Chicken guard dogs for homes near Australian bush

[VickyandAndrew]

Hi all,

My husband and I are looking at getting a puppy in the next few months and I would love to hear some of your stories / experiences with chicken-guard-dogs to help us decide on a breed. I wouldn't be leaving them alone together anyway but I would like to think that we got a dog that would not go crazy trying to get to the girls while we are at work... I know my parents' Jack Russell would go feral for sure!

We live in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia and our property backs on to a lane close to the bush so I am wary of snakes. We've only lived here two years and so far I have seen a diamond python but we're expecting red bellies and death adders so I am wary of our chook safety as well as a dog's. (Gosh, and our own).

Our property is approx. 900 square metres (0.25 acre) and we are looking for a large dog, he/she will get plenty of exercise and I don't mind grooming. We are thinking of starting a family soon as well, so I definitely want a family friendly breed.

Would love to hear about your experiences / suggestions! If anyone has tips about how to introduce them etc that would be fab too!


Thanks a lot! :+)

Vicky.

 

[Peaches Lee]

I have an Australian Cattle Dog that does superb with the chickens. They are very oriented on pleasing their master. I got chickens when she was an adult and fit in very nicely because she knew harming the chickens would upset master very much. My English Mastiff I'm not 100% trustworthy she would not snatch up a bird, she does great with our cats but I daren't risk a bird to see how she'd be. A lot of times it's not necessarily the breed of dog but the dog's personality. However, dogs bred for high prey drive and flushing/hunting/killing small creatures I would avoid (like Rat Terrier). I'm sure there are those types of dogs out there that are fine with chickens (and no doubt someone will chime in on how wonderful their high prey dog is with their birds) but alas I would like to stack the deck in my favor. Good luck to you.

 

[FoxyChicken]

x2 on the ACD!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I have an ACD as well and he was raised on a farm with cows, then we introduced him to the chickens. He licked their tails and herded them every now and then, but never ever hurt them. He was a great guard dog for the animals and never roamed. Super smart as well and I'm sure you could teach them very easily to avoid snakes. They can be a handful though, and definitely need a job (guarding the farm and playing fetch was almost adequate for our guy, though he still was super hyper). Ours was never very good with kids, but my parents got him when my brother and I were older. They are so loyal to their families, I'm sure they would be just fine if raised with children.

Other dogs that do quite well as farm guard dogs are Great Pyrenees, german shepherds, and Anatolian shepherds. Most dogs if raised as puppies with chickens can be taught to leave them alone but some are better at the guarding job than others. I do know some people with ACDs would never trust them with birds but ours was always good with any animal.

 

[VickyandAndrew]

Thanks guys!
I hadn't thought of an aussie cattle dog! I think I definitely want to avoid the ratters, regardless of the success stories. A herder might be a good option... and funny if I could train to herd the girls. Haha. I think whatever direction we go I'll have to find out as much as I can about the specific pup's personality before we get them and train them well.