are your dogs and chicken friends

[Orps]

My chicken used to free range in my backyard but I had 3 problems.
1. My dogs kept eating my chicken feed
2. My dogs kept eating chicken poop
3. And my chickens kept trying to blend into my dog pack and try to enter the house when I call my dogs inside.

 

[cybrchick]

We had 2 dogs. One was a min pinscher who I couldnt trust. She was so high strung and hyper focused on prey. I accidentally ran over her. (Still makes my heart hurt) Our other is a chihuahua dacshund mix. Pepe is hyper too but when he runs he prefers to chase and runthru them, than actually catching them. We have 3 babies we got right before syd died. Pepe was sad I thinkand took the 3 babies under wing so to speak. Yes he eats their food, and their poop (sigh). He also eats grass w them, scratches at the ground, he herds them.lol! Its quite funny! I want to get another dog - more "appropriat" for a farm. But I dont know if I will get as lucky as we are w pepe. Even the chicks pecknear him, walk under him, one even jumped onhis back I guess to roost!

 

[fisherlady]

KC wants the chickens to play catch!

Boneyard, your links didn't work right

 

[Beardie Girls]

I would not say they are friends, but things have settled into a comfortable balance. We've only had our chickens for a year. Our pyrenees/anatolian (who did live around chickens as a pup) showed little interest in them, and after a few corrections for too-intense looks, he never bothered them. During the year we got another Anatolian mix - a pup. Although he seemed to follow suit and allow the chickens their space, something set him off one day and he killed two. In the commotion, our other two dogs couldn't resist and joined in by chasing, but no other chickens were hurt. Both the chickens and the dogs roam free on our large rural property. We hadn't done any training with the pup, so I read about it and decided to try that instead of getting rid of him. Now the dogs seem to just tolerate or ignore the chickens, and the chickens aren't afraid of the dogs.

The only conflict is that some of the chickens have decided that they really like the dogs' food and are really persistent about it. They know when dog-feeding time comes and are standing out there waiting! They'll walk right up under the dogs nose's to get into their bowls. I try to be careful to prevent this from even happening, and shoo the chickens away myself, but some are pretty sneaky about it. The dogs now give a little lunge and warning bark to scare the chickens off if they get too close while they're eating.

I have studied our dogs long and hard, and how they react to the chickens when they don't know I'm watching. I know their body language and the way they look at things. I'm fairly confident that we are in the clear with the dogs we have, but I don't suppose I'll ever trust them 100% again. Maybe that's wise. Our sweet dogs, family protectors or not, are still predators. But I do encourage training rather than getting rid of a dog.

 

[PekinBantam]

Both my dogs eat the rabbit and guinea pig poop as well.. I wonder why that is?

My dogs eat the chicken, turkey and goat poop. Sorta makes you wonder if they have taste buds...

 

[kerry-anne]

There's gotta be something In the poop that like. I'm going to google it

 

[youngcluckers]

My border collie guards our air space (beware hawks, crows, and low flying aircraft ) and chickens. I was careful to introduce her to the chickens the day I brought them home as day-old chicks. She was allowed to look in the brooder and sniff, but as soon as I saw that predatory 'gleam' start in her eye, I nipped it in the bud, "NO! These are momma's, not yours! You do NOT touch!" Chastised, she turned protective instead and any time the chicks cheeped loudly (they spilled the water/food), she'd come to me, whine, and lead me back to the brooder so I could fix it. During their first outings, she was kept on leash and allowed to sniff them closer (she liked sniffing their little fuzzy butts as they walked.), and didn't show any 'predatory' looks or stances. She actually lost interest in them in favor of her toys (except for the one hilarious attempt to give a chick the tennis ball to throw.) Gradually, she was allowed to be off leash around them but didn't show any interest beyond the occasional sniff.

When they became adults, the hens were used to her presence and thus never reacted with fear towards her beyond keeping a wary eye on her to keep from being stepped on (she doesn't always watch where she's running, so they've learned to steer clear). But now she's protective of them and will actively watch for and defend against birds of prey and other predators. She's even intercepted hawks that were in stooping dives towards the chickens (saving my silkie).

At the same time, she is never aggressive towards the chickens, even when they are towards her:


This was a hen I was baby sitting for a local who was out of town.. her hen would actively attack Diamond.. but it was understandable, because she'd been a victim of a dog attack. Instead of reacting with teeth, Diamond would come to me so I could fend off the 'psycho bird' for her. I did train that into her.. if she does it, then they get punished and she gets rewarded (be it with a treat/ball/pet/etc)

Diamond is trustworthy around the chickens and can be trusted unsupervised with them. My father often lets them out to forage in the yard and will 'pay' Diamond with a few treats and the commands "Watch the chickens.. Watch for birds!".. Diamond can then be found actively patrolling the yard or laying in a spot and watching the sky.

Can you come train my dog please???

 

[Brendou]

Our new flock of 13 (mostly barred rocks and americaunas) were introduced to our black lab yesterday. She's a passive dog and very well mannered. Once we exposed her to the chicks a bit and let her know that they were not dog toys, she was very friendly and curious to get to know her new neighbours. Our dog stays out during the day and I think she'll end up being great company and protection for these guys.

Laying down some ground rules with the pooch.

A little skeptical at first.

A little closer.

Still trying to figure out what it is. Looks a lot like the partridge I catch during hunting season though. How come we can't shoot these ones?

Studying chicken habits.

Deep concentration.

 

[Barred4Life]

I see you got her to practice with a rooster!! Lol! Good idea, not as big of a lost if something goes wrong.
What a sweet looking dog

 

[rdilbarova]

We bought my yorkie from a breeder that kept him with chickens- so I am pretty sure he thinks he is one!
We find him inside the chicken run all the time (the only way for him to get in is to crawl under the netting, which is not pleasant) just hanging out with them. Unfortunately for him, the chickens know he is not a chicken, and stay away.