Socializing dogs and cats to new chicks

[bbecca]

We just moved to a new place and will be getting day old chicks in a few weeks. The previous owners left a barn cat they had for 12 years who is a huge hunter of mice rabbits and birds. He has not let us pet him yet and since we don't know him I'm concerned how to keep him from hurting our chickens. We also have a neighbors dog who comes thru the fences and is at r house 24/7. We don't mind her but she's still only a year old and am not sure how to train her to leave them alone, since I have no control over when she comes and goes. Lastly we just got an 8 week old puppy. So any suggestions on how to proceed and keep my baby chicks alive would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bobbi-j]

You need a secure enclosure for those chicks. The cat will see them as a meal, and the dogs will want to play with the new fuzzy squeaky toys. I would put a stop to the neighbor's dog coming onto the property ASAP. If you can't train it, how do you expect your pup to behave with the untrained one coming over to play? Puppies are like kids - when they get together, they forget everything they know. I don't even trust a wee-trained dog unsupervised around the tiny chicks.

 

[bbecca]

Thank you for the advice