Texas

[TherryChicken]

Olive, our late-blooming Easter Egger has finally joined in on the egg-laying fun. We got FIVE eggs today!

woohoo

 

[tiedyemommy]

There in lies part of the problem...we now have 40 chickens and they are in a yard that is 600 sq ft but the chicken house is smaller and no room to get away.  DH doesn't want to let them free range, he's afraid something will happen or we won't be able to get them all to come home.  Poor littles are out number big time. When I got the Aussies we just turned them straight out into the yard and they did fine and were accepted in a few days.  I probably should have done the same thing with the littles instead of putting them in a pen.

The chicken yard/run for our 10 Ladies/Girls is approximately 400sqft, but they all free range in our 1/3 acre (give or take) back yard most of the day. Everyone has their favorite shady spot & they rarely interact with one another, outside of their respective groups.

 

[Starfire669]

So, I mentioned earlier that my boys and I were training 5 of our 6 dogs in obedience and agility. My 13 year old son handles Rascal, our Belgian Malinois. Rascal, despite being neutered, is our alpha and is slightly aggressive towards strange dogs. Since my 13 year old stole Rascal from me (I trained Rascal before I even thought about letting my son work with him), he has become more assertive and confident in himself, which has me so happy! He has had to believe in himself to control his dog, the dog has done more for his self confidence than anything else I tried.

I am handling 3 dogs, all with different problems. Cheyenne is a rescue and is absolutely terrified of strange places, people, and dogs. But the obedience class is helping her gain confidence and she actually approached the trainer while romping off leash in a pen. Dawn is our alpha female, unfortunately she and the rottwieller can't get along (my husbands fault, but I won't go into details). She is actually our best agility dog. She is serious, follows commands off leash(from her first day), and has no fear of any of the obstacles. She takes the full sized A-frame, teeter totter, and dog walk off leash with ease. She is being evaluated for temperment, but she is a candidate for joining the demo team. Phantom is a puppy. Most of the time he works great and gives agility his all. His strength is the weave poles, which is hard for most dogs. But as a puppy, he isn't consistent, last night was a total disaster in training. I had to catch him after he almost jumped off a 5 foot obstacle. Hopefully next week he is ready to work and has his turbo engines on, he is the fastest of our agility dogs. But, once he matures he will be a top agility dog, we just have to survive his puppyhood, lol.

Finally, my 12 year old son handles Sasha. Sasha is a delicate little lady, super submissive, very loving, and gentle. She is not a typical Siberian. She is the perfect compliment to my youngest who is to assertive, almost a bully really. She is teaching him to be gentle and compassionate. He does love that dog very much, and I am seeing a softer side to him lately. Last night was a big night for both of them, I was asked permission for them to join the demo team! I took pictures of them training on the big dog walk.

My 13 year old has martial arts on Friday nights. He goes to agility training on Saturdays. I will try and get pictures of him and Rascal training today. My 12 year old goes to agility on Friday and Saturday with Sasha. I take Phantom on Friday and Dawn on Saturday. Cheyenne only does obedience on Thursdays, it is too risky to try her in agility as she is now.

 

[Starfire669]

Anyone interested in adopting a rottwieller? Fiona is a sweet dog, but she is too much for my husband to handle (she was supposed to be his dog). She gives hugs, loves children, adores cats, and doesn't seem interested in the chickens though I haven't tried her off leash around them. She don't fit in with the high energy, high drive Siberians. If I took her back to the shelter I rescued her from she would be euthanized, she was about to be on the day I adopted her. The dang shelter didn't even charge me an adoption fee on her, they just wanted her gone, poor thing. Anyway, I feel she deserves a better home, and i am not going to have her put down simply for being a Rott. If anyone is interested in knowing more about Fiona, please PM me for details.

These are older pictures, but here is Fiona.

 

[tiedyemommy]

Anyone interested in adopting a rottwieller? Fiona is a sweet dog, but she is too much for my husband to handle (she was supposed to be his dog). She gives hugs, loves children, adores cats, and doesn't seem interested in the chickens though I haven't tried her off leash around them. She don't fit in with the high energy, high drive Siberians. If I took her back to the shelter I rescued her from she would be euthanized, she was about to be on the day I adopted her. The dang shelter didn't even charge me an adoption fee on her, they just wanted her gone, poor thing. Anyway, I feel she deserves a better home, and i am not going to have her put down simply for being a Rott. If anyone is interested in knowing more about Fiona, please PM me for details.

