Chicken flock guardians

[cackleberrycoop]

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Wow, beautiful dogs - truly striking looking and if those pictures are off of your phone then I want to know what phone you have - they are great shots! In all these pictures of the Maremmas, they look like they are smiling all the time. Happy looking dogs, how cool is that?

 

[cackleberrycoop]

pride&joy :

my pac guards goats, chickens and what ever else I decide is part of the pac.

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Is that a little Turken chick? What a funny picture, that little bald baby neck is pretty hilarious. That picture of your pack is awfully endearing. What a sweet group of pups. Do you ever have any trouble with your Anatolians getting along with the other dogs?​

 

[centrarchid]

Goldenseal,

For successful guarding, our dogs had to be vigilant. When it got really cold birds were no more inclined to range than dogs, as a matter of a fact they would often retreat to same "warm" locations. Had some stags that would actually roost on dogs in their doghouse.

Coyotes in our situation did not approach homestead. Dogs were clearly dominant, even in woods. Only time coyotes had edge was when single dog got faced down by more than one coyote. Saw that more than once. Also saw dogs, like their wild wolf kin, would go back to barnyard and recruit other dogs that would go out and mark where coyotes had trespassed. Coyotes never remained to challenge multiple dogs. Our dogs were also larger than our local coyotes. Small female dog >50 pounds, while a very large male coyote would be only 45 pounds. Latter always looked bigger than they were, even after being shot.

Our short-haired dogs are challenged by cold of lower midwest but they are not housedogs and we feed extra to compensate for cold.

We did have a few eaters-of-chickens but those were confined once identified. That could be broken of habit if needed without use of the chicken to dogs neck trick. Dogs exposed as pups to chickens generally got along fine with chickens.

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

you used black and tan coon hounds to protect your poultry i would think they would follow there nose out of there very cool
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[centrarchid]

you used black and tan coon hounds to protect your poultry i would think they would follow there nose out of there very cool.

Some were prone to follow nose and had to penned up unless hunting. Those that did versus those that did not seemed to have no relationbship with hunting performance other than roamers tended to make wider sweeps away from us when hunting. Sometimes good, somtimes not. Roamers were not good guard dogs.​

 

[vicki2x2]

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Wow, beautiful dogs - truly striking looking and if those pictures are off of your phone then I want to know what phone you have - they are great shots! In all these pictures of the Maremmas, they look like they are smiling all the time. Happy looking dogs, how cool is that?

No, I meant the only recent pics were on my phone and those were not good, so I didn't post them.

They are super sweet, love attention. Sometimes I will just go sit out in the pasture and they will try to lay in my lap, silly dogs think they fit!

 

[shesaredroan]

Goldenseal,
Great Pyrenees, Anatolian and Maremma sound like good breeds for you to consider. With the deep cold you have in your area I would look at the GP and the Maremma first, due to their heavy coats.

I have GPs to protect my place. Lost chickens, cats and my wire fox terrier to coyotes in the past, now with pyrs patroling, I haven't had a 'yote on my place since.

Got my pyrs from a family farm that raises goats and has pyrs to protect their herds. They only breed their dogs when they need more or when friends need a pup or two. In other words they are NOT breeders, wanting big bucks for show dogs. Their dogs have no papers, don't cost an arm & leg.........but their dogs do what the breed was intended to do, that is the dogs haven't had the instinct bred out of them. (GP have a wonderful history that goes back over 500 years, protecting shepherds, their flocks as well as royalty.)

I would also encourage you to consider getting at least 2 dogs. They really do work better as a team, and when dealing with a pack of coyotes, they can back each other up. I've heard of folks, who only had one dog, losing it to a 'yote pack.

Got my pyrs as puppies (different ages) and taught them who to look after, that is, who was family.....be they 2 legged or 4 legged. The older dogs help to train the puppies. These 'gentle giants' can be excellent family dogs, trusted around anything YOU consider family.........but he11 on wheels for anything/one that doesn't belong.

Best of luck in your search for a LGD.

 

[pride&joy]

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Is that a little Turken chick? What a funny picture, that little bald baby neck is pretty hilarious. That picture of your pack is awfully endearing. What a sweet group of pups. Do you ever have any trouble with your Anatolians getting along with the other dogs?

My Anatolians get along fine with the rest of the pac. It is a blissful existence my other dogs are no push over, but I must say the Anatolians are the top of the heap. I have had some trouble with my two males. My oldest dog Runt (dane mix 15 yrs) neutered and Cucco (Anatolian 3yrs) intact for now. They got into it once while I was not home and the Anatolian did some pretty serious damage. That was about two years ago and all though they have had an incident or two since nothing that needed a trip to the Vet. I manage the situation and leave little dough as to who is in charge. Love the Anatolians but they are not for every one (as I hear my female bark in the darkness). I work as a Veterinary technician and do some behavior modification with dogs, so I have a definite plan always. They do keep my goats / chickens / property very well protected. Any predator be it critter or human foolish enough to ignore the bark will surely regret its mistake. I live not 5 miles from the Everglades and neighbors have trouble with feral dogs, bobcats, and even coyotes. Knock on wood no such problems here, do have good fences intended to keep the dogs in. They readily will accept the same new people they where barking at soon as I or other family member gives the stand down. They play with kids and guard my stock great dogs.

 

[pride&joy]

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Nope cold is not normally a problem here although it did get to be 18 last winter for a few hours. Even then my goats and dogs did fine not my banana tress. We live on 1 1/3 acres with strong perimeter fencing to keep dogs in. The goats have their pastures /pens / barns butt are not allowed free range. The chickens are all over free range and dogs go where they please there is normally one or two with the stock at all times (by their own choice). I am a firm believer that good fences make good neighbors I would hate to think of what my pac would do running loose of property.

 

[pride&joy]

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well said 2x