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

[Jhwetzel]

We adopted a 1 year old border collie-coonhound mix who is now almost 3. We already had 5 ducks and used a shock collar upon first introduction but it wasn’t needed. We then increased our herd and added chickens that were brooded in the house. We would take them out of the brooder and show them to our dog and tell her to be easy with the babies. When the chicks were big enough to try and escape the brooder she would nudge them back inside. When the chicks and duckings moved outside we were still cautious but she had decided they were her babies. Our only issue has been the rooster who will randomly attack the poor dog. She is confused at first and then thinks he is trying to play. She has pinned him to the ground but immediately let him up when he gets too aggressive. Our dog does have a prey drive- no squirrels or rabbits are safe- but because of the introduction she believes our ducks and chickens to be part of the herd. I have never had to use the shock collar but she wears it just in case. We also do not have any squeaky toys. I do believe introduction and the individual dog are key. My neighbors’ have a poodle mix, Australian shepherd and a pit mix that visit our farm and have never bothered our flock and that was a slow, single dog introduction over the course of a couple weeks.

 

[livesimplecolorado]

So I have 6 chickens and created a large run on the side of the house for them. I would absolutely love to let them free range and I feel bad when they are standing by the fence looking at me like hey, that looks cool, let me out lol.

Unfortunately, I have 2 dogs and they both look like they would love to eat them. I thought maybe they could coexist together but am realizing that my younger dog, who can be sweet as can be, has a very high prey drive (he has already successfully caught and killed 3 squirrels).

I have my run fortified but there have been times when the dogs are out in the backyard and the chickens are in the run and I notice digging near the run or an attempt by one of them to get inside. So, I don't risk letting them out.

I would say, there are some here that have nice mellow dog breeds and yes you can let them coexist, but for me, not so much. I have a nice large run for them though (10-35) so they have a good amount of space.

 

[Chickenclaude]

I have 3 large dogs and I keep them separate. In their defense, they were adult dogs when I got my chickens. The neighbors dog? He’s a sweetheart w their chickens but then he was raised as a puppy with them and received a warning peck or two. I’ve actually seen him bark off a hawk to protect them.

 

[Offshoreorca]

I have a wonderful Jack Russell Terrier who is great with the chickens, but the best rodent hunter ever. I’ve had a few JRT’s and I find their high prey drive is solely focused on rodents, which is great for chicken keeping. If you get a Jack from the right place, they’re not really any more trouble or high maintenance than many other breeds - though they can be a lot of work if you don’t have an energy outlet for them (aka another dog or a nice pen for them to run around in).

In my experience Jacks aren’t safe around little chicks though unless they’re well trained. Adult chickens and ducks are completely fine, but for some reason the chicks must remind them of the rodents they love to hunt.

 

[Debby R]

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?

In general, NO. Especially a hunting breed like a beagle. Cats are as bad. I suggest an indoor cat. No dog.

 

[Coopher]

Our dogs were trained as puppies to ignore the chickens. They get along fine even though one is a hound with a huge prey drive. BUT we trained her as a puppy. A 2yr old Bengal is a full grown hound and unless he was trained as a puppy, I do not think you will be able to break him/her of that drive.

Our neighbor has a beagle and a chicken got into their yard. That dog was on that chicken in a couple of seconds. Thank God I was there and everyone survived.

I would only recommend a young puppy and only if you have experience training dogs, otherwise I do not recommend at all. Keep them seperate.

 

[Echilde]

I have 4 dogs, a pittie, a chihuahua,a chi mix and a Heinz 57. The Heinz 57 is a puppy, but she is learning to leave them alone. The other 3 don't bother the chickens at all. I had the two little ones before the chickens and I adopted my pit after I had them. I just taught her to leave them alone and I've never had any issues. I also have numerous cats, both indoor and out, and they have also been taught to leave them alone. I even raise chicks in the house and don't have any issues. Of course they arent left with the chicks unsupervised, but still they are all fine together. I think it depends on the animal and their training though, especially since some dogs are genetically predisposed to being a hunting ot herding type of dog.

 

[auntsuzie1946]

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?

Of course they can with training and with the right breed. I have had a Border Collie that was great with my chickens and I now have an English Shepherd. Neither one had any problems with the chickens. My Border Collie was 7 years old when I got my first chickens and my ES was 2 when I adopted him this year. Do lots of homework on breed profiles.

 

[echo81577]

I watch friends' dogs occasionally and ALWAYS set up a separate makeshift run for the chickens the whole time. They usually free range on our acre, but no way with the dogs, for sure. Had a close call with a golden retriever when my son thought she was calm and headed in the door. My chickens got chased and only laid half the usual eggs for 2 days. Could've been so much worse. Don't do it. Save yourself the heartache and stress.

 

[Mtman]

We have two Australian Shepard’s and a Shitzu and don’t have problems with them.
When we first got started the youngest Aussie would chase them but not hurt then.
Our neighbors lab has killed a couple though.