Re: I ordered Chickens!

Jay Bird 2/23/2011, 2:02 pm

One of the best predator deterents and home pet deterents is a Hot wire fence, they are relativly cheap and expandable, Mine goes around the entire propoerty and since putting it up the coyotes have stayed away, I have a section of yard next to the coop fenced in hot as well the chickens cross back and forth at will but the dogs and critters stay out so the girls always have a refuge. (dosent stop hawks tho),, I did run the bottom wire in the white horse tape type fencing this allows the pets to see the border better.

ribarr4 2/23/2011, 3:00 pm

Aub wrote:What about flying? I'm right smack in the center of town and I can't have my chickens getting out of the fence. We have a huge yard that is fenced with a regular chain link fence I think it's 4 foot tall. Will they get out? I've had other birds as pets and I would clip their wings would that help with chickens?

We are in the city as well. We only have a regular chain-link fence, but ours don't seem to want fly over. They have gotten out a few times in a couple of years, but that was because of gaps between the fence and the gate. Since we closed those up they haven't gotten out, but many people do clip their wings just in case. Also we put ours up in their tractor when someone isn't home.

middlemamma 2/23/2011, 5:35 pm

Do you let the chickens run loose in your garden to eat the bugs? and if so....do they jump up in the SFG's and destroy things? Is that what they do when they scratch?

City girl here not quite understanding the behaviors of chickens...could someone be kind enough to explain?

Thanks Embarassed

Jen

tessmick 2/23/2011, 5:39 pm

This is just too cool of a thread to not respond to! I would so love to have chickens! I don't know if I can ... I live in a township, very near the city of Detroit. It would be them who would say no, right? I'm going to have to look this up. But, if you go on vacation ... they'd need a sitter, right? Can you tell I'm a city girl too! Embarassed

ribarr4 2/23/2011, 7:33 pm

middlemamma wrote:Do you let the chickens run loose in your garden to eat the bugs? and if so....do they jump up in the SFG's and destroy things? Is that what they do when they scratch?

We have our garden fenced off. When they were small I let them run around in there, but the first time I lost a tomato to one of them I banned them from the premises. They can go all around the garden, though, and I think that cuts down on the amount of bugs that make the trek past our poultry patrol. They do scratch alot. Part of our gravel driveway has been grown over for decades and parked their tractor on a spot a week at a time and they cleaned it off. The only problem was that they also fertilized it as well so I am curious to see if it grows back thicker this spring.

AndreaHall 2/23/2011, 7:43 pm

Great thread! I've been wanting chickens for a long time too. Does anyone have any experience with dogs and chickens? I have a border collie/bernese mountain dog mix, and keeping him from chickens in my yard will be impossible. He stares longingly through the cracks in my fence at the neighbors chickens.

Anyhow, I'm not worried about the dog, he's not aggressive and just wants to be near them and protect them, but will chickens tolerate that?

happycamper 2/23/2011, 9:18 pm

You will enjoy keeping chickens, they are funny creatures and very social.

AndreaHall, dogs can be trained. Dogs are considered to be a predator by many people. Most people do not have a problem once they "introduce" the birds to your family pet(s). I have had two attacks on my city birds so far, the neighbors cat and a black lab that jumped the fence and was jumping on the tractor (cost me two days of no eggs due to chicken stress). The hawk sits on the grandson's swing set and just watches them with interest and I watch the hawk (lol).

If you ever have any chicken questions let me know and I will try and help.

Aub 2/23/2011, 9:38 pm

I think we may need a Chicken Section in our SFG Forum!!

CarolynPhillips 2/23/2011, 11:33 pm

Our chickens in the past never had a problem with dogs or cats. They will be relaxed around dogs and cats as long as the dogs and cats are nice.

FarmerValerie 2/24/2011, 8:14 am

Pets can be trained to adopt new "pets" too. I had a Rotweiller that slept with a chicken we had just given up on and turned loose for 3 months. Something got the chicken eventually, I'm still convinced it was not MY dog. We currently have 2 dogs that I just don't trust with chickens, and a husband that gets extremely busy at times, so I have put my foot down, NO new livestock until the dogs have a proper kennel, and the new animals have a completely finished home. This way if he gets busy with work, I don't have the added stress of running around like a "chicken with it's head cut off" trying to handle any situation that pops up.

Chickens can fly, it has been know to happen, but usually not higher that 5-6 feet and 5-6 feet in length. Someone with more knowledge may pop in, but I've seen them go up, and out, and talked to others who have raised them.

Jay Bird 2/24/2011, 10:02 am

We have a cat that sleeps in the chicken coop, she goes in the little chicken door at dark with the hens and spends the night munching on mice, but mice arent dumb either they make their house in the pen next one over that the cat cant get to the banty's dont get the mice. My dogs have become gaurdians over the chickens and guineas, they keep the neihbor dogs and coyotes chsed off, the blue healer (latigo) feels the need to herd the guineas into round cirles , it is the funniest thing he works and works at keeping them grouped until they get tired of it and fly away then he creeps up on them and starts over.

ccornewell 2/24/2011, 2:34 pm

i had an australian sheep dog that herded my neighbors 7 kids and wouldnt let them out either. one would get brave and make a run for it and he'd hip bump the kid back into the circle as he was running. that stuff is ingrained in their genes.

Megan 2/24/2011, 4:30 pm

Growing up in N.H., I had a flock of close to 30 hens. We got them as baby chicks. Fortunately we had a building we were able to convert into a coop so they were never exposed to predators. I still remember finding that first egg... SO exciting!!! We got tons of eggs from them, many double-yolkers, and we bartered eggs with the neighbors, so it was a real going concern.

Sponsored content


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.