Show and tell... PICTURE HEAVY... added pictures of chicks roosting!!

[seanb]

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seanb - like I stated above it took a lot of time and patience to get the dogs trained to be chicken friendly. I grew up with training See and Eye Dogs for the blind so training a dog is something I can do. Raising chickens is new to me and the verdict is still out on if I can do it or not... LOL... My Blue Heeler is a known bird killer so I was really worried. He has killed a robin and a young duck. But I found starting out with small chicks made it really easy. Once I felt the chicks were strong enough for a little excitement (about 2 weeks old) I started by just letting the dogs smell the chicks as I cupped one in both my hands to protect the chick but just give enough space between my hands to allow the dogs to smell them. I did this regularly, every time I cleaned the chick bedding up which was at least every other day if not daily because they were in my basement and I couldn't stand the smell. When the dogs stopped having any negative reaction to that then I opened up my hands and let them see and smell (and occasionally ‘taste’ them by licking) them at the same time. When they got good with that then I started to move the chicks up and down in the air to get them to flap their wings. Once the dogs stopped having negative reaction to them flapping around then I set one on a news paper covered coffee table and stayed close to keep the chick on the table and the dogs off the table. When I moved the chicks outside I gave them a few days to get used to their chicken room and run once and then a few days to get used to the back yard to free range before I continued training with the dogs. The first time I introduced the dogs to them while they were out to free range I collared and leashed them and took them out one at a time. I got the air horn out of the boat and kept that handy. First I kept a tight grip on the leash and just walked the back yard with them. Once I felt comfortable I dropped the leash. I had to air horn each of the dogs at least once, the Red Heeler twice, when they started chasing a chicken. After each dog had a turn then I took all of them out with collars and dropped leashes so I could grab them easily for correction if they needed it and just stayed close and watchful. At this point as long as I'm in the yard I can hear a hen put up a fuss if the Red Heeler follows them to closely. Most of the hens don't even seem bothered by them any more and will walk right up to them. This whole process took about 8 weeks once I started.


O, and as far as the concrete saw, we couldn't find one to rent and the lowest bid I got for someone with a saw to come out and do it for us was $500 because the cement was 8 inches thick. So, ya. I got cement patch while at Lowe's a little while a go, so I'll get it patched up and post more pictures to see what you think then.

Thanks for the dog tips, Jenn. Our cattledog loves to chase stuff, just like most of them. He's killed plenty of critters too. I'm somewhat confident though, that once he realizes that the chickens are part of the family and not strange intruders, he'll be okay. He's been fine with our cats the same way. The only problem it would pose if he doesn't come around is that I wouldn't be able to let the chickens free range while he's around.

Thanks again.

 

[jinxschuh]

Well, I took a pic right after I finished the patch job on the outside of the chicken door thinking I'd get one more before dark after it had more time to dry and then didn't get back out with the camera before the sun went down. So here is the picture from just after finishing and it is not yet dry:

I'm hoping it holds. It was the first time I ever mixed the stuff and ended up playing and molding with it like it was clay...? LOL... The cement patch the guy at Lowe's hooked me up with was a water leak patching so it should be good and leak proof... I hope.

Still have to do inside. I wanted to wait til this was completely dry to make sure I didn't need to make any adjustments to mix or application before I did any more.

 

[JusticeFamilyFarm]

Looks great! I love the coop being inside the barn, great idea and use of space. I bet the girls love it!
I might try to copy your dog training techniques, although I'm not sure ours will ever be able to be in the yard with the chickens out. Luckily we have 2 separate yards, so it's not necessary for them to be together, even when I'm there. But, I do hope the dog can come with me to the coop/run area and not bark and jump on the fence constantly like he does now when I have the chicks out in their little play yard. It's still really new, though, so he might settle a little.

I loved seeing those pics of your dogs out with the chickens, though- it gives me hope!

 

[5Leepy!]

