix that I am going crazy over. They were both very well behaved and crate trained for almost a year before we had any problems. Then my husband's mom passed away and we inherited her r2 large labs and 3 cats. Whew. Now they run out of the yard if we don't leashow them. Pee all over the house. We just paid over 1000 dollars to redo our flooring to laminate. Eat off the counters and get in the garbage.. we are at our wits end and have tried everything except prong collars etc.. we don't like those either. Our doberman is an escape artist even getting out of our steel dog crate.. give me chickens any day lol

 

[ShrekDawg]

Haha I know what you mean. We prefer positive reinforcement training although I'll admit I have way better luck with chickens and roosters then my dogs. We have a doberman and a husky mix that I am going crazy over. They were both very well behaved and crate trained for almost a year before we had any problems. Then my husband's mom passed away and we inherited her r2 large labs and 3 cats. Whew. Now they run out of the yard if we don't leashow them. Pee all over the house. We just paid over 1000 dollars to redo our flooring to laminate. Eat off the counters and get in the garbage.. we are at our wits end and have tried everything except prong collars etc.. we don't like those either. Our doberman is an escape artist even getting out of our steel dog crate.. give me chickens any day lol

Yeah, I try to use only positive reinforcement or at least mostly positive but I'll admit I slip up sometimes. And I admit we have a choke collar on ours but only because he's 130 pounds and sometimes reactive to some dogs. Well and the fact we didn't know better when we got him. But honestly if I could find a harness or martingale I'd much prefer that. I have a few harnesses actually and they're rated well and supposed to be strong but I'm paranoid lol

Anyway wow that stinks, sorry about your dogs seems like the labs are a bad influence? Maybe try retraining them all, even with basics? Or some impulse control exercises? Sure you've tried all that though. Maybe they need more exercise? Some dogs need tons and the labs and husky especially might need more. You've probably tried that too but probably need to run around for an hour and/or play with each other a lot and maybe something more structured like swimming or biking or some something. I also find dogs can't learn as well if they're full of pent up energy so it might help. You probably do exercise them but even more exercise might help. And also maybe mental exercise too. That can be just as effective or perhaps even more tiring. Training sessions, trick training, etc. Or perhaps even a job to do. Scent games are a lot of fun too and tiring. I teach Find It then hide treats around the house and he finds it, he loves it. It's oretty easy, at first i put treats on the floor in front of him and said find it then started with easy hiding spots and progressively harder. He has to search high, low, etc. He likes it and it takes a while. Helps to have strong smelling treats but I use regular ones. Another thing I started but don't do as much now is getting lots of boxes and I put strong smelling treats in one of them and he finds what box it's in. Some people progress to actual scents or take them to a training class for it, scent work is an actual sport and there's 4 official scents, but I don't do that. Another fun game that also helps dogs who previously trained with other methods switch to clicker training/positive and to help with humans timing for clicker training is a box game. You take a box, any box, and put it down and the dog has to offer behavior. Lots of dogs have difficulties with this if they've always been trained other ways. So you reward for any interaction with the box. But the key is that they can't do the same interaction every time and you never reward for the same thing. So the game is basically to see how many different ways they can interact with the box. So for instance, one time you might reward for looking at the box then sniffing the box then nosing the box then maybe pawing the box, a paw in the box, 2 paws in the box, getting all the way in the box, etc. Some dogs even pick up the box LOL there's a chart on it somewhere but I'd have to find it. But it's pretty fun. Gator and I did it once or twice. At first he was very confused and had no clue what I wanted and was a little frustrated but then he soon started getting it and realized I wanted interactions with the box. But I think it's probably best with one dog at a time so may have to separate them. Another thing I've heard some people do is put a backpack on the dog and they think it's a job. Start with an empty one but some people slowly add water bottles or weight. The one I heard had a border collie and she wouldn't even go outside to even go to the bathroom without her backpack because she took her job that seriously LOL it definitely helps wear them out if they think they are doing a job. I thnk some more exercise, mental exercise, a job, and/or structure might help a lot then you can begin to work on training once you take the edge off their crazies a bit haha oh and impulse control exercises are good. With Gator I started making him sit or lie down and put treats near him, at first low value treats and pretty far away from him, and say "wait" and then I tell him to take it. also started with not much time. Then I slowly built up to more time, treats closer to him, and higher value treats, etc. And now I can put treats right in front of him and he won't touch it. In fact, he often looks away LOL and drools. I can put crackers and marshmellows up his legs lol and with lower value stuff he can wait a whole minute or more (but past that i start thinking it's mean aha). Heck, i can put meat in front of him. He also has to sit when I give treats. Another one is crating the dog and shutting the door. You don't let them out until they are calm, i.e. sitting or laying down or being quiet, not crying and pitching a fit lol helps with impulse control too. And another one is making them sit or lay down in front of the door and open it. If they get up, shut the door. Although make sure the door does not hit them so they are forced to move cause that's not fair lol most dogs should get it fairly quickly. This is also somewhat related to boundary training which is another thing. But yeah, I'm bad about enforcing it and don't do it as much now but I want when Gator goes out for him to sit. However he does stop in the doorway and won't move until I clip the leash to him (our yard isn't fenced so he has a long rope). And when we go on walks he has to sit at the door before I clip the leash and let him out. And again if he gets up,i shut the door and wait. Stuff like that should really help.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Fox was back this morning. Not sure I ever shared that here but there was a fox outside the gate 3 weeks ago then when we were in NH for a few days maybe 2 weeks ago my brother, who was watching the pets, thought maybe it came back because he came to the house to get the dog and apparently he was all riled up and stressed and took him maybe an hour to calm down. Didn't actually see it though so we don't know if it was a fox or coyotr or simply a deer or something. Then this morning at about a quarter to 8am the dog started going BALLISTIC. Look out and see a fox running laps around the chicken pen. He would stop once or twice, look at the birds and the house/pant, then continue lapping it. I opened the door and he took off into the woods immediately. Then I went back to sleep for 15, 20 mins until the dog was begging to go out so I let him cause I figured the fox was long gone by then. He sniffed all over and pooped by where he went into the woods. He was very mad. Glad we have him though.

