Ideas on keeping the dogs from chasing the chicks?

[Melanie1970]

Hi all,

I have 11 Breda chicks that I hope t have free range - that was the point of getting them. But 2 of the dogs want to chase them. Currently the chicks are in a 8x3ft moveable run but they are quickly outgrowing it. They are moving into a 12x12 stall in the barn tonight due to the rain we are expecting.

Anyhow - any ideas on convincing the dogs that chasing thee chicks is not fun. The Bull Mastiiff will stop if she gets spanked, but the Husky/Aussie is the instigator. He is quick and has been abused - so spanking him isn't a good option.

I was wondering about a goose. Something that will startle the dogs away from the birds but is still friendly towards people.

Thanks!!

 

[TUBOLA]

I have 4 rescued German Shepherds, i am new at this as well, however i can tell you that i look at my chicks as my babies and my dogs look at them as dinner. One of them is fascinated by them, he sits for hours and watches them , so good luck, let me know if you find a solution, mine was to separate them, make the chicks their separate areas where they can do their chicken stuff.

 

[rides2far]

We don't let ours free range for 4 reasons: an abundance of hawks, & our 3 dogs. I don't want any of my pullets to be killed, & I don't want to spend 24/7 in the back yard supervising chickens & dogs! We are thinking of building a tractor so they can free range a little, safely.

 

[kmartinez]

I have 4 dogs two of those dogs are mine one is a real livestock guardian my st bernard is just a big loveable senior dog that just not care about my chickens or turkeys..My sons dogs are lab mixes...and I have another livestock out there like sheep, they would chase my sheep so I used a shock collar..

that collar works quickly and effectively. I believe I only shocked those dogs maybe a handful of times, but both dogs wore the collar 24/7. After a couple shocks they believed my sheep and chickens were electrified. So when a chicken or sheep passed by them they actually ran away from them. The 1st couple days is when they had it rough, they used to run an acre but the sheep came they ended up in a pen and only allowed out with the shock collar out supervised. which stunk for the 2 dogs. The reason I used the collar is because i wanted to train them quickly without any livestock being touched or bitten by them, when i noticed them in a hyper mood engaging the livestock i would shock them. My main goal was I wanted them to roam freely again with the other 2 dogs and not penned up..overall it took them a month to earn my trust to be out of the pen in the daytime without the collar on.. now those same to dogs roam 24/7 freely among chickens turkeys ducks and sheep . they go close to them like normal walk past them but neither of those dogs touch the livestock. If the sheep are drinking water my 2 dogs will drink from the same container at same time but those two dogs wait until the sheep leave the waterer. One of those dogs which is 2 years old and she was the most aggressive towards the livestock but she now lays among them I trust her completely now and she has earned to live among the animals and roam freely like she is supposed to..I honestly thought she was untrainable, if the shock collar would not have worked I would have re-homed that her, I am glad I did not have to.