Dog within age range when episodes of bad behavior to be expected. He also will not yet be competent against a coyote even when he a considerable size advantage. Not too long ago I had a coyote come in and kill a few birds. Pup at the time (Scoob) policed up a couple of carcasses and brought them into yard and laid down among them. I saw carcasses initially thinking Scoob was culprit but noted very little feather damage especially where I found carcasses. Killer also was very good at killing, better than a fox which often has to wrestle victims with multiple bites. Very shortly as less than an hour later the carcasses were removed while Scoob was confined. Culprit was watching entire time I trying to figure things out. Later I found kill sites some distance from house after a few more birds were lost. Scoob at that time simply watched as far as I kind tell. I tend to have good depth in free-ranging birds making such losses easy to absorb and expected. If I am correct, keep your pup out of fights with coyote as getting whipped now can make many dogs, even LGD's less effective later.
The behavior of birds when dog walks through flock can be informative as well. Birds scared of dog?
Also once dog is mature, flock does not have to spread out much to make dog's defending efforts very difficult if working alone. Remember the snatch and run often done by Mr. Fox. Predator with good lead can get away if dog does not press chase very far. That is why I opted for speed and more than one dog to stop that nonsense.
One more thing, check around fence areas that might slow dog down. If chickens get in there you can have problems keeping predators out.
Currently I am having all sorts of fun with hawks as they rile birds up in pasture. They are not after chickens, rather after songbirds hiding in cover patches used for juveniles during warmer part of year. Even had a Coopers Hawk try to catch a Sharp-shinned hawk with later almost taking my head off as it buzzed past. Mareks will soon likely be popping up as a result of the songbirds.
The behavior of birds when dog walks through flock can be informative as well. Birds scared of dog?
Also once dog is mature, flock does not have to spread out much to make dog's defending efforts very difficult if working alone. Remember the snatch and run often done by Mr. Fox. Predator with good lead can get away if dog does not press chase very far. That is why I opted for speed and more than one dog to stop that nonsense.
One more thing, check around fence areas that might slow dog down. If chickens get in there you can have problems keeping predators out.
Currently I am having all sorts of fun with hawks as they rile birds up in pasture. They are not after chickens, rather after songbirds hiding in cover patches used for juveniles during warmer part of year. Even had a Coopers Hawk try to catch a Sharp-shinned hawk with later almost taking my head off as it buzzed past. Mareks will soon likely be popping up as a result of the songbirds.