quickcluck Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Well, we put another 1m extention on the cube today to give them a bit more room, they quite enjoyed that and were very social.. When I got back from a quick fone call I found an egg in the bedding!! Small but perfectly formed at 36g, not sure who was responsible, either Penny the coral nick or Margo the fenning black as they are the only ones with a comb.... Then I went to collect my dog who'd been at my sisters for a few days, he came into the garden and straight to them... the poor girls went MAD!!!!!! Flapping and clucking all over the place, running from one end of the run to the other, so we promptly took him away and noticed that 2 of the girls had a speck of blood on their beaks where they were flying everywhere.... They have settled again now and no harm appears to have been done, am watching closely for pecking, and the dog is firmly on the lead! Does this get better does anyone know??? should we fence them off?? Any help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S & S Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Hi Quickcluck, I have had my hens for a couple of months. i have two dogs, lurcher and retreiver, my retreiver was a nightmare chasing them up and down the run i never thought he was gonna give up and even thought i would have to give my chickens away, im glad i persavied (sp) As advised by lots of expert omletiers he got lots of squirts from water thingy and lots of firm no's. we eventully got there i think he finds them boring now this took about 3 weeks but he was only in the garden in the evenings as dogs come to work with me during the day. i didnt like squirting him with water but it was the only way to get his attention. Dont give up it will get easier my chickens got used to dogs too so didnt get a panick on every time they saw him. Keep us posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 It does get better in time-they just need time being around a large predatory animal.Mine never took much notice of the chooks and they were initially afraid of him,but they all live in harmony now.Infact,the chooks will rush in to see if he's left anything in his bowl and would take food from his mouth given the chance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 Thanks for the support as we are both feeling sad, frustrated and worried!!! Will try the water pistol thingy, funnily enough we got some to squirt the chooks with incase of pecking!!! At the moment he is quiet but still in the garden on his long lead attached to a ground spike! Keep the advice coming everyone, you can never have too much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 We have two dogs, a labrador and a cairn. We introduced them to the girls when they were on leads and the girls were in their run. As they got used to them we let the girls out but kept the dogs on leads. When the lab took little interest in the girls we let her off the lead and gave her lots of praise and attention. We then repeated this with the cairn. Now the dogs and the girls take no notice of each other. Keep persevering Quickcluck but just do it gradually and hopefully they will all live together happily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Hello quickcluck, We're a few weeks on from you and I can definately say it does seem to get better Our Sparky has OCD when it comes to flapping, noisy things and I was beginning to feel really down about how long Sparks was having to spend indoors so that the girls could have their freedom So today I was really brave and went in for some heavy training. I let Sparx in the garden with the hens and as soon as he even looked at them I called "leave it" and rewarded him(with some cooked meat). This carried on for some time and so far he hasn't actually pounced. A vast improvement on even a few days ago when he went mad at even a gentle cluck.I will be carrying on with this as it does seem to be a slight improvement on the hose/squirty bottle technique Good luck and if you hear of anything else, let me know Allison & the motley crew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 My dog Cookie was awful to begin with, she could not take her eyes (and a couple of times her mouth ) off of them. We've had the girls since May and today whilst the girls were freeranging I let her lead drop as she was laying by my chair. She did nothing so after about half an hour I took the lead off. She eventually got up and wandered around but kept her distance from the girls. If she looked as if she was getting interested I just called her over and she came straight away. I think she was actually more interested in following them (at a distance) to eat their poo I don't think I would ever leave her unattended in the garden with the girls out (say with my children in charge of her) as I think if the girls got overexcited it could make her get too excited. So it could work in the end - don't give up. I'm so proud of Cookie today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bantam of the Opera Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 it makes me laugh to see all the poblems people are having with their dogs being aggressive and scaring the chickens because in my garden it is the complete opposite. the first time my dog smudge went out to see them herro chased and mrs. weasly flying kicked at her. smudgey yelped and has been afraid of them ever since. she's been pecked god knows how many times and doesnt go in teh garden without me anymore. its quite sad but at least the hens are okay and i think smudge prefers my bed to the garden anyway. i either have very brave hens or a very cowardly dog. as for your dog problem quick cluck, keep trying and dont worry too much about the girls. they make a huge fuss and flap everywhere but theyre alot tougher than they let on. ive had a fox in my garden a few times and the girls were all going crazy but retty much straight after the danger has passed they were all back to normal scratching around without a care in the world. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerlady Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 Same here! The border collie was the one we were worried about chasing the hens.Pah!! They saw her off straight away..she's terrified and won't go out when they're about even if we go in the garden and call her!!Our cat had a dead mouse the other day and Bella the bluebell went strolling up to her and pecked her ear to make her drop it then walked away! as you say, they are quite capable of holding their own with a lot of flapping and bokking! Its hilarious!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 Well I'm pleased to report a much more positive day!!! Minimal water pistols needed, he just seems to wander up there and watch them with the occasional whining bark, which they dont appear to mind... so we are feeling much better after we'd been researching fencing all night!! Now we've just got to worry about a king charles spainel coming for a week then my sisters big noisey dog for 2 weeks... think we will have a trial day with her to see if the fence will be needed then! Thanks everyone.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 That's brilliant news Stunning hens I think I've got a lot more work to do with Sparx. Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
