Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[ChickensAreSweet]

LOL!

 

[Totalcolour]

Gun dogs can be trained quite easily to leave the poultry alone. As with any dog, they must be trained and it is much easier to train them before their first chicken chase.

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Any dog can be trained to leave poultry alone. All dogs, no matter what the breed, are not going to be safe around poultry until after they have been trained to leave poultry alone.

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Sorry, I don't agree. That's like saying anyone can be trained as a brain surgeon or an opera singer. Well, they may be trained but it doesn't make them any good, and in the dog's case, not reliable.

The reason I would not recommend a gun dog as a poultry guardian is that many of them are small enough to be a coyote's dinner, and the larger ones are not large enough to fight off a small pack of coyotes. If a gun dog is well bred, he will be too soft mouthed to kill small preditors and what are you going to do with a live mink if your dog hands it to you?
I have an Airedale, and when she's with me, she is perfectly behaved around the ducks, chickens and goats - but I would not trust her an inch if I wasn't there. She doesn't take food unless it's given to her and she is given the "eat" command, EXCEPT when she thinks nobody is watching. Then she takes everything. She is big enough to tackle any of the larger predators yet gentle enough to play with us and not break skin. These dogs can be trained as protectors, SAR, police, bomb sniffers, hunting dogs etc. But all dogs are not created equal, just as all people are not created equal.

 

[Totalcolour]

I am a "Terrierist" and this is my "Terrier"!
(I must be completely mad)


She has eaten 3 door frames, one lock and half of one gate. She matches the furniture. She is warm when she lies on my feet. She is ferocious when strangers arrive. She is a big teddy bear!

 

[Totalcolour]

I have a lot of weapons. ​

Knives, forks, spoons, guns, a big dog, vicious attack rabbits, an SUV, chopsticks, cast iron pans (my favourite weapon), shovels, rakes, pointed sticks, ropes, chains, knitting needles, bungee cords, picture frames, bookends . . .

Most anything I have in the house could be used as a weapon.


My chickens are over their molt and have just started laying again! Yippee!

But, the bad new is, my shoulder has not healed as well as it should. Seems there is a problem in several vertebrae in my neck causing pain in BOTH arms now. Got to have another MRI at the end of the month to rule out a ruptured disc (keep you fingers crossed for me everyone - I really don't want spinal surgery).

 

[Totalcolour]

all the new peeps.


Hi to all the old (and young ) peeps. Hope everyone's having a blast this holiday season.

I just turned off the pressure canner - a big batch of duck chili for the pantry. Tonight I shall take the sourdough starter out of the fridge and mix up a batch of bread, ready to cook tomorrow. I love it when the house smells of cooking bread.

Where is everyone?
​

 

[TerrorBird]

We're looking to get a pit bull puppy in the next few weeks, I think. We're not feeling so safe here in the country any more after some guy in a truck with a modified bed (freezer unit with meat company logo) pulled up one sunny day and asked my fiancee if he was the head of the house. Ed said no and pointed at me (hidden behind a bush). He said he just wanted to meet his neighbors. Then he walked over to me and asked if I'm the head of the house. I said that I'm not and that she was not home right then. He mumbled that he was sorry and scuttled off to his truck. He backed down our very long driveway very quickly. Our lab-greyhound and rat terrier chased him all the way. He could have turned around before backing all the way but did not even consider it. He was just checking up on his "neighbors" to see when he could drop by to rob us blind. We want to have a dog that has the ability to protect us in a dangerous situation. Plus, pit bulls are not bad dogs. If they are raised/trained correctly and treated well, they are great dogs. I know that I'll feel a bit safer when we have one.

 

[Totalcolour]

We're looking to get a pit bull puppy in the next few weeks, I think. . . . We want to have a dog that has the ability to protect us in a dangerous situation. Plus, pit bulls are not bad dogs. If they are raised/trained correctly and treated well, they are great dogs. I know that I'll feel a bit safer when we have one.

Well, if you get a puppy it's going to be some time before it's old enough to guard. Plus, you need to train, even pit bulls, to be guard dogs - not all of them do it naturally, because as you say, they can be great dogs.

You might want to check the local shelters for a slightly older one, then spend some money to get him/her trained (along with yourselves) by a professional. Good luck with your puppy hunt.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Well, I knew when I saw dirty foot-prints all over the backs of the elder Hamburgs earlier this week that I'd soon have more eggs, and it is so: a nice pointy cream-colored egg in that nest box, and another, smaller one just like it in the Broody Pen.

About a two-week longer break in laying than I had last winter, with older hens. One of the two BLRWs I got from Tamara last year looks close to laying, too.

 

[TerrorBird]

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Absolutely. We're not rushing into it blindly. The last thing I want is a strong dog that I can't handle properly. While it grows and goes through training, Cricket can frighten away any unsavory characters who might show up.

 

[KMHunter]

X2!!!