LiL Chick'n Says Helllo!

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chickenlil3

chickenlil3

In the Brooder
Aug 2, 2015
24
1
24
Berne, NY
Hey Ya'll,
My name is Paula and I just moved to the hill towns about a year ago. My little family of 5 lives in Berne, NY on about 4 acres of land. We came from Albany to raise our 3 boys (Lucas is 9, Declan is 6, and Liam is 4) in the beautiful country. Never did I expect to have so much living out here that I would NEVER change it for anything.

We got into the "hobby" (I will use that lightly as you read you will know why haha) of raising chickens but it has become so much more then that. Our first set of chicks of mixed breed came home with us on July 9th. They were 8 small, cute, funny little ones. My boys and I had so much fun picking names for them. Each one has a name from the movie Frozen (insert giggles here). My husband got excited about my new adventure and the next day he got seven 7 week old New Hampshire Red and Barred Rock.

I have now started a notebook on my chicks :) date, age, breed, likes, dislikes...list can go on and on. We have 2 dogs (Dasia is a 7 month old Rottweiler and Loki is a year old German Shepard/Lab mix) and one day Dasia got so excited to meet the new family members she ended up killing 2 of the chickens. Now I will not blame her for her actions for she is still a pup BUT I was surely ******. A few weeks went by and she got in the run again killing 3 more chickens. Each time one of my babies would scream to like alarm me...I call him Peepers now. So I go running out there and he was in her mouth. This time I was so made I started to scream and cry like I lost a child. Needless to say now the dogs are in kennels at night and when we are not outside with them. My heart breaks but sometimes the tragedy of lose makes you realize how to protect them.

So now my little ones have the whole shed to themselves and are free range. They take turns outside with the dogs so that neither are out together at the same time. I have enjoyed working on their coop and can't wait to show everyone what we built. My husband told me about this forum and I'm excited to meet new people, ideas and learn as much as I can to keep my little ones (not so little anymore) safe, happy and always healthy!


Thanks for reading my start to being a chicken farmer (as my 4 year old puts it) haha
Paula




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Welcome to BYC, Paula. Glad you decided to join our flock. I'm sorry about the loss of your chickens to the dog. Dogs and chickens rarely mix well. Dogs naturally tend to view chickens either as chew toys or prey, and once a dog has killed a chicken it's virtually impossible to keep him from doing it again. Raising chickens is a wonderful experience for children. Our children and granddaughter (pictured in my avatar) loved our chickens and made lap pets of the calmer and more gentle breeds. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is loads of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.
 
Yours is a common story among new members, of their dog(s) massacring their flock. Dogs + chickens usually = dead chickens. Taking turns being lose in the yard only works for so long and then someone goofs and the dogs are out with chickens again. The best way to have both is NEVER allow them to be together. Either the dogs should stay in their run OR the chickens should stay in theirs, so they have a chance to grow and thrive. You never hear of chickens killing a dog. The cards are stacked against chickens.

Welcome to Backyard chickens. The Learning Center is a great place to start your chicken education.
 
Hi Paula, welcome to BYC!

I'm sorry for the losses you've had and glad dogs & chicks are separated. What you described happens a lot, Michael O'Shay is right...they rarely mix. Nice to hear the boys are enjoying the chickens. And I guess your DH is too, since he added to your flock. Raising poultry is a wonderful family project.

Congratulations on becoming a "chicken farmer"! Nice to have you here!
 
Yes welcome paula lol bout time you listened to me about joining this place rocks but in turn you should have mentioned loki is to bored of them he just walks the other way
 
Thank you so kindly. Yes, I have gathered that after the second attack. I know she meant to just play because he tail wagged every time. She only does it when we are not looking of course; just like a kid in a candy store trying not to get caught. I will definitely take a look. I need allllll the help I can get :) My middle son Declan loves going in the coop to sing or talk to the chickens.
 
Listen declandj1 haha BTW for anyone who doesn't know that's my husband and YES he did turn me out to this forum. My Loki is a good boy and just isn't phased with anything that isn't me or himself lol
 

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