Can Dog People Raise Chicks/Chickens Successfully?

[Hinotori]

I have an Aussie/Heeler who totally ignores the chickens. To him they are just uninteresting. I also have a German Shepherd who likes the chickens. She'll let them pick pieces of her treats. I've taught her to help me round the chickens up when I need it. She's only 15 months so still somewhat short attention span and I have to remind her what she's doing. She'll pick one and nose it into the run then go get another.

The chickens yelling and flying doesn't even usually get a glance from either dog.

 

[Florida_country_boy]

Quote:
I also have a Jack Russell. She is a lap dog, but she is also a skilled hunter and her prey-drive is very high.

I do not allow her to be around chickens while free-ranging, she will chase them around and I have to yell at her. She won't kill them, just chase them. And I use her to get them out from under my deck.

And she LOVES their poop! haha She has broken into the brooder's poop tray several times and had a poop feast haha.

 

[jeepguy982001]

my dog gets along with my chickens very well. But they stay in the run where he can't get to them. Actually he helps me watch out for them by running off the neighborhood cats.

 

[ChickInDelight]

Sounds like you have 3 excellent canine candidates for acclimation to chickens. I am sure you and your wife can get fur and feathers to one big happy family.

Dial (10 yr Aussie Shepherd) has a history of chicken killing at her previous home and was once caught with one of my baby ducks in her mouth. She is now reformed. (Penny, the hen pictured, wants to be a dog. She tries to get to me in both home and auto.)

Everyone must get along at my house.

Akela was young when the Easter Bunny put ducks in his basket. That helped much. My fluff ball chicks, however, sometimes popped out of the container and into his mouth - never any damage done. It seems when they run and flap and fly into the air, you have to be prepared to zap that prey instinct.

Ducks like to swim - but you probably don't have swimmin dogs.

 

[heatherkh]

Wow, how did you reform Dial? We have an Aussie who is a known chicken killer as well. He's 11 years old, and obsessed with our chickens - so we keep them VERY secure. Our young Aussie/Gordon Setter mix seems intrigued by them, but I don't know that he wants to kill them. He's forever leaving his toys by the coop door as if to invite them to play. I don't trust him, one flighty move by a chicken could trigger I don't know what - but I think we could work with him. The older dog I'm not so sure.

 

[serenityNH]

My dogs, chickens, rabbits and cats are always together and co-exist very peacefully and happily. The chickens steal food from my dog's mouth all the time and the dog's don't pay a bit of attention. A couple of weeks ago my dog Bodhi had a nice new bone and the chickens were chasing him all around the yard trying to steal his bone, it was pretty funny. Every time he would lay down with it he'd have a flock of chickens leaping on him trying to get the bone away.
I can't imagine how difficult and sad it would be to have to keep the dogs separated from the buns and chickens. To me the happiest moments are sitting outside with the dogs by my side, a cat or two rubbing against me with the chickens and rabbits next to us pecking in the grass.

 

[serenityNH]

Quote:
Those are some wonderful pictures! I like that you say "Everyone must get along at my house" I have that motto also! Everyone is expected to live peacefully together and they do, I think it's almost a state of mind, not to sound corny. But, I think dog's react to our nerves and emotions and know when we feel tense and respond to that. If you expect your dog to attack, it probably will. If you expect your dog to be calm and gentle then likely it will, our energy plays a big part I believe. So far it's worked for us! Even our foster pups have been 100% excellent with our critters and they have lived a life in a shelter with no training or experience with other pets.

 

[justbugged]

It's not so much that it a question of whether or you can or can't keep a dog with chickens. It is all about the individual dog it's self. Just because the dog you may own right now will kill the chickens, doesn't mean that the nest dog will.

I have 6 dogs. The Komondor and my stud Yorkie never look at chickens. The birds are safe with those 2 dogs. The next 2 are mother and oldest son Yorkies, I trust them with the birds only if I am there to supervise them. The last 2 Yorkie pups can never be left with the chickens. Their prey drive is just too strong.

So my point is that it is not about breed of dog, but simply the dog you own. You have learn what your dog is capable of doing. Some can be taught, but others can not seem to ever overcome their natural prey drive. Some breeds are simply are not suitable to live safely with chicken. Some breeds have been breed for the high prey drive, and most of those dogs can't overcome that. But there are always going to be exceptions.

Even if you never have a dog, you still have to be concerned about neighbors dogs, and other predators.

 

[ladyride]

I have 3 fru-fru pommies the chickens are bigger than the dogs

I just recently got gsd mix to help protect the little guys & chase off other preds or visitors. She has to grow into the position as she is still a puppy so alot training going there so far she has no interest in them & is afraid of them. But basically the dogs have an acre of fenced yard in the front the chickens have the back yard. Which I have found helpful.

 

[Chris Herzog]

I kind of remember someone telling me one time that there is a breed of dog that you raise with chickens. The dog stays with the birds 24/7 and acts as a protector.

Anyway....

I agree that a lot depends on the individual dog but a lot also depends on the individual owner as well. Someone pointed out that the dogs can feel what your feeling. I think that's true with all animals. There is a couple, a man and wife, up the street from me that walk a pit-bull every morning. I have to drive past their house on my way out everyday. Anyway, when the lady has the dog, I watch him go crazy trying to eat my truck as I drive by. When the man has the dog, sometimes the dog doesn’t even look up at me at all when I pass but regardless he never acts up. So I started watching the woman and what she was doing. As I'm heading down the road towards them the woman looks up and sees me coming. She then shortens the slack out of the leash until its taunt. The dog then almost immediately starts pulling on the leash and the woman starts hollering as the dog is dragging her down the street towards me. The guy on the other hand totally ignores me....so does the dog. So, in my humble opinion, the lady is teaching the dog to act like an idiot just by her actions or reactions, alone.

I'm not a dog whisperer by no means but I have owned and trained a few dogs in my short time. I also have owned/trained horses and I help my wife who fools with horses for a living. We have very different opinions about animals and what to do and what not to do with them as far as training goes. I say this because when we first met each other, we both had two dogs each. Mine were/are (I lost one 6 months ago) very well behaved. Her two dogs were totally obnoxious with more bad habits than you could shake a stick at. We have been together for 4 years now and her dogs are now a joy to have around.

Sorry to be so long winded but this subject kind of hits close to home with me. My point in all this is if your dog or anyone’s dog for that matter misbehaves, acts up or whatever you want to call it, it’s 100% the owners fault period. Any problem can be rectified and if you are having problems doing so it's because what you’re doing is probably wrong. It's called teaching the teacher or training the trainer. It all depends on how committed one is to learning and teaching and/or training their animals. I live with 3 dogs, 3 cats, 4 horses, 1 donkey and 23 chickens. Everyone gets along fine and I trust them all around each other no matter if I'm there to supervise or not. It’s much easier to say that this problem can not be fixed then to actually fix the problem.

Again sorry to come off sounding maybe a little to strong but to answer your original question…. yes, I believe dogs and chicken can live together with no problems.

Chris