[Happy-Hound]

Well, the coop is up although the roof had to be refelted and various missing parts made up.  I went to the pet/farm shop on Friday and asked about chicken food and was told that there would be a lady from a local chicken rescue centre at the pet shop all day on Saturday.  So, down we went and spoke to her and she agreed to let us have some of the chickens she had to show.   She hadn't planned to at first because she didn't want people making snap decisions without thinking about it and being prepared but when she realised we were prepared she agreed to let us have 3 brown & white hybrids if we took a small black/speckled hen that she thinks is part polish.  She was found as a stray that had been attacked by a fox and was difficult to bond with any hens other than the 3.  So when she was finished at the pet shop she delivered them to us and helped us settle them into their new home, showed us how to clip wings and spray for mites.  We ended up with another 2!  So we now now have boss lady Maisie (renamed from Mavis), Lizzie (renamed from Fizzy), Cornflake, Hetty (Polish), Marmite (Black Rock) and Nutella (Cuckoo Marans).  She has had these ones a while and so they are less mangy and traumatized than most that she resuces and are already laying again apart from Marmite & Nutella who are not old enough yet.

They seem to have settled in well apart from one problem - devil dog!!!!!  We have a really well behaved angel who is a German Wirehaired Pointer who for anyone that  doesn't know dogs is a hunt, point & retrieve gun dog although we don't use him as such.   I think he has murder in mind.  My husband took his eyes off the dog for 2 minutes last night and I found him trying to help himself to the contents of the nest box i.e. my new chickens!  Anyone got any suggestions as to how I can put him off prowling round the coop and trying to get in.  I haven't tried anything yet as they only arrived yesterday evening and I have just kept him away from them by going outside with him but he is used to roaming wherever he likes in the garden and whenever he likes so it would be a shame to have to confine him.  I have emailed his breeder to see if she has any suggestions as he was bred by a gamekeeper but any other suggestions would be gratefully receieved.  Many thanks.

P.S. My daughter is currently eating boiled egg!  Maisie must like her new house and has laid for us this morning.

[Bantymad]

Hi, bles him he's only doing what he's bread for! but i had the same probs when i first got my chickens, i have my daughters husky living with me for now and she was thinking dinner!!!. Tried everything with her but nothing worked so in the end  got a small roll of electric fence tape and some posts that you use for partitioning horse fieds off with got from a farm shop, i found an iron rod for grounding and bought a small hobby battery and wired that up for a few days, i have three dogs, thay all got a small zap and job done, i took the battery off after a couple of days and left the fence up and they dont go near it. if i want to keep the dogs any part of the garden for a while (i layed new turf) i just put some of the tape up and they stayed away. Clever doggies. all the best with your new chooks.

[carolbriar]

Hi Happy-Hound, I agree with Bantymad.  An electric fence is an excellent idea.  We have a large fixed run and the day we got our hens one of our 3 springer spaniels (all working at retrieving birds), threw herself at the fence to get in.  We put her in the dog run and put up an electric wire around the base of the hen run and switched it on.  When she was let out she got zapped and although it didn't stop her from taking great interest in the girls she was much more careful.  The other two got a zap and don't bother at all - they ignore the hens.   If you were to put up an electric fence I'm sure it would do the trick.  Do you know anyone you could borrow one from and then just put some of the fencing up afterwards?  You can move it around easily.  Hope you sort it out.

[Happy-Hound]

Hi everyone and thanks for your replies.  I do know a Farmer but he is a Dairy Farmer so maybe his electric fencing could be a bit too heavy duty, I don't know.  Does anyone know what sort of costs I might be looking at, my coop/run is about 9 x 5 feet.  Also, what is a hobby battery, I know nothing!  I will also contact the hen rescue lady, maybe she might be able to help.  Thanks again.

[tosca100]

Farm supplies stores will be able to help you with electic fencing, they usually have all sorts. It houldn't be massively expensive but worth it for peace of mnd.

I used to pet sit in the past, and one of my first jobs had a wire haired pointer and a labrador. They had loads of land and woods to walk the dogs in, and my first evening on my own with the dogs (after attending my first calving) I went off to explore. 100 yards in to the woods there was an almighty row....the pointer had found a young badger and unfortunately the badger came off worst. Shook me up. A few days later I was checking livestock in the fields and there was a roe hind in a field, which pointer gave chase to and brought down....egged on by lab. I managed to get her off but she went after it again and brought it down again. I had to take my jumper off to put over the deer's head and carry her over two fields in my bra to put her in a stable and call for help. Iwas fit and well in those days!

The pointer was a really lovely, soft and soppy pet, an absolute darling, but still had a killer instinct.Both dogs were very well trained....but not to me!  I think if your dog was a pup you would be able to train her to be indifferent, but whether she would ever be entirely trustworthy maybe someone else will be able to advise you.

