Do ckickens and blue heelers mix?

[cafarmgirl]

With my first flock of chickens I had two dogs who behaved just like fordmommy's. One was a heeler and the other a lab shepherd mix. They shared their run and houses with the chickens for years and couldn't care less about them.

You can train a dog 'till the cows come home but if his temperment is one of great interest in the chickens then you are unwise to ever trust him alone with them.

My current dog is very well trained but I do not see him ever being trustworthy with my chickens. You really have to judge each dog on an individual basis.

 

[mmwb]

"Well, herding breeds aren't supposed to kill the animals they are herding."


That is true, but I've watched blue heelers herding stock and they do tend to nip at what they are herding. A nip on a sheep or cow is not the same as on a chicken.

Individual temperament is key, but any canine has some latent potential for the hunt and kill instinct to surface. We have a beagle spaniel mix that is very good with the chickens, but once in a blue moon he thinks it is fun to play chase. A reprimand is good for most of a year.

 

[BarkerChickens]

My heeler tries to stock and herd them, but runs like a "chicken" when they come after her. I wouldn't trust a dog right off the bat...personalities can vary within the same breed, but mine do well with the chickens. We have 3 and all 3 have herding breeds in them. (The heeler is nearly purebred and has AMAZING herding instincts!).

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

My heeler will nip at my heels and tries to herd me so I know he would drive the chickens crazy. As long as there is a fence between the two everything is smooth sailing. Sometimes the chickens will herd him from inside the run and he acts scared. It is funny to watch, but he like to chase the wildbirds off the feeders so I really can't trust him inside with chickens.

 

[Heelers&Chickens_OhMy]

I'mnewtothis :

My heeler will nip at my heels and tries to herd me so I know he would drive the chickens crazy. As long as there is a fence between the two everything is smooth sailing. Sometimes the chickens will herd him from inside the run and he acts scared. It is funny to watch, but he like to chase the wildbirds off the feeders so I really can't trust him inside with chickens.

Rusty chases off wild birds, but doesn't hunt down my chickens. I really feel that if your dog has the right instincts (know thy dog), they understand the difference between what 'belongs' and what 'does not'.

I have 1 heeler foster who couldn't care less about the chickens.

1 foster who snaps at them from outside their run (he hasn't 'met' them yet)

Rusty who herds them if he is bored

Bailey, the pit, who chased down a shrieking hen and broke her leg.

Totally depends on the dog. I started Rusty with them as chicks though, so he's really good with them​

 

[luvallmychicks]

Quote:
Ya so is letting dogs get bord and learning bad habits. Most of the time its the pepoles fault dogs end up in shelters. If you work with any dog it will work out. As long as you stay on top of them. I have 3 dogs. 1 is a toy aussie about 9 months old. she will stay with the chickens all day when they free range, and a 3 yr old lab I cant leave with them because she is a bird hunter. A 16 yr old red heeler that was all ways working and never botherd them. Now that she is to old to go to work she thinks she can get away with murder.
She ate 3 chicks that came into her pen through the chain link. She thinks she wont be punished I think. I dont work with her every day like I used to. She stays in the back yard all day. The other dogs are with us all day. The lab goes to work with my DH and the toy assie stays with me. If you work with your dog it should work out. Remember dogs get bord and do bad things.

 

[cmjust0]

Heelers&Chickens_OhMy :

Well, herding breeds aren't supposed to kill the animals they are herding.

No, but they are supposed to nip or grip -- depending on the dog -- if the stock isn't moving the way the dog wants it to move. As someone else said, nipping a sheep, goat, or cow isn't the same as nipping poultry.

I do find it appropriate to have a herding breed on a farm, where there would likely be free ranging chickens, perhaps ducks, definitely goats, sheep, cows, etc.

Goats, sheep, cows...yes. That's what the dog was bred to herd.

They weren't bred to herd poultry, though.​

 

[cmjust0]

Quote:
Just out of curiosity, how are they with herding? Do they show much 'eye' at all, or are they pretty laid back?

 

[cmjust0]

Quote:
Agreed.

Most of the time its the pepoles fault dogs end up in shelters.

Agreed.

If you work with any dog it will work out. As long as you stay on top of them.

Disagree, 100%. Some dogs are simply going to kill chickens unless and until you seperate them, no matter how hard you try to train them. You said it yourself....

...She ate 3 chicks that came into her pen through the chain link. She thinks she wont be punished I think. I dont work with her every day like I used to...

To me, it sounds like torture to have to work with a dog every..single..day only to have it 'forget' and kill chickens when the training stops. Ugh..

Personally, I can't see why anyone would want a dog that requires a ton of training just to be safe around chickens when there are different breeds out there which can not only be safe, but protective, pretty much right out of the box?

Granted, there are bad apples even in LGDs, but still..

I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't understand why anybody wants to take a dog that's a round peg by virtue of its breeding and try to cram it into a square hole..

But, that's just me...​

 

[fordmommy]

Quote:
Just out of curiosity, how are they with herding? Do they show much 'eye' at all, or are they pretty laid back?

I had my dogs before I had chickens. I have not "trained", per sae,
my dogs to not herd chickens. I have trained my dogs to obey. I have never sent that much time "training" any dog. Most dogs, with the right training get it quick and it sticks.

Most of the things that I have wanted to say, I have deleted today. The whole point that I was trying to make is that a dog has to obey it's master completely. Just because it's a "herding" dog does not mean that it will herd or kill your other pets or children. People are giving them a very bad wrap. I will say it again.....Training is everything. That does not mean you have to spend every waking hour on training a pet.