About Me

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I am a 42 year old woman that is about as happy and content as one person can be. My husband of 21 years and our 15 year old daughter live on five and a half acres out in the country. We moved from the city four years ago and never looked back. I homeschool our daughter. We also love our animals. Our daughter has a miniature horse and two rabbits. We also have a border collie, two cats (again), two pot belly pigs, four peafowl, three emus, 2 llamas and an undetermined number of chickens, lets just say ohhh about 200. I have many breeds, from layers to fancy chickens. I love poultry shows, I love fowl in general as I have come to find out through having more than just chickens. Chickens will always be my first love though. I do show some of my birds occasionally.

Friday, November 2, 2007

City Chickens Move To The Country-Another Chicken Hobby Entry

I believe I left off where we found our house and were on the move.

Even though the girls weren't used to a vast amount of room, downsizing into a fenced area behind the garage was not their idea of a good time at all. I had to put them there until we could get fencing...had to. I did begin to let them out a couple of hours in the evening once they knew what was going on and this was home now. If you let them out in the evening they naturally will put themselves up once it starts to get dark...then I just close the gate and they are safe for the night. A few rebel girls would decide they could fly the fence so I had to trim their wings, but mostly they were good girls.

The americaunas were still young and on the light side so they could fly over easily so I had to put them in a seperate covered pen for a while.

I really hated that everyone had to stay penned, but I had already seen that people out here let their dogs run loose. Once the neighbors dogs packed up and attacked one of my sussex right next to the front porch. I can't begin to tell you how freaked out I was. You have to remember, these girls are not just yard chickens, they are my pets. I found a pile of feathers but no bird. I assumed they had taken off with her in mouth. I was roaming the area...crying, looking for those damn dogs which had conveniently disappeared. I went knocking on doors of the owners of the dogs, distraught and mad as hell. I let them know what happened and that this was NOT going to happen again...not knowing what I was going to do to prevent it, I just knew I was mad and not going to take it anymore. Yeah...right. That was just the beginning. I had pens torn into, dog doo doo on my driveway regularly, dog doo doo by the pool deck regularly.

We were still trying to sell the old house, and until it was sold, there was just no money to get a fence around our property, so I had to do the best I could with what we had and keep the girls up all of the time. I really hated it for them and tried to remember it was only temporary. All this space and they had to be kept up...I was not happy about it and neither were they.

Welcome to the country...where you have to take care of your own problems. I got tough, hard hearted. I realized that none of these dog owners were going to respect my property. I bought a pellet gun, and I used it, regularly. If I caught a dog on my property I was pinging some dog butt. Funny,really, that I thought my main problem would be wild predators. Fox, coyote, that sort of thing. Nope. Just irresponsible dog owners.

Funny thing, the old guy was harboring strays next door, three in his garage, and then had two dogs of his own in the house that roamed regularly too. He fell very ill, may even have passed on now as his family lives there now. No more dogs, but, when the old mans dog was let out to wander, I would catch him coming over here to poop...once the relative of the old guy was outside, allowing this, I came walking out and cocking that gun, hollering "GIT OFF MY PROPERTY...QUIT SH*TTIN' IN MY YARD" as I aimed and shot at the dogs butt. He called the dog back and I never had that problem again.

Anyway...I got sidetracked didnt I..but I had to set the scene. Living in the country is wonderful, I could never go back to the city. You just have to take care of things differently out here. If you have a problem, you deal with it, sometimes quietly and discretely. Whatever it takes to protect you and yours on your land. Period.

Here are a couple of pictures where the poor girls are in chicken prison. Poor things. Things will change soon in the coming entries though..for the better.

 

 

allmybiggirls girlsatgate

I wanted to make one more note...looking back it may have been decieving by saying "next door neighbor". I have five and half acres and he has three and a half. The stretch between our doors is probably about three acres...so the dog had to come a ways to poo next to the pool deck. :(

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL!  I can just picture you out there shooting dogs butts!  

Anonymous said...

The people next door and across the street let their dogs run out in the daytime. They come over in our yard sometimes and poop, pee on the car and boat trailer wheels which are under the carport. Makes me mad since we keep ours fenced. When I see them I holler at them reguardless of who is outside LOL. I hate for them to get on the driveway especially and once even pooped in the carport. They just kinda laugh and go on. I bet if it was mine over there they would be complaining big time. Your chicks were pretty. Helen

Anonymous said...

All I can say is if it had happened to me, the dog wouldn't have ever been able to go home.  And the nighbors would not want me back on their properrty again.  FEAR is sometimes a good thing if aimed in the right direction.  You did well.  I'm an old country girl myself.  Somethings just aren't done, like disrespecting pther people's property.  RUDE!  

Nelishia
http://journals.aol.com/nelishianatl/PrayingandBelieving/

Anonymous said...

dogs do not like to poop in their own yards.....but THAT dog was marking his territory.....

I used to shoot a pellet gun at my neighbors chickens when i lived in the country...they weren't pets...they were food...they would be on my porch, my car.........  poop everwhere....and her dogs too!

Anonymous said...

Kelly this entry is HILARIOUS!!!!!  LOL

YOU GO GIRL.....PING THAT DOG BUTT     LOL

Hollie

Anonymous said...

Understand where you're coming from. Sometime dogs will run cattle so much they run their weight off. John doesn't mind pinging them either. Paula

Anonymous said...

Yep.  In the country dogs go free for the most part.  You got the right idea when you got the pellet gun.  Here we use a shotgun.  Any animal on your land you have the right to run off or kill if it messes with you or yours.  -  Barbara

Anonymous said...

You are just a little Annie Oakely aren't you??? LOL  I know what you mean about handling things yourself in the country.  Yup, ya gotta toughen up quick or people will try to walk all over you.  I've had many encounters myself and never back down.  Good for you on standing your ground!!!!  
Lisa

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