are your dogs and chicken friends

[johari]

My cats avoid the chicks, but will go after a parakeet... Go figure. They mostly hunt rodents though. I find many moles in my front steps.

I wonder this too.  I have a 95 pound monster dog who LOVES "her babies" (the chicks).  I have two cats, one is so opulent that she doesn't concern herself with hunting chickens, the other wouldn't know what to do with one (and is more of a mammal-hunter ... great mouser).  The cats and dog interact with the chicks all the time.  The dog snuggles and loves them.  I worry that the chickens might have a lack of safe-healthy fear of predators in the wild. 

 

[Child of Noah]

My cats avoid the chicks, but will go after a parakeet... Go figure. They mostly hunt rodents though. I find many moles in my front steps.

Parakeets look like they are made with cat-toy feathers... so you can't really blame the cats. My older cat used to be a bird-hunter, much to my dismay. Thankfully she is happy to watch and call them to her like this

(not my cat, but the technique is similar) the first time she did it I thought I had a bird in my laundry room, she was so convincing!

 

[Chicken Momma T]

Well my dog ate two of our chicks, I am not happy with him. And he terrorizes them when they are in the run. I want to tie the dog up but it is my in laws and I don't think they would go for that one. Ugh

 

[TERRY4]

Well my dog ate two of our chicks, I am not happy with him. And he terrorizes them when they are in the run. I want to tie the dog up but it is my in laws and I don't think they would go for that one. Ugh

I would talk to the inlaws about it. I doubt they want THEIR unruly dog eating the poor little chicks. Or, you could train him yourself. It'd be great if you could borrow a remote shock collar. I don't care for them, but this problem you have is not good. Do they live there with you? What breed dog?

Terry

 

[erinangele]

What a fun thread! Here are my dog's with the chicks.








I love how they are all looking at the ball

 

[4 the Birds]

Wow! Very very CUTE!!

 

[Madamegato]

For sure! Our dog has been great - she gets along with the cats as well as the hens. Though, any other bird she seems to take issue with. She killed a pigeon and left it at the back door for us one time.

She's a lab/shep mix and has always had a sweet disposition, though. Very obediant, loves to cuddle - but has to stay outside now due to chronic diarrhea. (Numerous foods/meds/vet visits and no answer...) We fixed her up with a double walled, insulated dog house that gets filled with straw and she's happy as a clam - and can potty whenever she needs to! So - she breaks down the straw first, then it goes into the coop with the girls, then it goes to the pile for 3 months to mature, then onto the garden!

I think our only issue is that if the pooch is out when we give the girls scraps, we have to keep her away or the hens wouldn't stand a chance.

 

[WaterfowlWierdo]

I have 2 mini Dachshunds and 1 Plott hound.....All of them are afraid of my little goose, even the hound! My little mallard duckling nipped one mini doxie on the nose when he was a chick and she has feared him since but the other mini just plays in the yard with him as does the hound.....the doxie that plays with the duck also sun bathes out by the pond with my little mallard. The doxie that is playful to the duck has much more harsh feelings toward my pigeon.....she stays out of reach thankfully

 

[Tanith BHH]

Very cute!
Our dog doesn't mind the chickens, in fact he's kind of scared of them! Part of the reason for this is they attacked him the first time they saw him! he is not a small dog, and will chase/attack anything that runs, except chickens! Very lucky, really. We never trained him but we found him as a stray and he is scared of poles and long sticks so I think he was trained not to hurt them, the last owner must have had chickens and beat him

He does get very jealous and will eat anything that he sees the chickens eating, if he can! It's quite funny because he wouldn't eat corn, pellets, spinach, mealworms, etc. if the hens don't eat them! They are quite nice to him now though, and let him have a bit (much to my dismay, actually!).

 

[aoxa]

I have 3 dogs. Chloe, a miniature poodle, Koda a Corgi mix and Henry, a Bernese Mountain Dog (Champion lines). All 3 are great with the livestock.

Here are some pictures...