Someone dropped a couple of puppies off on the road

[midwestfisherman]

Chickens were there first and give you benefit, shouldn't have their freedom limited.

A cobra would be doing what came naturally to it to kill those chickens and bite you and your wife, and wouldn't understand when you got angry. But you're under no obligation to keep a cobra or those dogs.

It isn't on you to clean up someone else's mess. Especially when it will be massive expense for well over a decade. Already lost a chicken and it won't be the last.get 'em sorted, fed, and healthy and then give them away in the classifieds or take to shelter.

"Freedom limited" LMAO!! They're chickens. It's best to limit their freedom otherwise their predator friends (i.e. hawks, skunks, coyotes, etc., etc.) will limit their freedom permanently! My wife and I have about 30 chickens and the best thing that I ever did was enclose their chicken yard. I got tired of the cute chickens running free and digging up the garden every day. Chicken love to dig and scratch.

We also have several dogs and trying to make sure the chicken were in was a pain in the ass every time we wanted to take the dogs out to run in the pasture.

Kudos to you OP for taking in these pups.

 

[midwestfisherman]

Good call. The fact that they haven't killed every single chicken in the couple weeks they've been there totally torpedoes my point.

And I guess Zodiac wasn't such a bad guy, since he didn't murder EVERYONE in Northern California.

LMAO!! What an asinine statement!

 

[smackababy]

I just do not know what to do. My wife and I may pick up some cable and make them a run. I just hate to keep a dog chained up like that.

The dogs and the chickens should be able to be happy and content. But the puppies want to kill the chicks. I worry about their aggression continuing and them killing full grown chickens when the puppies get grown.

What you need to do is train the pups to not be aggressive or playful towards the chickens. Leash them and take them around the chicks. When they start to get aggressive, correct them. This won't be a process of a 'one and done' either. You will have to continuously work with them on it. Puppies take a lot of work, they aren't just a 'get and forget' type an animal; well, they aren't if you want well behaved, well adjusted dogs. You can also use positive reinforcement as well. When they interact with the chicks in a way that is appropriate, reward them. I would avoid rewarding them with food, as that might send mixed signals.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

When they get older it won't be a problem puppies like to chase and chew on things and I bet chickens are not that durable. Fenced in area is a good idea it may be a few years before they calm down enough.

 

[Geosurface]

LMAO!! What an asinine statement!

You can "lol" at me all you want re: limiting the chickens' freedom but its the OP who has expressed that concern so you can stop acting like I pulled that out of my ass.

Now, how do you figure my zodiac comment was asinine? Let me walk you through this: other person says something legitimately stupid, namely that the dogs cannot be called dangerous to the chickens because they've only killed one, and that it would only be fair to say that if they'd killed ALL the chickens, already! As puppies! Having only been there, heavily supervised, for a short time.

Now THAT was asinine. But you choose to mock my humorous PARODY of what he'd said, which I guess implies you agree with his riotously stupid original comment? Interesting.

 

[Texashiker]

; well, they aren't if you want well behaved, well adjusted dogs.

The dogs are not well adjusted. They were abandoned on the side of the road, almost starved to death, and may have been abused.

The female still cowers when I approach her. She has been shown nothing but love and affection for the past 2 weeks.

 

[smackababy]

The dogs are not well adjusted. They were abandoned on the side of the road, almost starved to death, and may have been abused.

The female still cowers when I approach her. She has been shown nothing but love and affection for the past 2 weeks.

They are not well adjusted yet. It takes time. They were likely abused and thrown out. Just be patient with them. They won't be perfect. Correct them when you see them doing wrong and reward them when they do right.

 

[Texashiker]

They are not well adjusted yet. It takes time. They were likely abused and thrown out. Just be patient with them. They won't be perfect. Correct them when you see them doing wrong and reward them when they do right.

The black one, the female, she absolutely breaks my heart. When I pick her up and hold her close she starts licking my face.

When I walk towards her she cowers like she has been beat or kicked. How could anyone abuse, much less abandon, a dog so full of love?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Off topic another free range chicken question. The free range eggs I see in the grocery store is that essentially BS? If you have so many chickens to ship thousands of eggs out wouldn't they need miles of space for the chickens to be free range? Are they defining free range like we don't keep them in a cage all the time?

 

[Texashiker]

Are they defining free range like we don't keep them in a cage all the time?

I think that is more to the point.

Some companies just open the doors to the barn and the chickens are free to go in and out.

But, that is a lot more humane than keeping chickens in a cage.

 

[ElFenix]

Off topic another free range chicken question. The free range eggs I see in the grocery store is that essentially BS? If you have so many chickens to ship thousands of eggs out wouldn't they need miles of space for the chickens to be free range? Are they defining free range like we don't keep them in a cage all the time?

from wiki:

In the United States, USDA free range regulations currently apply only to poultry and indicate that the animal has been allowed access to the outside. The USDA regulations do not specify the quality or size of the outside range nor the duration of time an animal must have access to the outside.

so, a small screened in concrete area would suffice, i guess.

 

[Childs]

hey TH... This is one of YOURS, right??


training them early....

heh...I'm so old the first thing I thought of was Coppertone, because of the ads with the little girl and the dog.

 

[Scotteq]

heh...I'm so old the first thing I thought of was Coppertone, because of the ads with the little girl and the dog.