[Happy-Hound]

Hi Tosca, he is most definitely a killer given the opportunity.  He is already 4 so I think there is no way we will re-train him, he has a very strong hunting instinct, he is from working stock, I think he is the only pet from a litter of 14.  So far only with rabbits, pigeons and squirrels but he has chased foxes and the odd small deer in the woods.  He has been pulled off a deer but it was already dead when he found it.  He is the lovliest angel you could ever wish to meet and is good as gold with us and all my daughter's young friends but as far as creatures go it's definitely murder he has in mind.  He will release them to my husband but they are usually already dead, we don't let him eat what he catches though it's always taken away.  I suspect the electric fence will have to be bought!  It would be worth it though so he can go about his business and I and the new chooks are not stressed out every 5 minutes. 

[Bantymad]

Hi again Happy hound,the electric fencing i got was white tape about an inch thick, on a roll and cost me £13, you will get it from any farm shop feed suppliers that has horse stuff, where do you live? if you were near by i could lend you all you need. I have now got a small energizer, can also get from farm shop although some can be expensive, have a google for electric fence energizer, mine was given to me so dont know cost i'm afraid. You will also nead posts again from farm/ horsey place, they cost me £1.20 each, just plastic posts with bits you pass tape through. If i can find leads for my phone i will post a pick for you. Buy the way in case you were worried the zap off the fence wont hurt your dog, just a short sock. My other dogs are working dogs, a  crazy spaniel and a lab, both pick up on pheasant shoots and dont take any notice of chooks now even when all are scrtching around in the garden. dont worry as it's all new to your dog but he will get used to having them around.

[Happy-Hound]

Hi Bantymad, I'm way up from you in Bedfordshire unfortunately.  Thanks for the info on your costings though, that's not as bad as I thought.  We have a horse tack & feed farm just a few miles away so I'll go and see what they can do.....it's where I bought the bedding & the feed from, they do all sorts of pet supplies as well as horse stuff.

[tosca100]

Forgot to mention in my last book....

Gretchen was fine with the chickens and ducks around the paddocks, but the wild ones on the lake were fair game.  Work that one out!

[8doubles]

You may be better off investing in electric poultry netting rather than the horse tape, a fox will go over or under tape , so may the dog.

[Happy-Hound]

We spent yesterday afternoon shifting paving slabs so that the whole coop/run is surrounded so that he and/or foxes can't dig under it and we let him stay out with us all afternoon.  He wasn't too bad but if they flapped or squawked (SP?) then he rushed the cage, we did tell him off and he managed to look sorry!  I felt bad for him actually, it's his garden he must be right put out.  Anyway I rang the local horse feed place and they can supply what we need but we just can't afford it at the moment.  The tape & stakes were cheap enough but it was £200 for the battery & energiser.  I definitely can't afford a poultry fence or £200, all I need is something that will give the dog a small shock so that he learns that if he goes for the chickens then something bad happens and if he can learn that then I won't even need it switched on, although if it's not on I probably wouldn't trust him outside alone!  I am going to phone my friends brother who is the Farmer and see if he can lend me the electrics to go with some tape & stakes that I will keep and see if that can teach him you don't mess with chickens.  On the plus side the chickens are OK, we had 3 eggs yesterday out of the 4 that are old enough to lay and my daughter (11) has turned into a whizz chicken handler.  She has been in there picking them up, stroking them and feeding them from her hand.  So we have decided that she will earn her pocket money by looking after the chickens.  Just need to wake her up now so she can go and let them out!

[Bantymad]

Happy hound your daughter sounds like a natural, she will get many hours of enjoyment i'm sure. I hope your friend. can help out. you dont need energiser and battery just one, my friend has her tape on a car leasure battery she got from halfords, you would need leads to connect, ones with clasp at each end like on car battery charger. you never know your dog might settle down in a few days and not bother too much. best wishes.

[Happy-Hound]

Hi Bantymad - So forgive me for being thick - You get a leisure battery (do you know if they have different voltages?) and connector leads (are they like jump leads?) connect one end of tape to one side of the battery and connect the other end of the tape to the opposite side of the battery so that you have made a circuit and then that's it?  I don't want to kill the dog so just checking!

[Bantymad]

Hi, she has a 12 volt battery, have been told today you could use a car battery, and you will need a grounding rod, i have an iron rod about 2ft long and 1" round this needs to go into the ground as deep as pos leaving about 5" abouve ground. put up posts about 3 feet apart, tie tape to top run of 1st post and take the tape along all top runs then down one and so on till you end up at the at the end of the last run keep tape as one piece. with my enerizer i attacged live clip to bottom run of fence and earth clip to ground rod, so not sure about battery, will have a google as i'm sure there is insruction i'v seen somewhere. Batteies and electric....it's a boy thing...

[Bantymad]

Hi again, i'v just talked to my friend and she uses a battery to charge the fence energizer and says to be safe you need an energizer. Don't know if there is someone local that would let you borrow one for a week or so, or join your local freecycle group (yahoo groups) and ask if anyone has one they no longer use. wish i could help more, hope you get it sorted.