Chicken Protector

[rmonge00]

Hey everyone,

I would like to get a dog to protect my chickens and some other livestock some day... I have 3 acres and have had problems with bobcats and hawks. I also have a 2 year old son and will hopefully have more kids soon. I have been thinking about a border collie, an australian shepherd and a great pyrennees. Which breed would you guys recommend? Please chime in with your choice and why!

Thanks!

Ryan

 

[Gersbud]

I personally would not recommend any dog. Dogs are known to kill chickens just for sport and really would not be much help with winged predators

 

[Summerlove]

I would go with the Pyrenees. They are guardian dogs. Herding dogs are not a good choice from what I have read. No matter what type of dog you choose, you should introduce slowly and keep an eye on them for the first while as some dogs may be very tempted by your chickies. I have a mutt and he is great with my girls

 

[aart]

Plan on it taking up to 2 years to properly train a LGD.
Lots of good info on this over at homestedingtoday.com in the Guardian Animal forum.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Forget the dogs and just worry about the kids

 

[D Kluck]

.....we have 2 black labs that were introduced to the chickens when they were chicks and have got used to each other... ..... they are very protective of the chickens and will attack other dogs and predators that come into the chicken run area..

 

[songbird]

Herding dogs (border collie, Aussie) tend to be a bad choice for a fmiky with young kids. They are high strung, snappy, and chase things that move.
As for having them with chickens, the stress of being "herded" and nipped at could kill the chickens.
If you want a guard dog for the hens, Pyrenees are a decent choice. I have 2 black labs, and 5 noisy kids, and my neighbor has 2 noisy beagles and I think the predators figure that all those dogs and rapscallions aren't worth the hassle