Having a dog around chickens has always been a worry for me, and reasonable I believe. When I adopted Tucker I knew I would have to be vigilant in keeping him away from the chickens. So far we have had no problems. The most recent hatch of olive egger chicks were kept in the basement for a few weeks before they were ready to go outside. Tucker obsessed over those chicks. He always went down to the basement to check on them with me and even sneaked down to check by himself if the door was inadvertently left ajar. He never bothered them, just looked over the top of the box and into the brooder. I would take one of the chicks out and let him sniff it and look at it close-up. He always got very excited to visit the chicks.
Last week we moved the chicks outside to a coop and run in the yard. Tucker’s obsession with them continues. This morning the chicks were resting in the tall grass with their coop mates.
They were enjoying a peaceful, quiet interlude when they were rudely interrupted.
What really surprised me about this little event is this. The chicks who had been exposed to Tucker in the basement are the ones who didn’t run to the other side of the yard. The chicks who were raised in the broody house ran for their lives. This doesn’t mean I trust Tucker around chickens. I just think it is funny to see that they remember him without fearing him. I like that!