Re: [pyrnet] Chickens (was: Getting a Pyr to Eat)

Mary, keep working at it. As long as you are seeing improvement, you're doing fine. We kept the chickens in the coop at times, and when I could supervise, they had free run. I did have one Pyr that could never be with the chickens off leash. She didn't kill them, she'd just pluck them. (she had a thing for feather dusters as well! I should have bought stock in the feather duster co! <G>) But the rest were all quite fine with them. My one Rescue Hen even backed my big male into a corner and told him OFF over a tidbit of food that was thrown to her that he tried to steal! She jumped right up and tool it out of his mouth to boot! Hilarious! 100+ lb. dog terrified of a 6 lb. chicken! She was a feisty hen though, and had been raised with the dogs, so she had no fear of them. We honestly never had a flea or tick problem again. They kept the nasty slugs under control as well. My B.B. would lay on the ground and they would groom her, picking through her fur. But she was one exceptional Pyr, the sweetest thing on 4 legs and would have readily died for her charges. She was Nanny to all. The best darn Pyr, or dog for that matter, that I've ever been owned by! I dunno, maybe it's just me, but when I bellow at the dogs when they are misbehaving, the behavior just stops. Right then and there. Those that know me probably understand completely. <G> I have a video of Chel, a 4 months of age, covered in mud, playing with our Rescue hen. Chel would chase Henny Penny, then HP would chase Chel. They'd do a "tag you're it!" sort of thing and trade off. It's hilarious!