I just wanted to share a story, I 'm not sure if the is the right topic to post it under.
We have a RIR roo and a red hen cross that we're not sure what she is. A year ago is when we got these chickens. We talked about getting chickens for months before hand and fate stepped in. One day my husband was on his way to work and saw a sign "Chickens for sale." He stopped and called me to say he was bringing home half a dozen, 5 week old chickens. I knew NOTHING about raising chickens. He did all of the research and became the "household expert" on caring for chickens. We converted our shed into a chicken coop and a few months after we moved the chickens in there we heard alot of crowing. We had unknowingly picked 5 roos and one hen! 4 of the roos went, we kept one and the hen. (This hen is 3lbs15oz, we think she might have been crossed with a bantam.) So, after getting rid of all the roos except one, we talked about getting more chickens. I wanted hens for eggs. I wanted to go through a hatchery that could properly sex the chickens so that we did not end up with all roos again. I only wanted half a dozen hens and did not want to have to order 25 for minimum shipping requirements. My husband did not want to get day old chicks because he said brooding was too much work. After months of searching local resources, and doing a ton of online research, we got a dozen, day old RIR pullets from Ideal just a few weeks ago. I was so happy with the order and the experience, and my husband was happy to see me more involved. He suggested a few days ago that we get more! This past thursday we just got 10 barred rocks and 7 longhorns. (Now for the "instinct" part of the story.) We raise Golden Retrievers and have been doing so for several years. One of our dogs is named Buttercup. She is the best dog I have ever owned. (Growing up, my parents bred Goldens and we had 8 dogs at one time, and numerous others over the years.) Buttercup is the sweetest, most gentile creature I personally have ever encountered. She is only 4 years old and has had one litter of pups. Her maternal instinct is SO strong that when we brought home 2, eight week old kittens this spring, she wanted to mother them as soon as they came into the house. When our first shipment of baby chicks arrived, I was concerned about how the dogs would react to them. Golden Retriver's are bird hunting dogs after all, and these were tiny chicks that were defenseless. However, Buttercup was right there to keep guard over the chicks! Her maternal instinct is stronger than her hunting/retrieving instinct and she wants to mother the chicks! When I clean out the brooder each day, she chick-sits the babies while they are in the temp box. She will whimper and whine if they start to peep. If one of our other dogs gets too nosey around the brooder, she will step in and protect the chicks to make sure our other dog's show the babies the proper respect. All of our dogs respect the chickens and are good with the babies, but Buttercup gets the award for being not just man's best friend, but chicken's as well.
Does anyone else have a pet that is kind and carring to chickens? I would love to hear to some stories from others who wish to share them!
We have a RIR roo and a red hen cross that we're not sure what she is. A year ago is when we got these chickens. We talked about getting chickens for months before hand and fate stepped in. One day my husband was on his way to work and saw a sign "Chickens for sale." He stopped and called me to say he was bringing home half a dozen, 5 week old chickens. I knew NOTHING about raising chickens. He did all of the research and became the "household expert" on caring for chickens. We converted our shed into a chicken coop and a few months after we moved the chickens in there we heard alot of crowing. We had unknowingly picked 5 roos and one hen! 4 of the roos went, we kept one and the hen. (This hen is 3lbs15oz, we think she might have been crossed with a bantam.) So, after getting rid of all the roos except one, we talked about getting more chickens. I wanted hens for eggs. I wanted to go through a hatchery that could properly sex the chickens so that we did not end up with all roos again. I only wanted half a dozen hens and did not want to have to order 25 for minimum shipping requirements. My husband did not want to get day old chicks because he said brooding was too much work. After months of searching local resources, and doing a ton of online research, we got a dozen, day old RIR pullets from Ideal just a few weeks ago. I was so happy with the order and the experience, and my husband was happy to see me more involved. He suggested a few days ago that we get more! This past thursday we just got 10 barred rocks and 7 longhorns. (Now for the "instinct" part of the story.) We raise Golden Retrievers and have been doing so for several years. One of our dogs is named Buttercup. She is the best dog I have ever owned. (Growing up, my parents bred Goldens and we had 8 dogs at one time, and numerous others over the years.) Buttercup is the sweetest, most gentile creature I personally have ever encountered. She is only 4 years old and has had one litter of pups. Her maternal instinct is SO strong that when we brought home 2, eight week old kittens this spring, she wanted to mother them as soon as they came into the house. When our first shipment of baby chicks arrived, I was concerned about how the dogs would react to them. Golden Retriver's are bird hunting dogs after all, and these were tiny chicks that were defenseless. However, Buttercup was right there to keep guard over the chicks! Her maternal instinct is stronger than her hunting/retrieving instinct and she wants to mother the chicks! When I clean out the brooder each day, she chick-sits the babies while they are in the temp box. She will whimper and whine if they start to peep. If one of our other dogs gets too nosey around the brooder, she will step in and protect the chicks to make sure our other dog's show the babies the proper respect. All of our dogs respect the chickens and are good with the babies, but Buttercup gets the award for being not just man's best friend, but chicken's as well.
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We have a golden too, Daisy. When we brought our day old chicks and ducks home in April she was so interested in them. Everytime they would peep she was in there checking on them. She just loves them. I was just worried about her playing with them and unintentionally squishing them. Daisy is only a year, so shes still in the puppy phase. But she is a love and is great and gentle with the kids. Our other dog Sammy an American Eskimo, wanted to see what all the racket was, found out and could care less
