Newbie Chickie mommy

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motherhendavis

motherhendavis

Hatching
5 Years
Apr 9, 2014
8
0
7
Edmonds, Wa
Hi All!! Just joined tonight and thought I would introduce myself. I just became a chicken and duckling mama, my flock includes the following: Ameraucana, 2 Silver Laced Wyandotte, Swedish Flower Hen, Cream Legbar, Black Sex-Link, Light Brahma, Cuckoo Maran and 2 Pekin ducklings. We've done all our research and I've read like 3 books, but I seem to keep coming up with so many questions that I think would be best suited to be answered by people with experience. So here I go:

We have dogs and want to allow our chickens to free range a couple hours a day when not raining, we don't popper scoop every single day, should we only allow the chickens out after the yard has been picked up? Or will they stay away from dog poops?

How often do y'all clean out the coops?

whats the best way to introduce our ducklings to our chicks?

Should I clip wings?

Will my hens be ok with my small dogs?

I'm sure I'm going to have so many more!! Thanks for the help! Nicole
 
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Are old are your chicks/ducklings? What kind of dogs do you have?

Little Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, and Yorkies are all capable of killing young chickens and ducks, and have done so as reported by various people posting on here.

Full grown and large breed chickens might just turn the tables on them but, you never know, they can be big and still cowardly.

Wing clipping doesn't always work, and it takes away a major chance for escape when attacked by predators. Like de-clawing a cat.

If you get to a point where the dogs and poultry free range together you will probably find the birds attracted to the dog poo, and the dogs wild for the chicken droppings.
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really gross.

There is a great deal of useful information in the Learning Center, as well as the "Raising Backyard Poultry forum.

For ducks you can go to the "Other backyard poultry " forum where you will find threads regarding ducks, geese, etc.
 
I have a doxie, chihuahua, bulldog and Aussie. I wasn't planning on allowing them all to be together till the Hens are big enough and my bully won't be allowed around them cuz he is just so big! All of my chicks and ducklings are between 7-9 days old.

I had no idea about the poo!! Gross!! Need to come up w a plan for that one cuz that is just too icky!
 
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan
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Many of your questions can be answered by looking through the Learning Center, surfing the different sections of the Forum, or by doing a Search for information. Good luck with your new birds.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Congratulations on your new chicks! You've gotten some good advice and links above.
There is no one answer to how often to clean out your coop, it depends on the number of birds, size of the coop, litter material, climate etc. For the least total cleanouts you might check into the deep litter method if your set up would work for that there are several articles in the Learning Center on maintaining coops https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/housing-and-feeding-your-chickens
 
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My ducklings and chicks grow up together ..



This is an old photo but there are ducks geese chickens an a couple
of Guinea in this photo and they still get along after all these years ..




Same birds just several years later ...
 

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