Bringing chickens into a yard with dogs

[melissa41927]

i have 4 dogs a lab-mix 10years old, a lab 11/2, a toy rat terrier 3y, and a shihapoo 3y. they live with 50 chickens, 2 guineas, 4 ducks, 3 cats, and 1 rabbit. i have not had any problem with the dogs chasing the chickens. they all are in the same yard. all my dogs know the commands,(NO, drop it and leave it, and out). the humans are their pack leaders and they are the subordinates. thats the only way that harmony can exsist in your home or farm. the dogs have solved alsmost any predictor problem we have had. the only thing that the lab can't seem to kill or deter are foxes and coyotes. my coyote killing dog is getting old and lossing his teeth and has arthritis in his joints.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
This is exactly what we do. Even though we let them out one day when 2 of our dogs were outside (yorkies) they never truly tried to attack them or anything but we were right there and didn't give them even a half a chance. I would never trust them by themselves!!!

Missi

 

[melissa508]

I think the majority of dogs arent birdsafe. I was fortunate, my gsd was about 2 or 3 when I first introduced her to birds, I started with chicks & held them closed in my hand & said "baby" ..it didnt take long for me to feel confident that she would be fine. My doxie was introuced at 6wks old, so she was born into farm life. I started bringing them into the bird yard which was connected to my yard where the dogs could roam.
The worst thing they did was the doxie followed suit & decided to herd just like the gsd. Before long even the birds were confident that the dogs posed no threat.
When i had some issues with predators, i jumped to conclusions and thought it was my doxie, but it was really coyotes, hawks & fisher cats.
My dogs have lived with all sorts of birds in & outside of the house, they have proven to be a great asset to my birds safety & when they hang close to the house theres never any critters after the birds. Also, since i have no-one to pet sit , when i go away for a nite now and then, I lock my dogs in the barn with the birds..i fully trust my dogs.

 

[kristen2678]

My two Golden Chesapeake mixes woke up one day to find a chicken coop and run in their yard. They are obsessed with getting at the chickens anyway possible. The same goes for squirrels, chipmunks, birds...... They are in yards seperated by a fence but it's still of great concern. We took a stab at putting them on a lead and doing some training while the chickens were in their run. One dog did better than the other, but there is no way they could ever coexist. If our dogs were in the same yard as the chickens ongoing, they would stand and bark at the run, scaring the chickens to death. Dogs and birds are not always a good mix.......

 

[gsim]

No way. Have to be right breed and raised with them too, unless border collie, shepherd types, etc.

 

[maraak]

I'm very happy to have had success in acclimating our dogs to our chickens. Now we have 8 chickens sharing a yard with 4 dogs. We took it very, very, very slowly and used lots of reenforcement for good behavior and lots of quick discipline for bad. Now my dogs actually defend the chickens and have been known to chase off the occasional visiting dog on the other side of the fence. Having said that, i once had to rescue my bantam from the jaws of a neighboring dog -- a labrador who was fulfilling his genetic destiny -- and it was clear to me that that dog would NEVER be able to resist the urge to chase and kill.

In other words --- it depends -- but it's not hopeless.

 

[schellie69]

I never allow my chickens and dogs out alone at any time now my 3 smaller ones (2 full Chihuahuas and one Chihuahua/winnie dog mix) do fine out in the yard with the chickens my Chihuahua/pom mix thinks he is a rooster and keeps them together and counts and when he can't find one who is sitting on the nest box in the pen where he is not allowed to go he starts looking for her its funny to see

, but has never chased bitten growled or anything like that and I still don't let them out together, just being safe, I don't want to lose my chickens or my dogs I do allow the 4 dogs out one at time with the chickens or the 3 smaller ones who are smaller then my chickens out but I have myself and another person out to keep things calm. good luck and hope things work out for you.

 

[newchickmom09]

I have two ducks that free range in my yard and 7 chickens that we keep in a coop/run area. We let the chickens out everyday after hubby gets home from work. Then once it gets dark the chickens hop (try to fly

) back into there run, then we close it all up. But the ducks run around the yard doing there flapping and all kinds of duck noises all day 24/7. I have two dogs a 13 year old lab and a 2 year old heeler/lab/pit. I had to worry more about my old dog since her favorite thing is to go out bird hunting. She is great with them and could really careless. Now my heeler/lab/pit that is mainly heeler and pit is great with the birds he doesn't let the lab get to close to them. I had him at my side anytime I did anything with the chicks when we first go them and with the ducks. I would have to say the best thing is to teach adn strickly enforce the "leave it" command. People thought he would be for sure attack my birds be he is great with them even being the breeds that he is. He helps me round up the ducks if I need them moved, he loves having some job to do.

Now on the other hand I have some friends with GSD, lab/pit, schipperkee, and min pin and when any of them come over we have to keep the dogs locked inside since every single one trys to go after the birds.

I think a lot has to do with how the dogs are introduced, how they were already raised, how well there training is, and the breeds that make up the dog. If you have any doubt in your mind then don't let them be together alone. Better safe then sorry.

 

[CreleChick]

I am one of the few in this thread who seem to trust their dog with their birds. I got my chickens four years ago (have had 50 or so on the yard since then and not because they were killed by him-they were sold) and I brought the birds home and put them out on the yard. I have a Border Collie/Heeler mix and first thing he wanted to do was of course check them out. I had them all in individual drop pens so he could see all of them from every angle. When his ears went up when one spooked I gave him a "No! Leave It!" and that was it. He loves his chickens. Every day they get turned out to do whatever they want and we leave the dog out back unattended. We have three cats too that also sun bathe with the chickens and sleep on, in, under and next to their cages. It's the stray cats that are coming in that try to attack them, which is why we let the dog handle that part.

He has that protective watchful flock dog personality and will search the perimeter, sniff around, look and sit in the middle of the yard where all the ones out are and just watch around the yard. He even eats the chicken feed with them

which makes me mad and I end up huffing at him "Who's paying for the feed?! Get your own!" He calmly licks it all up as they're pecking around him. The only time they may get a scratch from him is if a cat or something has been in the yard that should have been and he flies out the door and the chickens don't move fast enough. They're under foot alllll the time. I've almost made friends with cages and the ground from mom's Cornish hen.

The other day a new rooster escaped who is terribly wild and we had to catch him quick. I called the dog on him to get the rooster and my dad and I did the blocking while the dog did the driving (no crazy heeler chasing, no BC eye or stalking) he follows intently and knows which way we need him to drive. We got the rooster against the fence and he got away from us and the dog took him over to the porch where the back door was open and stopped and let the rooster go in the house. Perfect!

We laughed and went inside. He flew up on the table and I got him. I weekly out of nowhere ask the dog to follow a bird for me I randomly pick when he's minding his own business and he will. If the roosters also get into fights he goes over and whines or barks at them. Then standing back a ways (he's been attacked plenty of times lol) he sticks a paw out slowly and tries to break it up. It's funny to watch because they either break up and turn on him

Only you know your dogs and what they are going to do, but I can understand why some people would not trust their dogs for so many reasons because some will turn on them first second you're gone.

 

[Mahlzeit]

It all comes down to your situation and your dogs. A lot of people have had problems with it and a lot have had a great experience with it. Personally neither of my dogs go after my chickens. I have a German Shepherd and a Rottweiler and they are both outside together all day long. They have no interest in the chickens at all. You have to know your dog and what you can and cannot get away with. You can listen to everyones opinion and advise. See how your dogs react to the chickens and go from there. Good luck