Please critique my setup

[drumstick diva]

Dogs don't watch the sky so I don't think they'd be much good against hawks. If the hawk was on the ground with a chicken the noise might attract the dog but, likely it would be too late for the chicken. Some roosters are very good at sounding the alarm but your chickens would need safe cover to hide in. A secure top of the run would be both a blessing and probable necessity. Hawks would love to pounce down from the branches.

 

[Stephan222]

This is something I'd like to ask ---what u
Is the best way to clip flight feathers ???? I've seen diagrams but would like some advice in this forum???

 

[galanie]

You only clip the long feathers from the last wing joint to the tip. You'll see two 'layers' of feathers when viewed from underneath. Don't clip the longest ones any shorter than the length of the shorter ones.
the 'i' are the short, the 'l' are the long (ignore the dots over the i's): lililil - clip the l a bit longer than the top of the i. Any shorter and it will be uncomfortable to the birds. People are warned not to clip blood feathers but dont' let that scare you. If one is just growing out and still has blood in the shaft, you'll recognize it instantly.

I doubt you need to clip the Orpingtons. I've seen my girls fly maybe 3 feet up but they typically never go over around 18 inches. When frightened, I saw one go up 4 feet but I don't think they'd ever clear 6 feet.

 

[Delmar]

Quote:
I wish I would have gotten chickens before we got our dog. He does really well with them when we are watching him, but I wouldn't trust him in the coop when we are not around! He sure does go running after Hawks when the try getting into the tractor though!