Stupid problem I didn't foresee (even though I should have)

[coffeenutdesign]

Our chickens free range during the day and roost in the coops at night. We have a 7-year-old Golden Retriever, Daisy, who is mild and gentle and never bothers the chickens at all. She, however, is not spayed. She is mostly and indoor dog. The last time she was in heat was before the chickens were old enough to free range. Well, it seems that time may be imminent as we had a boy visitor show up this morning (before the chickens were out) peeing all over everything. He is not very old. We drove around the neighborhood but can't locate an owner. We live in the country and get dogs dropped off at times. I don't know if this is a dropoff or a male suitor. We have him penned in the backyard right now and ads out on craigslist to find an owner.

The problem just occurred to me, though. If/when she goes into heat, it could attract more suitors. Our coop is entirely too hot during the day right now with temps in the 110-112 range and very arid (desert) to keep them in comfortably. They much prefer the cool grass and shade of the front yard, especially under our porch. If dogs are attracted this way, they might decide a chicken is a tasty substitute for not finding the female dog they sniffed out. Not sure at what point it is more dangerous to leave them in a hot coop or leave them out and exposed to possibly be dog dinner. As it is, I am refreshing their water to cool it off and wetting the grass and dirt to give them a cool place to hang out several times a day even with hiding out in the shade.

We have a 3 sided coop with a full wall of wire mesh for the 4th wall facing south so it is always shaded other than a few inches of sun that comes in the front side, but it is still just hot.

 

[bobbi-j]

Sounds like you have two options. Spay your dog, or build a run for your chickens so they aren't targets for the male dogs that will be coming around.

 

[lazyday]

spay your sweet dog. Dogs will travel from far away they have wonderful smell detector when a b##ch is in heat and I would think they would be hungry afterwards

Also your sweet girl would not have to suffer I understand when in heat they are very miserable.

 

[clogan98]

Please spay your dog. There are many low cost clinics and such if cost is an issue (it's tripled since my last dogs were puppies). Would solve many current and potential future problems.

 

[coffeenutdesign]

That's fine for long term, but our vet won't spay a dog when she is already in heat or near it so that won't help the immediate problem. We haven't spayed her yet because we have always toyed with the idea of breeding her because of her wonderful temperament and breed characteristics (if we could find a suitable sire) and she does have a master hunter in her immediate bloodline, but at the end of the day we haven't wanted motherhood to change her looks or character so breeding her has never actually happened, but it hasn't entirely been ruled out as of yet. Building a run won't help either because, as I stated, we live in the desert. The only relief from these record breaking temps is where we have planted grass and trees in the yard. Building a run won't help the heat issue.

I'm guessing a keen ear and handy shotgun will work for now, and maybe shortening their free range hours, but the heat is really intolerable until almost dark.

I still don't know if this guy is just visiting or has been abandoned. Nobody has claimed him yet, but he certainly is peeing everywhere.

 

[lazyday]

Sorry you are having to deal with this complex situation. Please understand that even if you keep her in the house, until she is out of heat the male dogs still will come around. Fort Knox for your chickens until your dog issue has been resolved this is my thoughts. Wish you well

 

[bobbi-j]

That's fine for long term, but our vet won't spay a dog when she is already in heat or near it so that won't help the immediate problem. We haven't spayed her yet because we have always toyed with the idea of breeding her because of her wonderful temperament and breed characteristics (if we could find a suitable sire) and she does have a master hunter in her immediate bloodline, but at the end of the day we haven't wanted motherhood to change her looks or character so breeding her has never actually happened, but it hasn't entirely been ruled out as of yet. Building a run won't help either because, as I stated, we live in the desert. The only relief from these record breaking temps is where we have planted grass and trees in the yard. Building a run won't help the heat issue.

I'm guessing a keen ear and handy shotgun will work for now, and maybe shortening their free range hours, but the heat is really intolerable until almost dark.

I still don't know if this guy is just visiting or has been abandoned. Nobody has claimed him yet, but he certainly is peeing everywhere.

Is it possible to move your coop near where the trees and grass are planted and build a run so it gets shade?

 

[coffeenutdesign]

No, it is a permanent structure. It was here when we bought the house and we just added as second part to it when we got more chicks this spring. The heat we have been having is hotter than usual even for here. They older ones did fine in the coop last summer. One of those girls is having a tough time with the heat this year, though. We only started to free range this spring.

I may be worrying for nothing. The little guy that showed up today is remarkably well behaved and she may not even be going into heat. She is not flagging or anything. I really didn't even consider that it could be a problem since we have a LOT of dogs in the area (some of our neighbors have at least 5-6 dogs each) for there to only be a handful of houses out here and everyone is good about keeping their dogs fenced in. I would rather be prepared just in case, though. I might drag a water hose to their coop and spray it down throughout the day if I need to keep them in Fort Knox style.

 

[MadHens]

Here's another vote for spaying your dog. Seven years old sounds a little too old to be breeding her. She sounds like a great dog, but there are so many homeless dogs and cats in shelters that are looking for their forever homes. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.