Ah... So you saw 'Jaws' in theaters too? :beer:

 

[zinfamous]

from wiki:


so, a small screened in concrete area would suffice, i guess.

yup. I recall text at one point saying that the poultry only needed access to a specific window size, that would allow egress to outside. Even if they never went outside--pumped too-full of shit to get their juiced asses outside the 3"x6" window or whatever it was.

I tend to ignore "Free range" and look for "antibiotic free." That requires them to have been raised under more open conditions.

 

[Texashiker]

Things went well yesterday and last night.

The puppies and I went for a walk. Zoey seemed tired. We walked over to the peach trees, all she wanted to do was lay in the sun.

Ellis on the other hand he was good to go.

They were kept on their leashes after my wife and I got home. Then left off their leashes as soon as the chickens were closed inside their house. the puppies spent all night off their leashes, but put back on this morning.

yup. I recall text at one point saying that the poultry only needed access to a specific window size, that would allow egress to outside. Even if they never went outside--pumped too-full of shit to get their juiced asses outside the 3"x6" window or whatever it was.

Chickens probably have the fewest restrictions of all livestock.

Poultry industry fights any kind of change as those changes would interfere with their business model.

 

[norseamd]

good for you

and if i remember right i think even when the door is left open the chickens are so affected by hormones and extra food that they just sit by the food dispensers

 

[Texashiker]

Damn puppies killed one of my barred rock pullets that was 6 - 7 weeks old. Back on the chain they go during the day, but they get to run free at night.

My wife and I have to get the new chicken yard started next month.

On the good side, last weekend I walked out of the house, called the puppies, and they did not come running. Which is odd for them. I grabbed the shovel, some oak tree sprouts and pine tree saplings then went to the back of the property to plant them.

As I was planting the first sapling the puppies came running out of nowhere and almost knocked me over. They were licking on me, and wanting me to pet them.

The food aggression is gone. They no longer growl while eating. I pet them and put my hand next to their mouth while eating, and they do not growl.

I would rather I get bit than my grandkids. So I am testing the dogs to see what would happen if the grandkids touched them while eating.

Zoey, the female is still on the shy side. She still tucks her tail sometimes, but she is coming around. She no longer crawls the last few feet when coming to me. She runs right up and jumps up on me.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Well done. Call it providence, fate, whatever those dogs were meant to be with you.

 

[brandonb]

TH,

I have 2 dogs. One is a hunting dog we had since birth. We also have cats. So as you can imagine, we had a few issues between the hunting dog and the cat for awhile.

I know it's hard, but at this point, the dogs have a little pack. Between them. At some point they will realize you are the boss. You have to be a leader to them. Which means you need to set boundaries for them. I would socialize the dogs to the chickens like you have been doing. But you also need to make sure you are boss and they need to ask for permission.

Stand between the chickens and the dogs, and stare at the dogs with perked up shoulders. Like a military statue. At first they will try to walk around you (or through you) and get to the chickens. Tell them no, place them back where they started, and tell them to stay. Only YOU allow them to go near the chickens. They don't decide that on their own. Of course, throw them a bone every once in awhile. "Tell them 'Go get it'" (or whatever phrase you like) and let them past the boundary. That way they know, you stop them, and you let them go.

It takes time, but keep doing exercises like that. Teach them to sit/stay/laydown. With treats. Read websites on training. Now do the same thing about the chickens. They can't go after the chickens at all without your permission.

My dogs ignore my cats now completely and even sleep together/hang out. But get my hunting dog near a chipmunk, or squirrel, and all hell breaks loose.

 

[gorcorps]

If anything, these dogs are helping you selectivly breed out the slow and/or stupid chickens. Let the dogs run free and breed the roosters that survive. Soon enough you'll have a legion of supercocks.

 

[zinfamous]

Damn puppies killed one of my barred rock pullets that was 6 - 7 weeks old. Back on the chain they go during the day, but they get to run free at night.

My wife and I have to get the new chicken yard started next month.

On the good side, last weekend I walked out of the house, called the puppies, and they did not come running. Which is odd for them. I grabbed the shovel, some oak tree sprouts and pine tree saplings then went to the back of the property to plant them.

As I was planting the first sapling the puppies came running out of nowhere and almost knocked me over. They were licking on me, and wanting me to pet them.

The food aggression is gone. They no longer growl while eating. I pet them and put my hand next to their mouth while eating, and they do not growl.

I would rather I get bit than my grandkids. So I am testing the dogs to see what would happen if the grandkids touched them while eating.

Zoey, the female is still on the shy side. She still tucks her tail sometimes, but she is coming around. She no longer crawls the last few feet when coming to me. She runs right up and jumps up on me.

so, like I mentioned earlier--more time training puppies, less time feeding on propagandistic crackpot foolishness from questionable websites.

 

[Kadarin]

I think we need some new pictures

 

[Texashiker]

I think we need some new pictures

Will do.

I'll try to get some pics posted in the next couple of days.

 

[Texashiker]

As requested here are some up to date pics of the puppies.

I got today off. With rain on the way this evening I figured now would be a good time to plant some trees. The puppies and I planted close to 2 dozen trees - some pine tree saplings and some cypress trees. The cypress were planted in low areas around the property.

Zoey in the red collar and Ellis in the blue collar.

About 2 feet to the left of the end of the shovel handle there is a small pine tree sapling that we planted.

Taking a break on the way back home.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Try to get them around other dogs to play and even just hang out. I've found that really helps them let off excess energy and they seem to learn from older dogs how to play and act around people.