How do you teach a dog not to kill your chickens and ducks?

[cafarmgirl]

It certainly can be done. I have raised my own farm dogs for years and I have never once lost one of my birds to one of my dogs. Not once. However the temperament of the individual dog as well as the ability and willingness, or lack of it, of the owner to invest lots of time training a dog in a positive way is where things usually fall apart. To many people expect far to much from a dog with little or no training.

 

[TheBantyCoop]

What kind of dog do you have?
What toys is it interested in? (indicators of prey drive?)
Does it seem interested in the chickens (or other small animals) and has it ever caught one? (if it has ever caught one there is often no reversing the behavior)
How trainable is your dog?
How responsive it he/she to food or other positive motivation?
How large is your dog?
Do you have a roo? (He may help to protect the hens if you have a small dog. My friend has a Bichon and an Austrolorp roo that get along well.)
How does your dog behave around the coop of it has ever been around it?

I have a dog and a small backyard flock. My poultry and my dog don't mix, and I have a hard time just keeping the dog from tormenting the birds while they are confined.
I really wanted for the two to get along, but overall its up to the dog. It can be really difficult to tell if the dog is compatible or not with birds, as instinct can turn a seemingly docile dog into a raging predator with just the flap of a wing.
I can't recommend leaving a dog alone with free chickens, unless it is a farm dog with proper training. The best way to get a dog to behave around fowl is to introduce it to birds at a really early age. Even then I think that all direct interaction should be supervised.

I just rotate my dog with my birds, and don't allow them to interact.