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RedHeadedMomma

RedHeadedMomma

In the Brooder
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
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Location
Carson City, NV
Hi all! My name is Mercedes. In a few weeks I will be bringing home a pair of 3 month old rhode island reds. Hubby already has a plan for a coop and we should have it built in a week or so.

He had chickens growing up but I'm a noob! I joined to fill my brain with as much chickeny info as possible before bringing them home!

We have a large backyard, a toddler, 2 cats and a small dog. Im not worried about the toddler or the cats...but the dog is new to our family...so I am unsure how he will react,so for a while we will be separating them all and only supervised interactions until he is used to them. He seems super curious at the chirping when I watch chicken you tubes...he does the head tilt and scratching at the computer like "where are they? I hear them...?"

With the coop being enclosed and protected from wildlife i'm not too worried about unsupervised visits from him...or other critters...but it will be a learning experience!
 
He is occasionally, but I am actively working on correcting the behavior. Just got him in Jan so he is a work in progress. He small and stubborn but is a fast learner when there is a spray bottle involved.

Wyatt, my other dog we just put down was a border collie mix, soooo smart. I got spoiled the last 14 years with him. Sammy is a whooole other ball game. But dog training is a huge thing for me, so he's getting better.
 
Hello and
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The best advice I can give you on the dog is to watch like a hawk and definitely keep them separate. The chickens will look and sound like a squeaky toy to your dog. Some dogs can be trained to be OK around chickens, some will never be. Supervise all interactions, and when there can't be a solid barrier between them, put the dog on a leash so that you can correct it if needed. Good luck! I hope it works out for you. I also have a bunch of critters that shouldn't get along, but do. My dog used to show interest in chickens but now sunbathes with them.
 
G’Day from down under Mercedes
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Welcome!

Dogs & Chickens was a Topic of the Week and you might find this thread helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1137009/topic-of-the-week-dogs-and-chickens

I also recommend a visit to the Learning Centre; lots of good tips there: https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

At the risk of sounding like an enabler
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you might want to consider getting at least one more chicken. Sadly, we lose chickens along the way and if you lose one, your remaining hen will be very lonely. I have been there, done that and got the T-shirt! Had to race out and find my lone chicken a friend, waive quarantine etc. Now, I have 5 and make sure I never drop below 3.

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

You might want to also pop in and say hello on your local thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you ‘Find your State’s thread.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock when they arrive, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out
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HAHA! I will have to screenshot this and send it to hubby, I was excited he finally agreed to 2! My friend who is rehoming them does have 3 available...so maybe I could convince him. The only problem in...if we do end up with 3...thats just too many eggs for our little family!

Im hoping after the initial curiosity, Sammy won't care about them. Our cats are bigger than him and he loves to chase them out of the room. So I think it will all be about preparation and planning rather than reactive actions after the fact. I want to make all the animals feel comfortable and safe, it will just take planning.
 
RedHeadedMomma said:
HAHA! I will have to screenshot this and send it to hubby, I was excited he finally agreed to 2! My friend who is rehoming them does have 3 available...so maybe I could convince him. The only problem in...if we do end up with 3...thats just too many eggs for our little family!

Im hoping after the initial curiosity, Sammy won't care about them. Our cats are bigger than him and he loves to chase them out of the room. So I think it will all be about preparation and planning rather than reactive actions after the fact. I want to make all the animals feel comfortable and safe, it will just take planning.
Click to expand...

Still in enabler mode
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lol .. this thread should help with what to do with the extra eggs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1168703/topic-of-the-week-what-do-you-do-with-all-those-eggs
 

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