I have been wanting to get chickens for years but have always kept putting it off.
That was until recently, when a family member offered me three of his beautiful hens hatched just 11 weeks ago, along with his exceptional skill at building me the perfect suburban mobile chicken coop.
How could I say no? I am SUPER excited and a little bit nervous!
All my life, for as long as I can remember, I have had domestic pets such as dogs, cats, guinea pigs, birds, goldfish and even mice. I vaguely recall when I was young my parents had hens, but that is as much memory I have of ever being around chickens. This is all very new to me.
To prepare for this next adventure I have been spending time researching everything I need to know about hen husbandry. I have read wonderful stories of happy and healthy hens and then other stories of illness and hens suddenly turning up their toes. Yikes!
Then one day a friend said to me, “You know they are going to kill them.” I gasped “What the hens will kill my dogs!” She laughed, “No, your dogs will kill the hens.” I must admit at the time I burst out laughing and exclaimed “Do you remember the size of my dogs?” Predator V’s Prey she said.
Hang on a minute doing all the research in the world is fine about hen husbandry, but she was right, I did have two other little things to consider. What about Amber and Indy. How do I exactly introduce my two little dogs to these new residents?
I know that once the hens are fully grown, they will be heavier and larger than my dogs. Yes, hard to believe. The truth is, Amber and Indy love chasing birds, so I was a worried about them chasing the hens all around the yard and finally the hens’ keel over from the stress or break a neck. You might think I am being a little dramatic, but I have read that this can happen.
Imagine the stress of being chased by a predator every day! My attention has now moved to researching the best way to introduce dogs and chickens. I will let you know what I discover soon…..
Updated May 2022: The ladies have arrived! Meet them here.
Author Bio: Nikki is pack leader at Pressplay Pets, a blog for the modern age pet parent interested in health & care, news, reviews & personal accounts of unconditional love & at times heartfelt pain of pet parenting. She is also proud mum to cute and cheeky Papillons ‘Amber’ and ‘Indy’!
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