Can a dog and chickens safely coexist in a small backyard?

[Corbdee]

Sorry, didn’t mean to bring down your suggestion, it was good, just figured I’d give some additional things to think about/consider haha

Np! You’re good

 

[ShrekDawg]

Np! You’re good

Okay thanks!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

So my dilemma is this. I really want to adopt a dog, but I own three pet chickens I am very attached to. I worry that no matter how careful I am, any dog I adopt is going to eventually get loose and eat my chickens. Do you think dog and chicken can coexist in a small backyard? I'd love to hear about other peoples experiences and opinions.

Here's some background on our situation. Our yard is a small, fenced lot (less than .25 acres). My chickens have a good size run, but frequently free-range the backyard when I am around to watch them. The dog I am looking to adopt is a 2 year old beagle. My husband (also very attached to the chickens) tells me to adopt a cat instead, just to be safe. I like cats but I LOVE dogs. Can a dog be trained to tolerate chickens?

When I first got my 3 ladies my dog mini(dachshund/ shi tzu mix) wanted them and not in a good way, lol. I started taking her out with me on a leash when I'd let the ladies out of their run to free range, keeping her close to me and them and putting her in check if she even looked at them funny. That was almost 6 months ago, now she is my chicken dog, I let them out and she lays with them, watches them and when it's time for them to go back in their run she walks them in, worked out beautifully and I can hang out with all my ladies at the same time

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

It has always worked really well for us. Dogs and chickens raised from young together is the key. Our dogs have been hunting labs for the most part and they just never bother the chickens. They have also chased off many predators including loose dogs from the area. Introducing a grown dog is a maybe.

 

[besorto]

My shelter dogs are sweethearts towards the chickens. It really depends on the specific dog though, and make sure they're gradually introduced to each other. I have a pitbull and she absolutely adores the chickens. My beagle mix just ignores them and steal their feed...

 

[halefamily_flock]

I had 2 corgis before I got chickens. I was very careful/watchful at first, corrected them whenever they got too excited, letting them see the chooks through a fence (the dogs initially thought they looked like really fun toys). Then, once my first batch of chickens were a couple of months old, I took the dogs out individually, on a leash, and monitored, corrected as necessary so they would not focus on the chickens. Once they proved they weren't a danger, my older Corgi was never really that interested and mostly ignored them. My younger one (probably around 6 months - 1 year when he first met the chickens) fell in LOVE. He thought they might be puppies, I think. He wanted to hang out with them every chance he got.

He would blow them kisses through the patio door, when they came onto the porch...

and this...

And I was initially worried about the barn cat, who loved to hang out in the coop

But then she would catch mice and the chickens would steal them from her. I stopped chasing her out of the coop and now we don't have any mice pilfering chicken feed.

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

I had 2 corgis before I got chickens. I was very careful/watchful at first, corrected them whenever they got too excited, letting them see the chooks through a fence (the dogs initially thought they looked like really fun toys). Then, once my first batch of chickens were a couple of months old, I took the dogs out individually, on a leash, and monitored, corrected as necessary so they would not focus on the chickens. Once they proved they weren't a danger, my older Corgi was never really that interested and mostly ignored them. My younger one (probably around 6 months - 1 year when he first met the chickens) fell in LOVE. He thought they might be puppies, I think. He wanted to hang out with them every chance he got.

He would blow them kisses through the patio door, when they came onto the porch...
View attachment 2469370

and this...

And I was initially worried about the barn cat, who loved to hang out in the coop
View attachment 2469377

But then she would catch mice and the chickens would steal them from her. I stopped chasing her out of the coop and now we don't have any mice pilfering chicken feed.

Great post and video!

 

[Scrambles83]

We have a terrier mutt, beautiful boy and not a high prey drive considering he has jack Russell in there. He loves to chase off wild birds, especially miners, he hates their squarks! He does keep away the neighbours cats vehemently which is my version of a scruffy LSG haha.
Our ladies (2xISA’s) didn’t free range immediately so he had time to see them through the wire. Once they were out my husband took him out (my heart was racing at the thought!) and told him the words he knew: protect and gentle.
When our alpha hen challenged him, neck all fluffed out he would have a bark and a semi charge but back off. He’s a bit of a goof so she would settle after a couple of attempted pecks at him. He was out with them alone while they ranged at times but they had different agendas so it worked out ok.
The worst he gave/got excited about was when I had one picked up and she flapped when getting down but I was there to shriek at him hahaha.
We have just gotten 2x 9 week old pullets who had their first free range today so he was inside during this time because they are still skittish and I didn’t want the added stress of him chasing them around. He is very curious though with their cheeping and is jealous in the sense he barks at me when I go in to visit them. He really wants to see what’s happening in their intro house.
I think like a lot of people have said, each dog is individual and their training/key commands are important. With a rescue you would want to be sure they will respond to you before letting them around your ladies. I guess never think it won’t happen because even with my baby boy that I love unconditionally, I know deep down there’s always that possibility that the wild man might come out, no matter how slim the chances.
Good luck!
Pic is them taunting him at the back door

 

[Northwest_Wannabe]

Short Answer: Depends ENTIRELY on the individual dog. (and a little bit from the chickens)

Long Answer/Story/My Experience: We live on a little less than a quarter acre suburban lot, ever since we got chickens we've set up a "dog yard" so that during the day the dogs have their own space, separate from the chickens. After the chickens go to bed and get locked up, the gate is opened and the dogs get the entire yard until the next morning when the chickens get let out. This has worked, and I've seen it work for others as well.

We do this MAINLY because we can't supervise 24/7 and we find that safest, seeing as we have shih tzus they dont pose too much of an issue though. I WILL say that we have a little trio of sassy ladies (an oegb, a bantam leghorn and a d'anver) who are like the mafia when the dogs are out at the same time as them. they'll be chill but then they'll circle (triangulate?) around one of the dogs or even our cat and try to chase em off, pecking at toes, sometimes even a little chicken charge. It's safer for us and our collection of critters to keep them apart. Plus when family visits and brings their dogs who haven't ever seen chickens, they have a dog yard they can be safe in.

From what I've researched training a PUPPY is the best way, and like others have said probably best to avoid herding, prey drive, etc. I really liked this video personally;

I've seen dogs of all kinds injure or kill flocks, one thing that can be an issue is the whole "pack mentality" thing if someone has multiple dogs, there's multiple dogs visiting, or so on. Even if your dog is well trained, all it can take it one bad dog to spur on and unite them as a group and suddenly your dog whose usually a good boy, has feathers in his mouth. 2/3 of our dogs are entirely safe around the chickens, the other one is fine usually, until one chicken sprints and then she'll chase (never mouth or attack thankfully, just chase) Knowing this is important, if you do raise a chicken safe dog and dog safe chickens, be very cautious about visiting dogs.

Good luck, be cautious about adopting a dog because you dont necessarily know their background and I personally would be heartbroken to fall in love and adopt a dog only to find out they weren't chicken safe :'(

 

[BDutch]

I have no dog. But my garden is not fenced and occasionally there comes a dog in our garden.

My chickens panic whenever they see a dog. It doesn’t matter if he is calm, playful full dog or tries to attack. Seeing a dog is enough reason to panic and flee over the hedge to several surrounding gardens in the neighbourhood.

Cat’s come into our garden too. Several and every day. One cat even likes to spy on the chickens. Another cat even goes into the run if she has the chance to do so. The chickens are not comfortable when a cat comes near, but they don’t panic and just walk away slowly.

Anyway , I would never get a 2 year old dog thats scares the hell out of my chickens and is of an age that is very hard to train. If I wanted a house pet I would choose a docile rescue cat.