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Caroline

newbies....

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hi there... we're new so thought we'd come in and say hey. :)

 

Pete went to collect our new girls today and brought home our eglu. Needless to say, weare HUGELY excited!!

 

the girls (no names yet - suggestions more than welcome!) seem to be happy with their new home so far and were very happy with some cuddles on the way in.

 

they put themselves to bed so that made us happy (and relieved!). Can't wait for tomorrow now to let the ladies back out again!

 

Been a bit worried about how the dogs (labradors) will get along with the chickens.... as they were frightened of the Eglu though, i'm not sure they won't run a mile from the girls! so brave :oops:

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Hi Caroline

 

I've just moved this from Eglu to here - hope you don't mind.

 

We do have a Welcome topic over here and a Questionnaire as well.

 

Welcome to the forum and hope you have fun - please join in and we look forward to hearing more from you. :D

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fine to move the post over to a more appropriate place... hadn't explored when I posted.... so excited, I just posted without looking both ways... lucky I wasn't hit by anything!! :wink:

 

thanks for the welcomes guys. i've done the questionnaire too... i like these forum things... :D

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It's all a bit overwhelming when you first log on here, isn't it! There are pages and pages to look through! There's loads of information that we've all gathered over the months and most of us have gone from being complete novices on chicken keeping to a better understanding now. Many of the problems you might encounter have already been experienced by someone so hopefully you'll know what to do if anything crops up like broodiness, worries about your dogs etc just by reading previous topics!

 

Have fun - it's great on here :wink: ! We're all chicken nutters :D !

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fascinated dogs are driving me bl**dy mad!! At least one of them is! He is fascinated and has found out that if he puts his nose under the eglu, he can smell teh girls better!

 

he is going mental everytime the girls come out... I think he is stressing them quite well :evil:

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hi Caroline, my dalmatians drove me nuts the first couple of weeks, Sammy, who is the doggy version of forrest gump, was no problem, just really excited, but Harry, who has never liked other animals much at all, growled a lot. and we had some concerns for the chickens safety.but luckily we have two separate gardens, and they were each kept in different ones so I knew the girls would be safe, or we wouldnt have got them

 

to get harry used to the girls, i muzzled him, and kept him on a lead, and we sat quietly in the girls garden and just let him watch. if he growled he was told off, if he was good he was rewarded. over the space of the first week, we saw a marked improvement, and it wasnt long before we felt confident enough to remove his muzzle,he is a bright dog and soon learned it was profitable not to growl. all the books etc i read said with perseverance any dog will adjust, and its just a matter of reaching the familiarity/boredom level. well its true. after a few weeks the dogs had got used to the girls and were indifferent to them. gradually they have become protective of them too- if the girls sqwawk at something the dogs will run outside to see if they are ok, and have chased off several local cats who had been prowling around. i have involved the dogs with the girls in that they come down the garden with me to collect the eggs, and when i take out an egg and hold it up they wag and trot back up the garden! I would say too, that having the girls has made Harry a lot friendlier with all animals,he loves our cats, sharing bowls and doggy beds with them, he no longer growls at first sight as he used to.he has learned that not every creature is a threat. this makes him sound an awful dog, and he truly isnt, he was just intolerant of other animals(always over friendly with people, as are most dalmatians) and he is now so much better, thanks to the girls!

(there is a picture of the dogs with the eglu on the main omlet site gallery page)

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Hi Leanne

 

thanks for that. Pete and I had been talking about treating Jasper as we did Bailey when we first brought Jasper home (lots of attention for Bailey and ignored Jasper mostly)

 

It's good to hear that a growly dog can get used to them as well though - very good news!

 

I think Jasper is nervous more than anything. He is quite a nervous dog for a labrador and gets scared easily (books shutting loudly, doors slamming... wuss). He grumbles at lots of stuff so hopefully he'll get used to this.

 

I think I will use your break him in gently tactics. I may invest in a muzzle for when we let the girls out of the run.

 

thanks for the info and advice, much appreciated. Am off for some tucker now.... ironically... chicken!! :shock:

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oh no! didn't mean it like that!! Meant just that I had been looking about and came across it. Did a search for 'dogs'

hope I didn't offend you!

 

Sat out with the boys this morning, watching the girls. One of the dogs doesn't really care what's going on. He'll run at the chickens if the other one runs but otherwise, he's just quietly interested adn as long as he's getting a cuddle, forgets about them completely.

 

Jasper was very good and just sat still watching. He sneaked forwards a couple of times but for the main part they are very obiedient and he came straight back when told.

 

Slight fit when the chickens clucked but came straight back so I think we'll win eventually :)

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hi caroline. of course you didnt offend me! :) glad youre making progress with your dogs, I am sure with patience you'll get there. Like I said, we managed to get harry to accept the girls, and i am sure that if he can, yours can! but I never take it for granted that he is a reformed character, i'd never trust him 100% (inside every dog theres some dormant wolf instinct!) but i am always watchful. and careful, and in the 9 months or so weve had the girls he has been very good.(and it does help we have a separate garden for the hens, so they are only together when I am there ) As I type he is curled up with one of the cats, something else that would never have happened a year ago. so good luck, and happy easter!

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