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

[dittzy]

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?

I have a five-year-old Pittie. The answer is yes. Leave them separate. If the dog is over interested you will need to work with that. My dog is now their protector. He will go after anything that comes around the chickens. They get along very well. They come up and visit with him.

 

[Raradunn]

My Rottweilers do well with my girls

 

[Canine and Co]

I have 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 goats, a cockerel and 10 hens and all co-habit well together! (Well the goats may try and gently head butt a hen but equally the hens pinch food out of the goats mouth whilst they’re eating and hitch a ride on their backs!!).

I first had rescue hens 10 years ago and my husband didn’t think my (then) 2 dogs aged 10 and 8 would get along with hens as one has a high prey drive in particular. However with training - they lived together very well and my dogs would come into the hen area everyday without issue.

I now have a Pug and two working dogs - Springer Spaniels. Their job is to flush pheasants. However they understand the difference between our hens and wild pheasants and hence they mix together with our hens really well - to be fair our hens are confident and the dogs are more scared of them. I can leave them together without supervision and there has never been an issue - they understand that the hens are pets too and live here. One of my Springers comes with me everyday and sits in the hen house or wanders around them whilst I clean it! (The other is too scared of them - despite her job!!!).

But every dog is different and I wouldn’t trust a dog until you know they are safe and trained enough to respect the hens. So yes it is possible - with training!


Good luck.

 

[kathytales]

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?

We have had several dogs that got along well with chickens.The secret was to make an impression early. A beagle sounds like a bad choice as they are hard to train anyway, and this one is too old.
My biggest problem has been other people's dogs that race through and decimate my flock.

 

[javelina21]

We had 2 English mastiffs when we first brought our chickens home. I kept them completely separated for almost a year because the younger dog would rush at the coop, scare the hens & I was afraid of what might happen. Unfortunately, we had a death in the family and had to hire a dog/chicken sitter while we left home in a rush. The sitter knew how gentle the dogs were & never imagined there would be a problem, so let them all out together. Luckily, she was right and nothing bad happened. She sent me pictures of them all together & I nearly had a stroke! I did learn that the younger dog only ran at the coop if the hens were in it & completely ignored them while they were in the yard. Now that she’s 8, she lets them drink out of her water bowl at the same time.

The older dog died last year, so we got a 15 week old Great Dane puppy & she thought chasing the hens was the most fun thing in the world. We didn’t want to relegate the hens back to their coop so often, so the puppy required CONSTANT watching. I bought a shock collar, turned it on it’s lowest setting (tried it on myself first to be sure it wouldn’t hurt her), and spent A LOT of time in the yard with her. It took about a month to train her to leave the hens alone, and I honestly only had to use the shock function about 5 times. The collar also has a beep & vibrate function, so the minute I saw her even looking at the hens, I’d give her a beep to change her focus. If she didn’t turn, I’d follow by vibrating it.

That being said, if the dog has a strong prey drive, it’s going to be rough. My husband dog sat for a friend (a pit/lab mix) and he had to leash the dog on every outside trip because that dog would stand at the door & cry to get at the hens. It was a rough weekend!

 

[xbird]

My dog do fine with all my girls. She is a springer spaniel and never seems want to bother them. Instead they will kinda play together and chasing each other once a while. My neighbors dog is a mix and they adopted her. She’s super friendly to kids and farm animals too. I think you have to very look into the shelter description about the dog. My opinion is if the dog label says good with kids and cats, that normally have bigger chance the dog is a mellow and gentle one.

 

[sarah hugs]

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?

All the reactions I've read to yr question sound reasonable. I have been telling a neighbor to either tie their dog when the chickens are out or leave the chickens in the run but her hubbie insists they need freedom THUS they've lost 18 in the last two years but haven't changed their minds.
If you do persist in getting a dog, I would recommend getting a "good" dog (good luck) and at the same time get a couple chicks to raise inside along with the pup. Let the dog smell, watch them, watch you as you interact with the chicks and eventually allow them to be free inside the house in controlled situation together. Its a slow process but when we got our stray two year old, it worked with her.

 

[Nicsbackyardchicks]

I have 3 cats and two dogs & 5 chickens and they all live harmoniously together.

the Jack Russell was naturally very inquisitive when the girls arrived but after a few sniffs and walking around to smell the poop, hasn't bothered since. The shelty cross, has never batted an eyelid.

one cat is terrified of the chickens and they will happily chase him across the garden to spook him (cat). Another cat just walks along the fence to dodge them and our last cat (a known hunter) will sit and watch them but has made no attempts to ever attack a chicken, however did run between them once to spook them.

We introduced the chickens to the pets when they were locked in their run and never let the chickens out to begin with, without one of us there to train the cats. Takes some work to let each animal know what the rules are, but it is certainly doable.

 

[knurse1]

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?

I have a white lab and he is fabulous at the chicken's. Should have no issues

 

[MIgardengal]

Yes!!! My collie and my hens get along great
She watches over them and licks them on occasion. Haha. We specifically got a rough collie puppy because they were bred to shepherd lambs. And have a natural drive to care take small animals and children.

We had a Aussie rescue before her that was also great with little animals. Do your research on breeds, and if possible get them exposed when young to little critters. Any dog good with small animals should be good with chickens also.