Chicken Friendly Dogs?

[Ashley Pederson]

We currently have a 3 year old terrier mix dog who is either great with the chickens or too small to bother them. She is really bonded with my daughter who is starting school in the fall, so we are starting to think about getting a second dog as a companion for her. We have a fairly large fenced in yard in a very dog friendly neighborhood. I am also home throughout the day and enjoy going for walks. Now our big concern is for the safety of the chickens who we allow to free range in our backyard for a couple of hours each day.

Are there any specific dog breeds that seem to be fairly chicken friendly? They would never be in the yard alone together and we want to get a puppy, so hopefully early exposure will help their relationship. They also need to be good with small children (2 and 4 years)

 

[drumstick diva]

I don't think you can count on any particular breed to be good with chickens. Individual dogs may be excellent or horrible - you can't tell ahead of time unless you buy a dog from someone that raised it a round chickens and it was trustworthy.

Terrier breeds have a high prey drive and can be murderous on chickens, also Chihuahuas, doxies, yorkies , and a lot of the bigger breeds. You can also have one like your terrier that doesn't molest them.

Generally the safe road to take - is never have them together. Lots of people rotate the dog and chickens in and out of their yard at different times. But, it only takes one slip up where both end up together. Dogs + chickens usually = dead chickens. Whether the dog wants to eat them or play with them - the result ends up the same DEAD chickens.

Now and then a rooster or boss hen, will chase the dog(cat) down and put the fear of "POULTRY" in them. Sadly it doesn't happen very often. As far as I know a chicken has never killed a dog.

I've been a dog lover all my life but, I am a realist. For every dog that loves his flock and considers chickens his buddies there are probably 50 more who slink around burping up feathers.

 

[PIPPAC1986]

You can never guarantee any dog to be good with chickens- I have a springer spaniel and shes too scared of mine to bother with them- each dog is different so think about that before getting another dog- breed has nothing to do with it

 

[wyoDreamer]

Get whatever breed of dog you want and train it to leave the chickens alone. Any breed of dog can be good or bad with chickens.
Training, training, training.

 

[Ashley Pederson]

Thank you, that seems to be the general consensus on some older posts I found after making mine. I was shocked to read about some other tiny breeds like mine doing so much damage to flocks. We took our introductions slow and never leave them alone together, but I feel very fortunate that we never had an issue *knocks on wood*.

 

[ChickzNSilkiez]

Great Pyrenees. We raised them for many years with our sheep, birds, ducks ect. Puppies (and adults) were allowed free range of the farm. Never ever had any attack any animals, may of run a little bit when puppies, but never hurt any animal. In fact, would allow chicks/ducklings ect to crawl on them while sleeping. Amazing to watch puppies patrol the fences at night. Instinct. The breed is simply the livestock guardian. All stock. The "gentle giant"

Edited to add: Here is a really informative link: (have NO affiliation)

http://boondockers.sharepoint.com/pages/greatpyrenees.aspx

 

[dainerra]

honestly, getting a dog as a companion for another dog is a bad idea. get a second dog if YOU want a second dog. dogs don't care about the companionship in that way - their instinct is to socialize with the animals/people in their pack. Most will eventually accept new members but not always. What if you buy a second dog and your first dog hates having a "friend"? Just make the most of the time that the dog spends with the family and she'll adjust fine.

 

[dainerra]

also, even though your dog doesn't bother the chickens as a single dog, that doesn't mean having a friend wouldn't trigger her prey drive. either the other dog could teach her the bad habit or the simple fact of 2 dogs vs 1 can make a huge personality difference.

 

[bwoods]

I have a pitbull that is surprisingly good with the chickens. That is the only thing he is good at....He watches them, lays in the pen with them, and rounds them up like a sheep dog. He keeps the birds away from their food too. Its crazy. The only other thing hes good at is junking and tearing crap up. He has many names...Bruiser, Scrappy, Junker, Clunker, Bulldozer, etc....

 

[broodyhen2]

The best thing to get would be a young pup of your chosen breed as any dog breed can kill a chicken although some are safer choices.
Raise the pup around fowl from a young age and the dog will learn to respect chickens