How to raise Backyard Chickens: Re: [CHICKENS-101] Second try at an intro

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Re: [CHICKENS-101] Second try at an intro

Deb,

> Do you have Anatolian shepherds? I peeked at your blogs. I see you
> have a Great Pyrenees as well. I know you get hotter where you are than
> me. How well do they handle the heat?

I let mine into the house, so they handle the heat just fine (grin). We
have large patiodoors and doggie doors so the dogs hang out inside in front
of the windows and dash out if they see or hear something, we only have 2
1/2 acres, so it's easy for the dogs to keep track of what's happening
outside. Now that we have larger trees and drip systems and some misters,
the dogs could stay outside and not overheat. But with the summer also come
the flies and I don't see the point of leaving my dogs out there to be
bitten by the flies. Some of mine will hang out outside for periods at a
time even when they could come inside, and then they get their ears bitten
by the flies, so I try to discourage that. During the heat of the day our
predators don't come around, it's just too hot. Even the falcon that hunts
around here will gladly sit in a puddle of water or hang out near the
misters, instead of hunting in the middle of the day.

> I cant even think of having an
> LGD untill I get my property fenced. I have eighteen acres. but am
> surrounded by open acreage that connects to bLM land and eventually to
> Mexico.

yes, fences are a must, but without LGDs, usually there are problems with
predators sooner or later. Those predators never let up the pressure
either. Saturday morning we had a coyote walk right by our property, I have
neighbors with lots of rabbits and chickens running loose, so the coyote
was probably trying to make his way over there, but when my dogs made a
ruckus it went back the other way. I often, almost every night, hear the
coyotes nearby. It's amazing how they just live right nearby. So far I have
not lost a critter to predators, been here for 6 years.

Marlene, Nevada, USA
www.Anatolians-of-Zaltana.com
Blog: http://zaltanaanatolians.blogspot.com/ and
http://zaltanachickens.blogspot.com/