vicki2x2,
Where I work we have a couple hundred head of sheep and goats spread out over as many acres with at least 8 paddocks. Great Pyreenes are the breed of choice for flock protection and presently 6 dogs split into 3 pairs are charged with caring for livestock. Some stay with stock some stay around shelter. More than twice as many dogs have been tested for LGD qualities and only about half were good enough to stay. Rest went to folks wanting a LGD breed just to have one but not really worked as such. Part of this because of improper imprinting, some may be that such dogs not suited to such restricted ranges. Point being made is just because a dog is of a breed selected a particular purpose does not mean it will perform well at task selected for, especially when dog not properly conditioned. Also just because a dog breed does not have recent selection for a given activity, especially livestock guarding does not mean it is not incapable, especially if the right conditioning regime with imprinting is employed.
I did not say following stock is an unusual trait for LGD, rather it is not needed to for guarding poultry. Poultry flocks operate within localized home ranges and social structure of chickens not tight like with ruminants such as sheep and to a lesser degree goats and cattle. Guarding of chickens does not require the dogs love for its charges, rather the chickens need to stay within the LGD's protective umbrella where the dog is more concerned about territory than animals it contains. For this too work, LGD need not to regard poultry as target of its own interest.
Any dog breed can be bonded to another species. Best evidence to this is bonding of dogs to humans. Some breeds more suitable to adopting and maintaining a territory of appropriate size for free ranging flocks of chickens.
A point to ponder is that most dogs did not exist as breeds we know today prior to a couple hundred years ago and many of those dogs were multiple purpose in their value to keepers. They served as guard dogs, vermin control and hunting partners. Killing livestock when off duty was likely bad for survival prospects and if livestock protected as part of guard duty survival prospects improved. I suspect these guard dog qualities persist in most breeds (why else bark at strangers) even if not all individuals.
Before this discussion goes further, dog breeds need to be compared for guarding poultry. Extrapolating the guarding of roaming herds of small ruminants to optimal qualifications for guarding poultry is a romantic notation otherwise.