Border Collie?

[The ChickenKing]

Hi, we got a border collie who's now about 6 month old. We live in a suburban area and have racoons, possums, sharp shinned, cooper's, and red tailed hawks, we also have a fox who knows we have chickens. I was wondering if she could possibly deter them or possibly even protect the chickens if need be, we already have a rooster who's very protective of his flock, the dog usually stays away from him, and he's no pushover, chasing off both the coopers and sharp shinned hawk when they had landed and gone after the hens. Is there anything the dog can do as well?

 

[WthrLady]

Well trained dogs can do anything. Our BC chased off geese. In fact, they are used at the air port by our old home too keep sea birds and geese from getting too comfy by the airspace.

But mine loved killing rabbits, squirrels, mice, minks, chipmonks, toads, and cats. Which was fine.

 

[WthrLady]

We also could not break her from chasing horses, so we kept her away from them.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Border collies are smart, high energy, and have very high prey drives. They're a fantastic choice of dog if you're willing to put a ton of work in with them, and a terrible choice if you're not. I wouldn't use one as a livestock guardian dog unless you're willing to put a ton off training in first - and I wouldn't trust the dog until he's at least 1.5-2 years old. Puppies shouldn't be trusted - they're too curious/experimental, and it's too easy to accidentally set a bad behavior.

 

[The ChickenKing]

Yes I know that, and I've got no problem training her, but the rooster has gone after her before, so she won't really go anywhere near the chickens unless a hawk comes, in which case she'll follow it from the ground and bark.

 

[aart]

It's hard to say what your BC will do if or when a 4 legged predator shows up when she's out in the yard.
If she goes after hawks despite of being afraid of the chickens, chances are she'll go after anything else foreign to the yard.

Not sure just what you're asking.

 

[The ChickenKing]

It's hard to say what your BC will do if or when a 4 legged predator shows up when she's out in the yard.
If she goes after hawks despite of being afraid of the chickens, chances are she'll go after anything else foreign to the yard.

Not sure just what you're asking.

I just want to know if her prescence will deter predators, and if need be, drive off any predators, like the fox that roams around my neighborhood.

 

[aart]

Quote: I would think that a good sized dog inside a fence will keep most animals out of that fenced area, especially if the dog is outside 24/7.
I doubt a fox would take on a border collie if the dog challenges it.

 

[The ChickenKing]

I would think that a good sized dog inside a fence will keep most animals out of that fenced area, especially if the dog is outside 24/7.
I doubt a fox would take on a border collie if the dog challenges it.

Alright, good to know. Thanks

 

[centrarchid]

Hi, we got a border collie who's now about  6 month old. We live in a suburban area and have racoons, possums, sharp shinned, cooper's, and red tailed hawks, we also have a fox who knows we have chickens. I was wondering if she could possibly deter them or possibly even protect the chickens if need be, we already have a rooster who's very protective of his flock, the dog usually stays away from him, and he's no pushover, chasing off both the coopers and sharp shinned hawk when they had landed and gone after the hens. Is there anything the dog can do as well?

A neighbor of mine has a Border Collie and about a dozen chickens. Chickens free-ranged during day and did not have a fenced perimeter. Chicken ranging habits routinely took them outside of the dog's protective umbrella. Red Fox then came in an picked them off one at a time and ran to yard perimeter which dog would not cross. Dog in that setting was not effective. Ideally birds would have ranged tighter reducing dog's reaction time and making it harder to for fox to approach using property as cover. A second dog would have been advantageous as well.