Anyone here with a herding dog? Do they herd your chickens?

[nekomi]

Wolf Queen I feel your pain!! My two other dogs (wolfdogs) would take out my whole flock if they were allowed near the coop!

 

[eggz4sale]

We had a blue heeler who loved to herd most anything, including the horses, but she loved to chase/catch the chickens, so be careful with any kind of dog with chickens. BUT my niece has a miniature collie and she is wonderful with chickens, she even protects them from varmints.

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:
Thats a good idea but pigs are really smart but then again so are Border Collies. Have you seen the video of the pig herding cattle?

My Austrailian Cattle Dogs don't herd the chickens but my Border Collie cross did.
It really annoyed the chickens. Block, block, block they couldn't get anywhere.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

nekomi - that is a lovely dog!

littlelemon - my 2 german shepherds 'herd' the chickens - they are really good at it.

however

as with any dog - it takes tons of training. mostly they need to understand what is 'yours' - which is everything including the chickens. the flapping and squawking is almost irresistible to dogs... so anticipate some losses. make sure she knows 'leave it' (or 'thats mine') and that you can stop her dead if she is chasing them. never EVER let her 'play' with them or leave her unsupervised.

you can also check out 'the farmers dog' which is a great book for herding dogs.

never underestimate their prey drive. working dogs are smart and are good problem solvers - they can also be stubborn and difficult. make sure she knows you are the boss.

a really good job for dogs is to walk the property line. have her go around (with you before the hens are out) and mark the property and the chicken run/area. just before you let the hens out, ask the dog 'where's the chickens' and then let the hens out and say 'there's the chickens! good dog'

finding chickens is remarkably handy if you are trying to find a black chicken on a dark night.

good luck!

 

[lisahaschickens]

nekomi - what a GORGEOUS DOG!!! Amazing. You are so lucky.

Littlelemon-

I think what everybody is saying about how it totally depends on the dog, is true. However, it's not true that it takes lots of training if the dog has the herding instinct. My grandfather had (he passed away, now his wife has her and she still does this) a border collie who herded his chickens and guineas everyday, all day, whether anyone wanted her to or not. She never so much as displaced a feather on one... just herded them around. No one taught her - she just did it. She had no training at all. And if the chickens were put away in their run, she'd find something else to herd - kids, other dogs... even skunks! Trust me, that one got old... the ckunk would spray and spray and she would just keep herding it into one place so it couldn't leave... she didn't care about the spray! Anyway, the instinct is strong in some dogs. But, even some herding dogs and be nippy when herding, so it depends on the dog. The other thing to consider, as previously mentioned, is that huskies have very high prey drives and are the total opposite of herding dogs... most would only think "food!" when they see chickens, no matter how much you try to desensitize them. There are always exceptions, but that would be the standard instinct of that breed.

So, I guess the summary is - who knows how your dog will be! It will be interesting to see, most certainly. But, be careful around the chickens until you know for sure. Good luck!

 

[gaited horse]

Quote:
Thats a good idea but pigs are really smart but then again so are Border Collies. Have you seen the video of the pig herding cattle?

yes that was cool. she is friends with the pigs i have now but next year pigs will be easy to train to be herded.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

My cattle dog will herd the chickens when I ask him too. Sometimes he grabs tail feathers, but he's never killed a chicken (Except for the few baby chicks he steam rolled coming down the hill at full speed. Poor chicks didn't even know what was coming until they were smooshed by his paws LOL)

While my dog does herd the chickens, he will only do this if I ask. I couldn't just leave him outside and hope he would keep the chickens in one specific area.