In your experince, do dogs help keep away predators???

My old yard dogs killed the first group of about 20 chickens when we got them a while back. My son fussed at them, and they haven't bothered any more. We free range during the day, and the dogs are out there with with by themselves and haven't had any incidences. I realize that it could happen, but they seem great now with the chickens and turkeys and our housedogs do too. They definitely keep away the predators. We had been letting the yard dogs stay in the house because of their age and arthritis, especially at night. But we after losing 3 chickens to a fox and almost losing another in broad daylight with us sitting right there watching it, we called them back into duty. We just got a LGD pup to replace them so they can retire with dignity.

Not my lame dog, but I'm sure others with a higher activity level would be helpful.

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not true... our dogs are fed raw... including whole chickens.... yet if I need to I can let them sleep in the coop with the chickens.

agreed. Dogs can also easily distinguish between "their" birds and all the other birds in the world. Rayden is a champion chaser/eater of wild rabbits, but I can trust him around our bunnies with no problem.

the key is in training. You have to be vigilant 100% of the time. The truth is, most dogs don't kill chickens to eat them. They get excited and ramped up on the fun of all those squawking flapping birds and play too rough. Other breeds are bred to kill rodents/pests - think dachshunds and even yorkies - so it is your job to make sure that they don't get that chance until they have learned. Even then, I wouldn't trust them unsupervised. All it takes is one time to undo all the hard work and training.

When I had my pet rat, it took forever for Rayden to accept her. He HATES rats. He never tried to attack her, but would try to herd me away from her cage. Finally after a couple weeks he settled for pretending she didn't exist. Now, I would never have left them unattended, but I could trust him when I was around.

Well if results are proof I would say yes. Back before I had chickens some time ago I was in-between dogs and had raccoons on my deck and in my trash just about every night except the day after trash day. They would make a mess,I tried everything. Tied the barrels to a tree,bungee corded the lids and they still found a way. Once I got my latest Golden it stopped almost immediately,13years now without a problem. I know they are still around as well as coyotes,fox,possum and just about every other New England forest creature. I have not had a problem with anything trying to get to the chickens,even birds of prey shy away because the dog always lays down by the coop and run and their free range area. Hope I dont jinx myself. The only problem I have is with deer,they dont seem to care about scent or even sight of the dog,not that they would hurt the chickens but do help themselves to the flowers and garden. They will stroll through the yard even while the dog and I are milling about without any regard,had a brazen doe with a fawn come within 30ft of me and the dog down by the coop,not a care about us. Then comes deer season,nowhere to found,why is that?

When we first got chickens he thought they were his to play with and even tried to grab a couple when they were chicks. After verbal correction he was fine with them.They walk right by him and he doesnt even lift his head up. Like I said before he lays down by them watching the perimeter. Giving his entire life retrieving fowl now asked to watch over them.

Back on point,a dog most assuredly keeps predators to a minimum. I am concerned about my dog as he is getting on in years, will be 14 in March,what I am going to do without him. Both as my trusty companion and chicken sentry.

It depends on the dog. I have two bigger dogs that defend our house and property. An Aussie and a golden retriever. It wasn't planned this way either. I prefer not to have dogs so protective, it's a huge liability. Neither would hurt our chickens. Our Australian Shepherd is scared of them anyways. My golden wants to play with the chickens and does the play bow and wags her tail. It's super funny.

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Now, we dont have many coyotes, and never seen a bear around here..Foxes, yes...we haven't had anything happen since we got her, but I'm afraid she might be too nice to other dogs..who knows...We've never seen her challenged..so, not sure..Love my pyr though