Best dog breed around chickens? UPDATE post #117 Thanks all!

[scootermom]

My bantams would chase my 90 pound male lab around when he had a bone he was trying to eat. It was hilarious! He was out with the free birds all day, I never gave it a second thought. My English Pointer, though, was constantly patrolling the fence, trying to get them. I guess that is why they are bird dogs. I had to be very careful about who (what) was in which yard.

 

[modenacart]

To train your dog, get some broody chickens with chicks, then hold your dog down near the broody chickens, let the chickens out and let the attack from the broody hens begin. Make sure to keep the dog restrained. All the pecking should give your dog a healthy respect of the chickens. A broody hen is a pretty formidable foe.

 

[mistyfeather]

i HIGHLY recomend one of the following boarder collie, nufonlund (sorry bad speller

) great pierness, bernesse mountain dog, if you keep them sosialized a great pierness will not ever think another child is a threat or any one you introduce them to , they have a great sence of what is danger and what is not, they also dont have a problem being left outside with the flock as a noofie will rather be in with the family. the problem with the berness is that they do not take change well, i know some one that raises them and the dogs went crazy when she left a white trash can in the back yard. it took them 2 weeks to get used to it being there

 

[mistyfeather]

i would also sugest NOT getting something to watch you flock that is in the sight hound catagory ie. irish wolf hounds (my favorite breed) , grey hounds , these are sight hounds and if they see it and it moves they are gone ! they will chase what moves and wont stop till they catch it

 

[Luvs chickens]

I have a border collie mix and a basset hound mix and they love the chickens.

 

[wynnsanchez]

We have a bloodhound/cattahoula cross who is great around our chickens. I'm sure it's the bloodhound in her b/c I know that cattahoulas would absolutely kill chickens.

 

[megcpat]

Quote:
Sigh. Yes. Also, the chance of my being able to NOT turn an Irish Wolfhound in the family companion is pretty much nill..... so......

 

[melissa41927]

i have had dogs and chicken my entire 30 years. from all the breeds and types that i have had and have encountered the only ones that have not killed chickens have been chows (he would kill rabbits), pits, labs (if trained), Heinz-57 mixes, dalmatians. any kind of hound will chase and kill because of their breeding. once, we had 2 beagles, and 1 blue heeler mix that wiped out our entire flock of over 50 chickens (they disappeared). but for socializing with children and chickens i would recommend a young under 2 years female med to large sized heinz-57 with a low prey drive. make sure you take the time to get to know the dogs personality. most spca will let you take the dogs for a walk, bring kids, and other animals in to meet the dog in a neutral setting ei.. outside of the kennel space. in my opinion, the dalmatian is perfect a a guardian for flock and for older more mature kids. the chow i had would never kill my chickens but had put more than a handfull back in their cars or in some cases on top of them. he would also just lay there while my banty hens climbed on top and pecked around.

 

[cubalaya]

i have a walker hound that protects my chickens and wouldnt think of killing one

 

[MagsC]

Melissa41927 said "the chow i had would never kill my chickens but had put more than a handfull back in their cars or in some cases on top of them."
LOL, I can SEE it!!!! People wont just walk into my house.

I think the idea of getting a dog from a rescue group or pound is a great idea. They usually can tell you quite a bit about the dogs personality and such, prey drive, if its good with kids etc.