Backyard farmers and chickens

[teacups]

Or real farmers for that matter.... my daughter is raisign 13 chickens and a turkey and they are just about to a size that they'd love to roam around out of their pen. We have two acres, fenced. Question: what do you do about dogs and cats? We have a hen house for night time, but we personally have three dogs and three cats... not to mention neighboring cats. How do we keep the chickens safe if they run free during the day?

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

I used to have a few chickens (and a couple of roosters) and I let them roam during the day. I had a cat, but it didn't bother them (they do peck you know)! Unfortunately, the fox that broke into the hen house one night didn't care about the pecking and that was the end of them.

If you are concerned, you could run a small area of chicken wire fencing, and keep the other animals away from them.

 

[OK!]

My parents have chickens and a turkey and the cats and dogs take absolutely no notice of them, even the little chicks. The turkey hates the cats and tends to puff himself up and strut at them, but they honestly pay no attention whatsoever. My guess would be that the main predators you'd need to worry about would be hawks, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and opossums (depending on where you live). All of them are merciless with chickens. Evil little %$@*&#$%# things. None of them have messed with the turkey, probably because he's got to be pushing 35 pounds.

 

[tileman]

Try here its the (dis boards of chickens) lol
Lots of good info.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/index.php


Ron.

 

[pyrxtc]

They don't run free at all, they should ahve a pen that they are contained in atatched to their house. That is enough freedom for them. You can make the pen as big as you like but if you elt them out of their pen and a neighborhood pet kills them, you can't blame the pet solely. Besides, most places ahve rules about how to keep your farm animals.

Re-reading, if you would like to let them walk around your whole yard fenced in as it is, then you can but you have to closely monitor your dogs and they still might not listen to you and stop, cats either. Plus if you are letting them roam free, sanitary conditions would keep you from running barefoot outside.

 

[DLBDS]

I have to keep mine in their own fenced yard. It's VERY large. They also have their own 10x12 building (with a door cut out for them). I keep the food in the house and the water outside. Area dogs are a problem occasionally (they can't reach them though) but not nearly as much as predator birds are. I have to keep their yard covered with flight netting. It's worked wonderfully. I haven't needed to replace it yet and it's been covering the yard for almost 10 years. Just need to 'patch' a whole every now and then from limbs that puncture it with a P7 plier/C rings. (There are huge poplar and sweetgum trees in their yard. Flight netting was cut to go around them.) I enjoy watching them free range in my yard but I watch them carefully. If I can't, they aren't let out. Period. Cats haven't been an issue at all. I have large fowl birds though. Bantams may be more tempting to them. As long as they are secured inside a solid building at night, wild animals won't be a problem either.

 

[Cindyluwho]

I have been raising show poultry for years and have also been a 4H leader.
As far as your own pets go, put the dogs on a leash and see how they do with the chickens. We have never had a problem with any of our dogs, they are trained to know that the chickens are part of our "pack". Cats are just never a problem, the chickens will kick their heinies. When free ranging, hawks and eagles can be a problem if you don't have a rooster to look after your hens (the rooster will keep watch and give a signal for his gals to hide if he sees a large predator). But a few hours out and about in your yard should be fine, especially if your home to keep an eye on them.

A previous poster mentioned neighborhood dogs being a problem. Here's my hard and fast rule on that: If my chickens are on your property and your dog attacks them, it's my fault.
If my chickens are in MY yard and your dog attacks them, I follow the rule of the THREE S's....shoot, shovel and shut up. I don't know why your dog ran away from home, but I sure haven't seen it!

Keep them locked up tight as soon as the sun sets. Raccoons have very nimble fingers, make sure locks are raccoon proof. I even have rabbit hutch wire under the floor of the coop to keep our rats which will chew through the floor.

I love my chickens, I have several that are over 10 years old. They're no longer layers but they are our pets.

the best web site I've found for advice is www.poultryconnection.com

Good Luck!!

 

[DLBDS]

I have been raising show poultry for years and have also been a 4H leader.
As far as your own pets go, put the dogs on a leash and see how they do with the chickens. We have never had a problem with any of our dogs, they are trained to know that the chickens are part of our "pack". Cats are just never a problem, the chickens will kick their heinies. When free ranging, hawks and eagles can be a problem if you don't have a rooster to look after your hens (the rooster will keep watch and give a signal for his gals to hide if he sees a large predator). But a few hours out and about in your yard should be fine, especially if your home to keep an eye on them.

A previous poster mentioned neighborhood dogs being a problem. Here's my hard and fast rule on that: If my chickens are on your property and your dog attacks them, it's my fault.
If my chickens are in MY yard and your dog attacks them, I follow the rule of the THREE S's....shoot, shovel and shut up. I don't know why your dog ran away from home, but I sure haven't seen it!

Keep them locked up tight as soon as the sun sets. Raccoons have very nimble fingers, make sure locks are raccoon proof. I even have rabbit hutch wire under the floor of the coop to keep our rats which will chew through the floor.

I love my chickens, I have several that are over 10 years old. They're no longer layers but they are our pets.

the best web site I've found for advice is www.poultryconnection.com

Good Luck!!

I follow that rule too, Cindylu. Fortunately, I haven't had to lay down the law for about 3 years now. I agree with everything you said though including the website. Great info there.

 

[Cindyluwho]

I follow that rule too, Cindylu. Fortunately, I haven't had to lay down the law for about 3 years now. I agree with everything you said though including the website. Great info there.

Why thank you!! Our yard is properly fenced and the neighbors know to keep their dogs in their own yard so it's never been a problem. We did have to get rid of a raccoon about a month ago.

 

[teacups]

LOL! CIndyluwho I love the three S rule!!! Too funny!!!

Thanks for all the advice and info! Yes, the chickens really are pets. I never thought I'd like a chicken.. but they so cool! I really could just sit and watch them for so long! They have this community of thier own and I just laugh my head off at their antics with each other. My 10 year old daughter is going to totally freak out when she finds an egg for the first time. Should be July or August.