# Suggestions...



## bethh (Jun 5, 2019)

My sweet babies, Gracie and Chewy, will eat the goat food, chicken food and eggs given the chance.  Meaning, if the animals food is out or I haven't collected the eggs, the assume its first come first serve.  How do I stop this behavior or can I?  They do very well with the goats, chickens and ducks but Gracie and Chewy eat a lot and given the chance, it doesn't leave much for the animals for which it is intended.  BY THE WAY, they have lots of their own food available.  I know he looks innocent.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jun 5, 2019)

Don't  let them in the feed area till critters  are done eating...and grab your eggs faster than your dogs can get to them. That's  what I had to do with our LGD....he learned    pretty baby photo !


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## Baymule (Jun 6, 2019)

Build a roll out nest box, then the smart alecs can't get to the eggs.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-rollout-nest-design-picture-heavy-edited-1-21.287684/

At our old house, I put the chicken feed in the coop. I built a run for the days I didn't want them roaming the yard and cut a 9"x12" hole in the coop back wall so they could go in and out at will. Then I opened the back door to the run. problem solved, right? WRONG. I watched my GP, Paris, squeeze herself through that little hole and happily eat her reward, chicken feed. 

So if you make a chicken door, make smaller than mine. LOL

Now the chickens are cooped in various places, I have on my radar to build a permanent coop with run and it will be an accumulation of all my past lesson learned mistakes.


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## bethh (Jun 6, 2019)

Baymule said:


> Build a roll out nest box, then the smart alecs can't get to the eggs.
> 
> https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-rollout-nest-design-picture-heavy-edited-1-21.287684/
> 
> ...



Yes our run needs to be recouped a little.  I watched Gracie enlarge the hole so that she could squeeze in and also eat the chicken food.  We have 2 styles of nesting boxes.  The chickens haven't chosen to use the roll out ones yet.


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## bethh (Jun 6, 2019)

B&B Happy goats said:


> Don't  let them in the feed area till critters  are done eating...and grab your eggs faster than your dogs can get to them. That's  what I had to do with our LGD....he learned    pretty baby photo !



Being new to goats, I'm in the process of weaning the girls.  Once they are weaned and not getting bottles, will they eat all their food when I first put it out or throughout the day?


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## B&B Happy goats (Jun 6, 2019)

bethh said:


> Being new to goats, I'm in the process of weaning the girls.  Once they are weaned and not getting bottles, will they eat all their food when I first put it out or throughout the day?



I put out enough pellets in the morning for them to eat while i feed rest of the animals (15 minutes ) then pick up the bowls....they have hay available  all day and greens to brouse. I feed them pellets again in the afternoon, same routine.  That's  how I do it...others may do diffrently..... Living in Florida I don't  like to leave their food out due to flys, ants or rain.....they have learned when dinner is served to eat !


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## Ridgetop (Jun 12, 2019)

Pyrs are like cats.  If they can get their head through a hole, they can collapse their bodies to follow it.  Incredible the tiny holes they can go through.  I would not let the dogs have access inside the chicken yard and chicken coop.  If they can walk around it, they can protect it.  If the chickens are free range, they don't need a lot of feed.  I would fill their feeders at night when locking them up and they will eat in the am before you let them out to free range.  If you don't let the dogs into the chicken yard, they can't get at the feed or the eggs.  Once a dog learns to steal eggs it is just about impossible to train them out of it. 

Our dogs will eat the sheep grain from the feeders so we only feed the sheep their grain at night when we lock them up for the night.  The dogs don't eat the hay so if the pastures are grazed off and we are feeding hay, it can stay in the feeders for the sheep.  We never feed grain or concentrates free choice preferring to measure it according to how many sheep and how much we want them to have.  Overfeeding grain and concentrates can lead to a build up of fat deposits and that makes it harder for the ewes to settle when bred.


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## Hipshot (Jun 12, 2019)

Two of my dogs are worse than the others . I have a goat trough nailed between two trees , When I put goat feed in it the dogs eat it . I would have stand guard  and run them off. I put a old wash tub in the pen and started feeding the goats in that . the dogs don't like the tub and will not eat out of it. Them dogs will eat anything


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