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

[megcpat]

Quote:
I can't believe you found this great site! I have been pouring over web sites for days trying to find Anatolians SOMEWHERE closer to us than CA, no luck. Thank you for this info! That one female looks awesome , but I don't know about the bottom hot wire around the property? Also, I don't see anywhere on the site the price of their dogs but I have a feeling it's up there. Maybe they'd make us a deal on two pups (one for you, one for me), you know .... two for the price of one....... yeah, in my alternate reality:/ I've book marked the breeders page and will have to keep checking the page. Thanks again.

 

[tnchickenut]

I just wanted to add that I don't have a picture of my boxers with my chickens because I'm too busy trying to pry the chickens from the dog's mouth to take a photo whenever they are close. Needless to say, the dogs are no longer aloud free run.

 

[chickenjim64]

No problem, I'm glad i could help you, I think i seen one for 1,500 on another site there was one for 1,200 so maybe thats the price range please keep me posted my email is [email protected]
thanks jim

 

[Frenchy chick]

I have a golden retriever. I got him as a puppy and everyday i had him come with me to the coop. Now he is used to them. For my Maltese he has an overbite, so can't hurt them anyway. I have never seen him try to snatch at them. When the chicks were older, they would follow him around the yard.
You can see pictures on my blogs.

 

[coltsdad]

I wouldn't take nothing for my anatolians, but your thread title is best dog breed around chickens . If your looking for a guardian , bar none anatolians are the best , or do you just want a pet to get along with your birds . LGD's don't need to be treated as pets too much , they need to bond with their stock and do their job . My dogs guard the sheep and goats but tolerate the chickens and other animals (including my son). I started them with the flock as pups , but you still have to limit their time with young or vulnerable animals including chickens so you can be there to correct them if they get too rough , but they catch on fast . Remember a pup is still a pup and running squawking chickens are hard to resist .As far as roaming it,s important to contain them to the area they are to patrol because they will cover as much ground as they can get to .Some still will try to get out and explore the country thats why it's important to let them bond only with what you want them to guard first then they will not want to leave them . I have found through my exp. that pyr's tend to get out more than anatolians , and females more than males .As far as other dogs I've had a lot , hounds,beagles,curs,feists,lots of cow dogs,pits,catahoulas,shelties that said 95% of these wouldn't tolerate chickens non will without correction thats why I wouldn't suggest a grown dog . The next best I had was a pit bull I had he would even let the hens lay in his house and he guarded the place as good as any dog I ever had . Sorry about the long post ,I'm just pretty passionate about my dogs , the main thing is give them a job and teach them to do it well .Here are some pics of my boys Turk (anatolian) Frek (anatolian x pyr)

 

[Miss Dottie]

I have a pembroke welsh corgi who is a pro with my chickens and ducks. She was introduced to the chickens and ducks as a young puppy, in fact, I have some ducks still who are the same exact age as her. She likes them and will help me round them up if I need her too. It came naturally to her as she is a herding dog. But I think it helps that she was introduced to them as a puppy. She is also very protective of our space. When I leave her at home, she stays busy patrolling the yard.

I would include a picture of her with "her" birds, but I don't know how to post a picture!

Oh, and my ex boyfriend had a lab with a very high prey drive. He brought his dog to my dad's and she ended up killing one of his bantys. It was a sad day. I never thought I would have seen the day when I could have her out in the yard with the chickens, but we actually were able to train her to have her out with the chickens without another incident. Of course I never trusted her fully, but she never showed another sign of aggression to any of my other animals. We had to go through that with the cats too. Haha!

 

[Miss Dottie]

PS

Thought I would post one more thing. I had my worst bird nightmare come true recently at my parent's place.

Bruce is my parent's 12 yo daschund and in his younger days he had killed a few ducks and chickens. We thought that since he hadn't attacked any of the birds in years and since he has slowed down that he wouldn't ever do it again. Still, my parents don't let him down with the horses and the chickens. We had a family friend come by to show her kids the horses and birds when we were not home, and she left the gate open giving him access to the birds. I came home and found my worst nightmare come true. He killed 4 of the 7 bantys. He broke two necks of the ducks and broke a leg of another duck and chewed up my drake. All 4 of the ducks were still alive. I found him with our Canadian goose, Simon, trapped and he was eating away at his back. Sorry for the details. I guess I'm just getting over it and getting it off my chest. I freaked out and called my dad and we had to out the two ducks with broken necks out of their misery. We talked to our vet and decided to give the other two ducks and the goose a chance and they miraculously made a great recovery. Its amazing how their little bodies heal. Michelle, the duck with the broken leg has managed to learn to get around with one leg and even get in and out of their pond. Her hubby, Jake the drake is doing great and Simon the goose is doing great too. It makes me feel good to see them alive and well. But I couldn't even look at Bruce for weeks.

So, I guess when a dog has that much prey drive, even when they get old and slow down, they still will kill if they get the chance. I know this story is sad, I'm sorry. No one in normal life understood how upsetting it was to come home to. My corgi was with me and she didn't know what to think when we got home. It was terrible. But it feels good to get it off my chest. I'm hoping my fellow backyard chicken people will understand.

 

[coltsdad]

That is our next project .I just bought colton a PWC.
Pics later

 

[Miss Dottie]

How old is your PWC? Arn't they the greatest?! I love my girl Emmie. She is my best friend. I just started her on some agility. She is doing great. Would love to see pictures of yours.

 

[megcpat]

Quote:
Fantastic post! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Where did you get your dogs? I should mention that we recently put down our pit bull, Darcy, who was a dear member of the family for 12 years and excellent with the chickens, the children and strangers. She could not help herself, though, and killed any cat that came within eyesight...... I have to force myself not to take home every pit or pit mix that I see at the shelter, but right now we are on the hunt for a flock guardian dog, one who we can leave with the critters when we leave for the day. In my experience, pits want a whole lot more people time than they do time out with the animals. We are out there with the animals all the time, rain shine, snow or otherwise, but it is as soon as we head in for lunch, or drive off to town that the fox just pop back in and cause trouble. Also, there have been some stray dogs lately who have not gotten any chickens yet, but they have been seen leaving our chicken area twice now and this makes me nervous. Anyway, thanks again for the info.