Old hens in a new home

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Suburban-chickies

Suburban-chickies

In the Brooder
Aug 6, 2019
5
25
35
Western Washington
Hello all.
I grew up raising chickens on acreage but now live in the suburbs on 1/5 acre. The laws recently changed and we are allowed 1 chicken per 1000 sq ft of property. My mom has given us her last 2 hens, 1 Ameracauna (Henny Penny) who is about 7 years old and 1 Rhode Island Red (Rose) who is about 6 years old. Both fairly docile but Rose is definitely the boss and lets my kiddos know it with a peck here and there. They are set up in a large chain link dog run with a lockable coop inside. I would love any suggestions on how to help my Siberian Husky acclimate to her new buddies without charging the fence everytime she is let out. We were able to teach her to leave the cat alone by making her lay down as the cat walked around her. After doing that a few times she mostly ignored the cat but I don't see the chickens playing their part in that so I'm open to ideas. Thank you.
 
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We have Pap/terrier mix, Australian shep, and a Doberman. All have been trained with an electric collar. (ours has beeping and vibration option, not just shock) I also got 2 grown hens with coop I got from a family member. I was raising 6 chicks in house before going outside. I would take the dogs out around coop when birds were safely locked in coop area, and so they didn't freak out, once they smelled the area for about 2 days, I then sent them away from the coop each time they seemed interested. Now one dog was a little more curious than the others so she took and little more work. We have several acres and boarder a large farm so we don't let the dogs out long without someone being around so we do keep an eye on them and if they seem interested in chickens a verbal correction is all they need now. We do not usually use collars in our yard normally, but when used correctly, they are great for training. I have not let dogs out while birds are free ranging, I think that would be too much temptation at this point. I think with a little work you can achieve harmony in your yard. Good Luck!
 

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