These are older pictures, but here is Fiona.

Wish I could take her, but I can't. I have a friend in Ohio who raises Rottis, but I think her house is full too. What a beautiful pup! Good luck!

 

[magpiesing]

My 13 year old has martial arts on Friday nights. He goes to agility training on Saturdays. I will try and get pictures of him and Rascal training today. My 12 year old goes to agility on Friday and Saturday with Sasha. I take Phantom on Friday and Dawn on Saturday. Cheyenne only does obedience on Thursdays, it is too risky to try her in agility as she is now.

Golly woman! With a schedule like that it's no wonder you don't have much time for "chicken chatting". It is awesome that your boys are involved with the dogs! I have always enjoyed watching agility dogs work when I can catch it on the TV. I have no doubt that a great deal of work and patience goes into them. Good luck and if you get to go pro and are ever in the Houston area I would love to watch your dogs do their paces. Try to find some time in there to eat and sleep and maybe a few minutes for your self. Take care.

 

[magpiesing]

Dang!!!, it's too hot to do much outside at this time of the day! So going to make some preserves and maybe syrup from the left overs of the pears we picked and canned last night.
Chickens really enjoyed the peelings last evening too. Cook stove is outside so won't heat up the house anymore and I can accomplish something today. So ready for fall to get here and some rain would be wonderful. Cooler temps = happy chickens = more eggs = happy chicken people!
Stay cool folks and your feathered family too!

 

[Starfire669]

Golly woman!  With a schedule like that it's no wonder you don't have much time for "chicken chatting".   It is awesome that your boys are involved with the dogs! I have always enjoyed watching agility dogs work when I can catch it on the TV.  I have no doubt that a great deal of work and patience goes into them.  Good luck and if you get to go pro and are ever in the Houston area I would love to watch your dogs do their paces. Try to find some time in there to eat and sleep and maybe a few minutes for your self. Take care.

My schedule is worse than that, lol. Wednesday's Phantom goes to conformation class as he is a show dog in training before all else. Thursday's Cheyenne goes to obedience class. Friday Sasha and Phantom go to obedience then agility in back to back classes. Saturday Dawn, Rascal, and Sasha go to agility then obedience in back to back classes. Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday nights I walk Fiona at the river for exercise. Monday, Wednesday, Friday my oldest son takes martial arts, and in fact next week is competing in the world games his dojo is sponsoring. Oh and both of my sons signed up for athletics, lol. Now 2 of my dogs, Dawn and Sasha have been selected as demo dogs in agility, Phantom will most likely join them on the team sometime next year. When demos come up, my schedule will most likely be thrown all to hell. Also I am aiming Phantom at his first conformation compitition at the end of the year. You might see us in Houston for conformation before agility, lol.

It's a hard schedule, but as you said its better than video games all day. Martial arts, dog training, sports, they are doing things that keep them engaged, active, and happy. It also helps with some of their behavior issues as well, which is just plain awesome.

 

[Joules Newton]

Hey Y'all,

I'm a newbie chicken owner. I was given 2 leghorn pullets and a leghorn cockerel. They were someone's Easter chicks so they are about 4 months old now. I would love to add to my flock, maybe 2 to 3 more pullets. Know anyone selling pullets in the north Texas area? Thanks, Joules

 

[Starfire669]

Wish I could take her, but I can't.  I have a friend in Ohio who raises Rottis, but I think her house is full too.  What a beautiful pup!  Good luck! 

If you know anyone who could give Fiona a good home, let me know. I need to find her a home soon, before she becomes more attached to us. I'd love to keep her, but she and the Siberians have communications difficulties and my hubby can't handle her. She is a typical Rottie, serious, protective, and sometimes stubborn. My hubby is new to dogs, never had any growing up, and I warned him about Rotties since I grew up with them but he didn't believe me. He is completely out of his depth with guard dogs, and he should not have a dog like a Rottie until he does know what he is doing. The Siberians are comedians, they never take anything serious and dont have a guard dog nature, he can start learning dogs with them. I can easily handle Fiona, she is a sweetie, but I am not always home. So I think it best if we find her a new home.