Joined
·
3,647 Posts
So we embarked on a new adventure...chicken keeping. We brought home 2 California Tans, 2 ISA Browns, and 2 Rhode Island Red chicks about 6 weeks ago and introduced our poor dog to them. It went better than expected. He was interested and really loves to watch them, but he quickly learned what was and was not acceptable (you know, like climbing into their brooder, to just LOOK at them...ahem, sure Ralphie.)
The chicks are now out in their grow coop while we finish building their big one, so Ralphie can get a little closer. After the excitement of getting to see the chicks so well wore off and a week had passed, I let Ralphie meet the chickens face to face. They were big enough that his usual greeting of "Poke it With my Snoot" would not harm them. So I let him get close...and it did not go well. For Ralphie. He got pecked right in the eye. Ugh. And here I thought the dog was the biggest threat. He turned around and noped out of there. 😂 His eye is fine, by the way.
So now I have a herding dog I was going to try to teach to herd chickens afraid of chickens! If he cannot see a physical barrier between himself and the chickens, he will not get within pecking distance. It is not complete and total fear...but it's a healthy respect. Although I do fear the day when I look up and see a flock of chickens chasing my dog across the yard...so there's that.
Please see below for a poor photo of my husband teasing the chickens with Ralphie looking on in complete horror. The chickens have started to make a borking sound, which Ralphie also finds concerning.
And here is another photo of Ralphie watching the chickens. This was take about a week before they pecked him in the face. They were much smaller then.
So far so good. I was expecting at least one casualty by now, but I guess I'm better at avoiding disaster than I thought. We plan on free ranging the chickens most of the time, so Ralphie's daily "patrols" (he moseys around and pees on things) of the property seem to help keep predators at bay, at the very least if the Chicken Herder job doesn't come to fruition!
The chicks are now out in their grow coop while we finish building their big one, so Ralphie can get a little closer. After the excitement of getting to see the chicks so well wore off and a week had passed, I let Ralphie meet the chickens face to face. They were big enough that his usual greeting of "Poke it With my Snoot" would not harm them. So I let him get close...and it did not go well. For Ralphie. He got pecked right in the eye. Ugh. And here I thought the dog was the biggest threat. He turned around and noped out of there. 😂 His eye is fine, by the way.
So now I have a herding dog I was going to try to teach to herd chickens afraid of chickens! If he cannot see a physical barrier between himself and the chickens, he will not get within pecking distance. It is not complete and total fear...but it's a healthy respect. Although I do fear the day when I look up and see a flock of chickens chasing my dog across the yard...so there's that.
Please see below for a poor photo of my husband teasing the chickens with Ralphie looking on in complete horror. The chickens have started to make a borking sound, which Ralphie also finds concerning.
And here is another photo of Ralphie watching the chickens. This was take about a week before they pecked him in the face. They were much smaller then.
So far so good. I was expecting at least one casualty by now, but I guess I'm better at avoiding disaster than I thought. We plan on free ranging the chickens most of the time, so Ralphie's daily "patrols" (he moseys around and pees on things) of the property seem to help keep predators at bay, at the very least if the Chicken Herder job doesn't come to fruition!