I'm curious about the dogs, too. We have 1 mutt (shepherd/basenji mix) and a rat terrier. The mutt is more trustworthy but will chase the chicks and hens if they run. She gets excited when they do that and forgets herself. However, the terrier is a problem. We haven't had him long enough to know him inside and out (rescued him around Christmas) but his terrier instinct seems strong. He actually got a mouthful of tail feathers once. Don't think we can use the air horn (great idea, though!) because we're in the city. I'm pretty much resigned to not having chickens and dogs in the yard at the same time. We give them both time "free ranging"on and off throughout the day, they just have to take turns.

Love your barn!

 

[jinxschuh]

I am a believer that an old dog CAN learn new tricks. It may take longer and it may take trying several different things before it clicks but with patience and consistency any dog can learn something you give him enough time to.

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If you don’t already have a sharp correction (ours is the air horn) then pick one, a dog whistle, and loud clap, a hard slap on a table top, a spray bottle of water, smacking 2 empty milk jugs or tin cans together, I’ve even seen people use an electronic remote control dog training collar in very extreme cases. But try different things until you discover one your dog will pay attention to. Defiantly let the newness wear off if you already have the chicks out in the run where your pup has already been interacting with them through the fence. Once he stops reacting so much to them through the fence (hopefully not jumping at the fence every time he sees them, hopefully you can use your sharp correction you choose to help correct this) then try introducing them in a very controlled but closer environment; I.E. someone sitting holding one of the chicks while someone else manages the pup on a leash. Since he has already been allowed to jump at them (through the fence) I don’t suggest taking the first few steps in socializing alone and have someone else available to help you EVERY DAY even if for just 5 mins every evening, make it consistent and as often as possible. If you don’t think your chicks can stand that long of time with the excitement then be ready to swap out chicks every min or two so as not to stress them out to much. If you have 5 mins in the morning and 5 mins at night then you’ll get through it much faster. With what I’ve experienced with my dogs it also seems that the chicks are more relaxed around them like they also benefited from the close contact on a regular basis. So they are less likely to be spooked causing the dog to react to them in that mindset. If your ‘pup’ is truly a puppy and not a ‘pup’ as a term of endearment then, with time, it will be easy to train him.

5Leepy! :

I'm curious about the dogs, too. We have 1 mutt (shepherd/basenji mix) and a rat terrier. The mutt is more trustworthy but will chase the chicks and hens if they run. She gets excited when they do that and forgets herself. However, the terrier is a problem. We haven't had him long enough to know him inside and out (rescued him around Christmas) but his terrier instinct seems strong. He actually got a mouthful of tail feathers once. Don't think we can use the air horn (great idea, though!) because we're in the city. I'm pretty much resigned to not having chickens and dogs in the yard at the same time. We give them both time "free ranging"on and off throughout the day, they just have to take turns.

Love your barn!

Now that you know you have a problem with the terrier it is your responsibility to make sure he isn’t put into a situation to act out badly. Put a leash on him so you can keep control of him until he is more trust worthy. I suggest the same thing as I did for Justice above because your dogs have already been given a chance to act out badly towards the chickens, you need to start slower and pick a sharp correction. If you are worried about the air horn in your area then pick something else. (I would google your local noise ordinances, here as long as it is quite between 10 pm and 6 am then there is no real legal standing for neighbors to complain about noise, hopefully your neighbors know you enough if they have a problem with it they will ask you about it so you can let them know you are training and then they may understand and tolerate it for a while.) But remember it isn’t something you are going to be using constantly, maybe more so at first but if your dog doesn’t start responding to the sharp correction you’ve chosen then try something different. Most of the time all I have to do is wave the air horn in my dogs direction and they get the point. I actually use it very little.

Good luck!! My dogs rule!! Life has really gone to the dogs around here and happy dogs make for a happy home!!​

 

[jinxschuh]

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If your heeler is as smart as all the heelers I know then you are absolutely correct about him learning to accept them as family. He is beautiful BTW (I saw the pic of him on your coop design post). I love all the brown on his head. Just take close introductions slow and controlled and don't give him a chance to act out badly.

