Judy and Dave G wrote:

"mt2" wrote in message
...
Guinea hens love to eat ticks. Chickens do too.

Yes a great idea. But our dogs seem to favor the taste of fresh poultry. I
wish there was a way to get them to not eat the little guys. We have a
beekeeper in our club who has been trying to get us to keep chickens for
years. He says the dogs won't eat many. Yuck. (He is also the one that
thinks the miniature ponies are just the right size for the freezer. I
won't even go there.)

Judy

"Judy and Dave G" wrote in message
...
Hello all.

Good lord. I have seen more ticks so far this year than I have ever seen
before. We moved to this farm 10 years ago. Took me a couple years to be
able to pick a tick off and kill it. Still can't touch those darn swelled
up, grayish green ones. Dave's gotta get them.

Our farm is about 60 acres, on a hillside, from the creek at the bottom to
the ridge at the top. I hate snakes and ticks. I read somewhere,
sometime
that if you mow areas close to your home that snakes and ticks shouldn't
be
a problem. Well, I get a bit carried away. I mow about 3 acres in the
bottoms, about an acre around the house, then a 30 foot path up to the top
of the hill with about an acre by the bees, an acre at the first
leveling,
and about 3 acres in the top field by the pond.

So you can pretty much walk everywhere that is comfortable (some of the
hillside is really a bit too steep for comfort) and not be close to high
grass. Even at the middle of the path, the higher grass is 15 feet away.
Now, when I am mowing, I am fair game to the ticks. Because I am sitting
on
the lawn tractor and brushing right past all the weeds, berries and ivy
and
ducking under the trees.

But, if I walk out the front door, down the walk, onto the gravel drive,
down to the road for the mail, (about 300 feet) and back up to the house:
I
have at least 3, count em, 3 friggin ticks on me. Geez.

We use flea and tick drops on the dogs. We have 3 dogs now. Apparently
the
drops don't deter the ticks from getting on the dogs. If you sit on the
porch and swing, the dogs will come over and need a pat. You can SEE the
friggin ticks walking around on their fur, the only dead ones are the ones
that are attached.

And this is only May for cripes sake.

Doesn't look to be a real comfortable summer. Gonna be feeling and
scratching and picking. Gross. Yuck. Anyone else in the country and
noticing ticks are pretty bad this year? I am in Kentucky.

Judy



Hi Again Judy -
As to preventing dogs from eating your poultry - if you've got the desire -
it takes about a good 30 minutes with your dog on a leash (for you to tug on)
and quite a few firm disapproving "NO NO's - properly spoken to your temporarily
lunging but securely restrained dog while the both of you are walking amongst
your poultry - then you can easily do it. The dog just hates getting the "No
No's! - however - perhaps after the initial training episode - if the dog still
shows continued interest (ears perk up while eyes steadily focus in a menacingly
way on said fowl - or especially if you should by chance have a somewhat more
single minded dog like a Chow) - you might want to keep the dog tied for an
additional period or until you can repeat this training session one more time
before releasing and testing said dog - always at this point with watchful
supervision - perhaps a few more 'no no's' if dog adversely shows ANY - even
momentary - 'interest' - OR until you are fully assured that the dog has indeed
been 'retrained.'
This procedure should train your dog NOT to chase your fowl - even when
you're not around. Your good dog should then be able to doze while guineas and
chickens are happily foraging nearby - and even protect them from wild
predators. Our dogs (blue and red heelers) even chase after hawks. This has
been my experience getting young and even occasionally older dogs to coexist
peacefully with all our free ranging poultry here on our place for many years.
- Wes/MO