Can Dog People Raise Chicks/Chickens Successfully?

[johnsons-r-us]

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.

Poop feast!

I know just what you mean! They should make those things into dog treats.....someone could make a lot of money!

 

[rmh0508]

I too have a German Shepherd (2 yrs old) and Australian Shepherd (3 yrs old) and Chihuahua (13 yrs old). My dogs were all introduced to the birds while in the house in the brooder. They also all go to the barn with me every day and I never have a problem. My GSD is afraid of the birds and my other 2 completely ignore them. The only problem I have is when the 2 shepherds are playing they don't pay attention and will occasionally step on a chicken but they never actually go after any of them.
I also let my dogs out unsupervised and off leash and again never a problem. And I have a barn cat who will kill mice and birds but who never goes after the chickens either and my chickens are not big (3 month old cochin bantams, 3weeks old "mutt" chicks, and 2 polish) and I have 4 indoor/outdoor cats who never bother them either. I credit them all getting along from having the young chicks in the house with them and then in a safe enclosure outside to be introduced in the outdoor environment. And also to the fact that my dogs all have been through several obedience classes each since I also help teach them.
The best advice I can give as far as obedience is to teach your dogs the "leave it" command and to also teach them to sit or down wherever they are whether it be right beside you or all the way across the yard. And just watch how they act around your birds if they seem to act too interested then put them on a slip lead and walk around the yard with them. If I ran into this with a dog I am training I would tie the slip lead (with just a little slack) to my belt and if the dog is acting to interested or aggressive I would do an immediate about turn and walk the other way. If the dog is not paying attention and gets a jerk or drug a little bit that is fine. I absolutely love about turns because it teaches the dog to pay attention to you at all times since it never knows when you are going just turn around and walk the other way. This method is also great for dogs who tend to pull on the leash and drag you.
I think though with the dogs you have described that you should not have a lot of problems. Good luck to you

 

[kennyruby101]

it was fascinating watching our jack russell with our chicks he wouldnt let anything around them when they were little,he would warn the cats one time.if they didnt not move on he would attack.i felt the chicks were safe as long as he was around.now the rooster is attacking him a losing battle for the rooster.im afraid the rooster is gonna have to go.i need the dog to protect the next batch coming in 8 days.

 

[drumstick diva]

rmh I love that part of having the leash tied at your waist and changing directions to keep the dogs attention. I learned this in the '60's from a dog handler who was teaching how to show dogs. He said not to string them up but, if they pulled in one direction, to quickly change direction - the dog would tend to get bumped by knees etc.. It resulted in dogs that watched me and they could be shown on a loose show lead and be controllable. I always tell people to do this with their puppies while they are small. Don't wait till they are big enough to drag you.

If the dog surged ahead in the beginning, I would command "back here" while turning.

 

[Ole rooster]

I've found this thread very interesting. But to me the one common characteristic with the dogs that don't harm the chickens is obedience training. Whether one realizes it or not you have trained your dog in obedience over time just be being alfa and being firm. I've seen to many dogs that folks have done their best to make intp people with this hoochy koochy talk, dressing them up, painting their toe nails and somebody carrying it every what it goes. These are the ones out of control.
the dog the dominant one. I take Morgan everwhere I go and you would never know he's around unless you see him. Never makes a sound. Then I've seen folks bring in the pocketbook dogs and they never shutup and cause all kinds of ruckus. Or big dogs that think they have to tear up the store and eat anything they see. These given their heads would chase chickens and not let up. They would not be able to be called down cuz they have never had it happen. No Alfa in the family. All they hear is "this is my sweety pie" or I love you peachy poo. So I have great admiration for the owners that have taken the time to work with their dogs and control um. The others, ha, just complete disgust.

Bottom line, take the time to obedience train your dog and he knows your boss. He feels better about himself because he has a job to do. Please you. When you tell him stop he will stop. For a lot of people that's just to much trouble. That's not why they got a dog to start with. A dog at work is a happy dog, and he's not chasing chickens.

Just one mans opinion.

 

[Chris Herzog]

Quote:
And another ones....

....to that!

Chris

 

[IowaHeritage]

Its called train; dont complain.

Simple as that.

I had just moved to the country and a friend gave me a rescue dog. Boxer / Pit Bull / and herding dog mix.

Manucured feet and everything. The first day I was on the rider, mowing and saw her carry a Big Fat Red Hen in her mouth across the yard. I simply turned the mower off, and yelled DROP it NOW ! She did. The hen quickly rejoined her friends.

Now, she lets them sit on her back if shes napping in the sun.

Great Dogs need Good Training.

Good Dogs need Great Training.

Just sayin...............

 

[mamaKate]

I skimmed the thread and didn't notice anybody with my concern: you may have to protect the chihuahua from the chickens. My mini Beagle has been pecked and ninja-kicked enough that she won't even come to the door if a chicken is blocking her path. She weighs 12 lbs. and I assume your chi is considerably smaller. My dogs ( Beagle, Springer/BC, Rottweiler/Coonhound -all rescues) are completely trusted with the birds. I didn't expose tiny chicks, though. I waited till the bird were old enough to free range.

 

[Hinotori]

I do agree training helps a ton. When I first got the chickens we had my 15 year old schipperke. She was deaf and half blind and REALLY wanted those chickens. She'd always had a high prey drive, used to hunt mice and rats when younger and thought the chicks were rats with wings. Couldn't hear me say no so I had to use a vibrating collar. She was mostly trustworthy with them after training. She had good days where she ignored them and bad days when her wandering mind forgot. Had she been younger and in better health, she would probably have been great with them. She wasn't allowed out alone because she would get lost, so the chickens were safe from her.

Now my exhusband thought you could reason with a dog and would sit down and explain to the dog what it shouldn't do. That dog got aggressive and would bite if you corrected him. It took me lots of training to stop that.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Quote:
I've always considered licking the first step of tasting

I just know my dogs can react faster than I can and I've been training (obedience, tracking, agility, herding) for the last forty years. I just consider it safer to keep them apart as much as possible.

Deb

licking and biting are not the same I don't have show dogs, I have working dogs with real livestock, and biting is not allowed, I don't want damaged animals, but they are allowed to lick, paw to the nose, bark on command, if I couldn't trust my herd dog with a newborn lamb, it aint worth its food, or a blue ribbon either.
I just disagree is all. The more they are together, the better.