Best dogs with chickens?

[bigmrg74]

I'm still new to chickens here, and so far, everything has been going great with them. I also have about a 6 month old mini Aussie shepherd named Belle, and she loves to watch the chickens. She's about 7 pounds of puppy fury right now. Right now she seems like she wants to chase them too much, so she's not allowed to be loose in the run, but she'll run around the tractor all barking at the girls, who don't seem to mind it too much. I'm kind of thinking about perhaps signing her up for some herding lessons in the future, when she's a little less puppy. I would think it would be pretty cool to let the girls out for a little bit to free range every day, with Belle there to herd them around.

What I was wondering however is what dogs out there are the best dogs out there to interact with chickens?

 

[NextGeneration]

Check this article out:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/42342/best-dog-breed-around-chickens

 

[tridentk9]

It depends on what you want the dog to do.

Guardian breeds tend to have low prey drive. While they are watching- they spend a lot of their time in a spot overlooking their livestock. They are not there to herd the livestock but to protect it. With low prey drive they tend not to chase movement.

Herding breeds vary since there are several types of herding. Levels of prey drive varies a bit- but all have it to some degree. Unlike the Guardians, their job is to interact with their livestock and use various ploys to get the livestock where they want it.The border collie is different than a German Shepherd is different from an Old English Sheepdog.
Since chickens are so easily reactive a droving dog (Old English Sheepdog style herding) is enough for most people. They have a "loose eye", they walk up on the livestock to get it to move. They rarely intimidate by eye power but may intimidate with a well placed bite or body slam.
A well trained Border Collie would know to stay far enough back to softly lift the chickens- but a lot of BCs aren't given the training to herd such a flighty animal. BCs intimidate by eye power and rushing on or around as needed. Fast moving and active, they may startle chickens. Australian Shepherds are looser than the BC but similar in a lot of ways.
German Shepherds herd by providing a "living fence" they trot up and down a furrow to keep livestock in one field and out of another. They use gripping or a rush to keep the livestock within their "fence" and initially can easily harm or frighten a chicken. Just too quick moving for the chickens to feel safe. Once the chickens are trained to the dog though, a living fence should work nicely.

Depending on if you have a Miniature American Shepherd or a Toy Aussie there may be some non- herding dog genetics in your pup. While she would still be a wonderful dog, it *may* cause some confusion in her mind about how she should be herding. Just a glitch in the hardwiring but there are usually work arounds ;-) Just takes a bit of ingenuity and work on your part.