Help with new pasture set up and LGD puppy

Hi all! I would love your input on my set up! I have a mixed flock of layers (7 X 20 week olds and 10 X 2 week olds), ducks (2 adults and 12 ducklings) and 50 newly hatched meat birds (red Rangers). All the babies are in brooders inside and the mature fowl are in a large coop with an automatic chicken door leading to a yard enclosed in 200' of pos/neg poultry netting. We've had some predator issues but haven't lost any with this set up. Soon though the babies will join the outside world so I have a huge fence going up that's 6' tall covering over an acre, a huge night coop for the ducks and meat birds and a new pyr/sheppard pup (10 weeks). The puppy comes from a homesteading neighbor with goats and chickens and was basically born in a coop. She's been with chickens from day 1. She's never shown any fear or chased them until a couple mean girl hens started pecking at her. Now they get into a stand off. Question is, how do I open up this space to the flock and dog? She's been in their poultry net yard in an open crate full of blankets in a dog house but the chickens are pecking at her and making her want to chase them. Will they still do that when they have more space and if I move her house further away? Do I divide areas within the fenced yard? I'm looking for an adult trained LGD but no luck so far. I'd rather not train two puppies at once. Hope this all made sense. Thanks in advance!

I'd keep puppy confined to her own safe place amongst or near the livestock unless you are with her and she's leashed for training.

You can't expect a 10 week old dog to be on her own.....
.....it can take up to 2 years to have a fully trained LGD worthy of free ranging and protecting.

x2! She needs training, supervision, and protection. There's lots of information available on this topic, some here, and from LGD breeders, so more research is needed. Mary

Folly's place said:

x2!  She needs training, supervision, and protection.  There's lots of information available on this topic, some here, and from LGD breeders, so more research is needed.  Mary

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I definitely understand that she needs training and have done a lot of reading on that part. I guess my specific question is how much space should she have? I have nearly 2 fenced acres. I could net off the poultry and have her in a big area. Or would it be better to have a big kennel in the middle of the poultry? Thanks so much!

Wherever you can give her good visuals of goings on with whatever the livestock are doing day and night, as well as shelter from rain/sun/etc.
Maybe a day pen and a night pen......lots of options with whatever materials you have.
Might want to try several options, so try to make things 'temproary' or 'portable' or 'modifiable'.

aart said:

Wherever you can give her good visuals of goings on with whatever the livestock are doing day and night, as well as shelter from rain/sun/etc.

Maybe a day pen and a night pen......lots of options with whatever materials you have.
Might want to try several options, so try to make things 'temproary' or 'portable' or 'modifiable'.

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your input!

Alright, I made her a separate area and she is doing fine. Still next to the flock and has her house for warmth and shelter. I found a 4 year old pyr/Antolian that is already with chickens, dogs and children. The owner had goats but is wanting to slow down so sold her goats and is selling this dog. I'll look at him tomorrow. Do you have advise for introducing him to the flock and the puppy? Assuming a similar solution of a pen close by with on leash supervised introductions and training? I think that training time should be a couple months. At that point would he help correct the puppy so she could be with the flock on her own sooner or does that still take 18-24 months? And by on her own I mean with the adult LGD.