The weird thing is he didn't try to get in. I know he was probably thinking of how to get those birds hence the stopping (or maybe he heard Gator) but he didn't try to dig in or anything. I'm sure maybe he will though.

The other kind of funny thing (I know, nothing funny about this cause it's a wild animal and real threat) is how similar all canines act. Before Gator learned how to mind his manners with the birds he would take off and lap around the pen too if you weren't watching and just have a grand old time and the neighbor's dog got loose and did it once too, but only a couple laps before he went home. But it's just interesting how similar canines act, lapping the pen. The fox looked like he was having a grand time too. Though of course he was probably looking for a free meal.

Speaking of which, there are plenty of rabbits, squirrels, etc. Around, they are literally always in our yard, no shortage of food, so why is he so interested in the chickens?

I'm just glad we have that dog kennel because if it can contain dogs, even big dogs, surely it can keep out canines, especially little foxes.

The chickens were of course scared though but oddly didn't fly on the roof or anything and were in fact kind of near the fence. I hope they don't become immune to canine chasing. Though they did at least look scared still.

Anyhow, it's more just annoying than anything.

I'm just glad I haven't been free ranging lately. I might start but certainly not in the early morning or evening. The last fox sighting was about 4:30 or 5am so almost 8am seems a little late for foxes to be hunting?

But it's still early I guess. My brother thought it was weird it was out in the day because he thought foxes were nocturnal? I don't know their behavior pattern? But don't think it's always bad if one is out in the day especially early morning? He looked big and healthy, long body and long bushy tail, lighter brownish red color and some black, not the typical red red fox, darker face, I thought he looked pretty small or young but maybe not. Regardless, real healthy looking and ran away as soon as I opened the door so definitely not rabid. Or hungry.

 

[slordaz]

Fox was back this morning. Not sure I ever shared that here but there was a fox outside the gate 3 weeks ago then when we were in NH for a few days maybe 2 weeks ago my brother, who was watching the pets, thought maybe it came back because he came to the house to get the dog and apparently he was all riled up and stressed and took him maybe an hour to calm down. Didn't actually see it though so we don't know if it was a fox or coyotr or simply a deer or something. Then this morning at about a quarter to 8am the dog started going BALLISTIC. Look out and see a fox running laps around the chicken pen. He would stop once or twice, look at the birds and the house/pant, then continue lapping it. I opened the door and he took off into the woods immediately. Then I went back to sleep for 15, 20 mins until the dog was begging to go out so I let him cause I figured the fox was long gone by then. He sniffed all over and pooped by where he went into the woods. He was very mad. Glad we have him though.

The weird thing is he didn't try to get in. I know he was probably thinking of how to get those birds hence the stopping (or maybe he heard Gator) but he didn't try to dig in or anything. I'm sure maybe he will though.

The other kind of funny thing (I know, nothing funny about this cause it's a wild animal and real threat) is how similar all canines act. Before Gator learned how to mind his manners with the birds he would take off and lap around the pen too if you weren't watching and just have a grand old time and the neighbor's dog got loose and did it once too, but only a couple laps before he went home. But it's just interesting how similar canines act, lapping the pen. The fox looked like he was having a grand time too. Though of course he was probably looking for a free meal.

Speaking of which, there are plenty of rabbits, squirrels, etc. Around, they are literally always in our yard, no shortage of food, so why is he so interested in the chickens?

I'm just glad we have that dog kennel because if it can contain dogs, even big dogs, surely it can keep out canines, especially little foxes.

The chickens were of course scared though but oddly didn't fly on the roof or anything and were in fact kind of near the fence. I hope they don't become immune to canine chasing. Though they did at least look scared still.

Anyhow, it's more just annoying than anything.

I'm just glad I haven't been free ranging lately. I might start but certainly not in the early morning or evening. The last fox sighting was about 4:30 or 5am so almost 8am seems a little late for foxes to be hunting?

But it's still early I guess. My brother thought it was weird it was out in the day because he thought foxes were nocturnal? I don't know their behavior pattern? But don't think it's always bad if one is out in the day especially early morning? He looked big and healthy, long body and long bushy tail, lighter brownish red color and some black, not the typical red red fox, darker face, I thought he looked pretty small or young but maybe not. Regardless, real healthy looking and ran away as soon as I opened the door so definitely not rabid. Or hungry.

they are unless they got pups to feed they they will hunt for easy pray for when times are tough to get their pups a meal.