My elderly mini-doxie was 11 when I got my first chicks almost four years ago. He'd never seen a chicken in his life. At that time, where I lived then, I had a run for the flock. He tested every linear foot of that run and was my best "weak spot" finder. During the first three months of the chooks out in the run (meaning, out of the brooder) Zorro chased and caught 3 of them, because they ran. He killed them by shaking their small bodies. He got into the run once to catch and shake the first to death after cornering it, he was in the run at my side -being a good boy - when a chicken got out on a walkabout. It saw him and ran - he took off and caught it before *I* could get to the run gate and get out to stop him. Each time, he was chastened, but gave up the carcass to me. The third time, I had to chase him down to wrest the dead chicken from him.
All my fault. I started keeping him on a leash, then chaining him when I couldn't get chores done holding his leash. He hated that and started to want to go back inside the house rather than stay chained. After all, he'd never been chained before.
Then one of my hens went broody and hatched a single chick. She kicked his butt several times just for being anywhere near them even on the leash. (That was sort of funny...) Then the rooster launched at him, scored a direct hit with claws on Zorro's side, bowling him over. Big rooster, major flapping and screaming a velociraptor War Cry.
My OTHER doxie, a rescue, two years old, totally avoided the chickens. I think he saw the drama and trauma of my training Zorro and decided he didn't want Momma yelling at him like that or being sad about dead chickens.
Finally, Zorro decided chickens were meanies. Of course, by then, they were adult chickens and no longer small flappy things to chase. Both he and Dooley will avoid closely passing any poultry. If
they follow me in the yard, they'll both tuck their tails between their legs and drop their heads as they pass birds. The chickens aren't at all bothered by their presence (except for broody hens with chicks, which don't even like other flock-mates near thier babies).
Zorro is now nearly fifteen years old. Carl the dominant rooster and Buffy, the very first hen in the flock to hatch chicks are both almost four. If Carl walks up to me, Zorro decides he will go somewhere else.
I now have a house Silkie. She can sleep ON Zorro on the sofa and he doesn't care. If she gets too near Dooley, he moves to the other end of the sofa.
All my fault. I started keeping him on a leash, then chaining him when I couldn't get chores done holding his leash. He hated that and started to want to go back inside the house rather than stay chained. After all, he'd never been chained before.
Then one of my hens went broody and hatched a single chick. She kicked his butt several times just for being anywhere near them even on the leash. (That was sort of funny...) Then the rooster launched at him, scored a direct hit with claws on Zorro's side, bowling him over. Big rooster, major flapping and screaming a velociraptor War Cry.
My OTHER doxie, a rescue, two years old, totally avoided the chickens. I think he saw the drama and trauma of my training Zorro and decided he didn't want Momma yelling at him like that or being sad about dead chickens.
Finally, Zorro decided chickens were meanies. Of course, by then, they were adult chickens and no longer small flappy things to chase. Both he and Dooley will avoid closely passing any poultry. If
they follow me in the yard, they'll both tuck their tails between their legs and drop their heads as they pass birds. The chickens aren't at all bothered by their presence (except for broody hens with chicks, which don't even like other flock-mates near thier babies).
Zorro is now nearly fifteen years old. Carl the dominant rooster and Buffy, the very first hen in the flock to hatch chicks are both almost four. If Carl walks up to me, Zorro decides he will go somewhere else.
I now have a house Silkie. She can sleep ON Zorro on the sofa and he doesn't care. If she gets too near Dooley, he moves to the other end of the sofa.