Good luck!

 

[turbodog]

WOW, to have a barn with concrete walls in my hot, wet climate would be great. No wonder you call it the "bomb shelter".

Great job!

 

[jinxschuh]

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I have no idea who went through the trouble and expense of putting in such a structure but it really is fabulous!! The cement holds the day time sun heat through winter nights, and holds the cool night time tempatures during summer days, it is really hard to explain but my horses LOVE it! Once I get everything finished for the chicks and get my tack reorganized in the left over space in the tack room I'll have to give everyone a full tour of the barn.

 

[JusticeFamilyFarm]

Thanks so much for the specific tips! A hand clap doesn't work for our sharp correction. Maybe we'll have to try the airhorn. That should get his attention. He is, in fact, a puppy- about 8 months old, so not super young, but still young. Plus, we just rescued him last month, so this is all new. The chicks aren't in their coop/run yet, so he hasn't been allowed to be on the fence- they go out in the backyard in a child's play yard-type gate system, and he sits/stands/lays at the "fence" and barks. We hold him by the collar and tell him no, and he won't bark while we are directly telling him not to, but once we let go, off he goes. We're always right there, because the play yard is only about 3' tall, so he could easily have access to the chicks in that situation if he were left alone. The chicks are never out there unattended, even without the dog, though. We'll work on the 5 or so minutes, twice a day, letting him get used to one chick at a time, sniffing, etc. My husband should be available to help out. That way maybe he'll be a little calmer already by the time we move the chicks out the the coop and run. He's not in a yard that has access to any fence surrounding the coop or run, so at least he'll always be with us when he's near the fence once they're out there. Thanks so much again! And I love your barn coop!

 

[jinxschuh]

Good after noon peeps!! After our morning ride I got busy and got a few little pieces of projects going. I got inspiration from seanb's roosting system (THANK YOU) and got permission from our neighbor to rummage the back of their pasture where old neighbors have used it as a green waste pile to through dead fall over their back fence into the pasture (pretty bad for a neighbor to do that, but I'm not complaining about it). And with the help of my son we made it home with this:

So the idea is going to be to use the tree stump to create a post from the ceiling to the floor which will give me something to attach roosts too instead of trying to attach them to the cement wall. I have literaly puzzeled over this for WEEKS. Thanks again seanb!! I am SOO excited!

The cement patch seems to be holding, no cracking and it looks to be pretty much dry so I think we are good to go. I'll give it some time to weather and if it still looks to much like a patch I'm either thinking to go ahead and paint the whole barn wall. Since this is the only side of the barn that isn't already painted any way... OR I might get creative and paint just around the door... maybe a predator with it's mouth open wide or something so it looks like they are walking in and out of the jaws of death as they go in and out... LOL... will think on that one.

Also inspired by seanb, my first chicken ladder. The lumber I used was a scrap piece of hardwood from when we redid our floors when we first moved in and of course a smaller branch off our tree we drug home:

And the project I started the other day and was waiting for paint to dry... the gazebo sandbox base. Planning to put a bottom on it, 4 posts, squared roof (like a pyramid) and lattace to help keep some of the sand in when they really get in and start digging around. This is made with wood scraps we collected from our dearest neighbors when they added a pitch to their flat roof last fall.

Any way, that was all I was able to get done today. I kind of got a little to much sun riding this morning and feeling a little sunburnt and tired (it was over cast and cool when we went out, but the sun came out and got hot before we were done). But I've loved the feedback and interaction with you all and wanted to keep ya posted on my daily projects. It is much funner posting them here where people care about and enjoy their chickens just as much as I do, instead of on FaceBook where my friends and family think I'm weird that I'm putting so much time and thought into it all... LMBO... when you are unemployed and can't find work some days having projects to work on is the only way I'm able to stay sane...