Chicken protectors

[erthymom2]

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We have one of those - EMMA is just the sweetest little girl. She and my 3 yr. old St. Bernard have bonded big-time and he's helping her learn the ropes where the best pee and poop spots are, and doesn't snap at her when she tries to steal his beef bone -he justs gives her a low FuFF sound and she backs off.

 

[CTChickenMom]

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These dogs are great and I like the thought of having a dog to follow them around. I wouldn't worry so much about the Uncles dog or any other predators for that matter. However, a pure breed dog is not in the budget. I've read up on the dog and it's recommended that the dog grow up with their charges. I'd have to find a dog that was raised with chickens and the dogs themselves aren't very common. I also have to get used to the dog wanting to stay with her flock and not come in the house. They do their jobs 24/7.

I don't even have the chicks yet. It will be August/September before we get eggs. I would certainly offer eggs every week if I thought he'd keep her home and get her fixed but I shouldn't have to bribe him. It should be common courtesy, as well as common sense, to keep your dog in your own yard.

Have to ask DH to speak with Uncle. DH has a better re pore with him. We will give him fair warning so that when we trap his dog and call the game warden, he won't be surprised. I will be looking into placing another strand of wire below the existing electrical fence owned by the farm, they are friends of ours and I don't think they'd mind. Maybe if she gets bit by the fence trying to go under it, it will change her mind about coming here.

I do hope that I can appeal to the farmer mentality that is so ingrained in this family (which I do admire) by using the potential loss of eggs/income/meals should this dog do damage. I don't blame a family for sticking together but I won't be quiet if something happens. We'll just keep that between you and me though.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Find a gamefowl breeder and get a adult roo. If you are talking a small to medium dog it will be no match for the roo. My game hen has sent one of my wolfs running when she got to close to the chicks. Abby probably could have taken Red but she was caught completely off guard by the attack. I have to admit I was shocked at how fast the hen could be as she jumped onto Abby's face clawing and she does not have spurs. A game cock with 3 inch spurs would do some serious damage.

Be advised if you shoot a dog that is not endangering you or your family and your property is not fenced you could be fined. It just depends on your county or state. If I had to shoot a dog there is no doubt it would be in my self defense. And that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[prariechiken]

Need to also be aware that even though in most states it is within your legal rights to protect your livestock with deadly force, it can also be illegal to run your livestock "freerange", be they chickens or any other livestock animal.

If anyone plans on running their fowl "free range" they must be aware and accept that you are going to lose some to predators, be they the neigbors dog, the wild hawks/owls, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, possums, weasels, fishers, skunks, rats....get the picture. We aren't the only ones who like a chicken dinner.

It is absurd to think that a chicken without a proper pen is going to be safe out on the yard. Livestock guardian dogs are not perfect, gamefowl get eaten freerange just like any other chicken, and I would encourage anyone that is contemplating getting chickens to do your research and prepare a nice place for them unless you plan on buying new fowl every year. Instead of creating hard feelings within the family over something as silly as a chicken, build yourself a nice coop with a run and only let the girls out when you plan on keeping lookout yourself.

 

[pascopol]

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Get Anatolian shepherd dog, he will protect all animals, birds etc.belonging to family, he will kill any animal including any dog not belonging to his family encroaching his territory.

 

[PostalChick]

CTChickenMom, I'm new to chickens (they come in a month!) but I also live in CT, and I think we have many predators here besides your neighbors' dog. There are foxes and coyotes and hawks, raccoons, and bears even. I live in a more urban area of the state, but I'm going to make an enclosed run (even the top) and not even try free-ranging (unless I happpened to be outside myself in the yard). I don't think they'd survive the day, really.

For a small, heavily populated state, we do have lots of predatory wildlife-there was even a bear spotted near my mail route last year!

 

[Hen'nbiddies]

My neighbor has a couple of peacocks with her chickens and nothing tries to get close to them. The peacocks are good protectors if you don't mind their calling.

 

[PortageGirl]

Well, CTChickenMom has more on her plate than just the usual suspects when it comes to predators. There's family issues too, and getting a dog that will kill intruders is fine in most cases, but killing the Uncle-in-law's dog and possibly starting family trouble is another whole thing.

It sounds like the Uncle wouldn't be heartbroken, but I think she's trying to find the solution which will cause the fewest waves, cause you know everyone will have something to say. Also, a dog takes time to train, it's best to get that sort of dog as a pup, and raise them with their charges, so that's a problem too.

There are ways to teach a smart adult herding or even Livestock guard dog where his property line is, (walking the fenceline on a leash repeatedly- correcting if they try to go beyond etc) and who (in this case the chickens) his charges are, and some of those prefer living outdoors even in cold weather. It's possible to find a great adult, but you need to look carefully. If there's a breeder around (mine was an Australian Shepherd/Border collie mix) they might know of a good adult prospect. Everyone wants cute puppies, sometimes adults need homes, and sometimes they get an 'accidental' cross. There's always risk in that too though, and still likely expense... lots to think about.

 

[CTChickenMom]

I don't want to kill this neighbors dog, nor do I want a dog that is capable of doing that. All I'd need is for it to misunderstand one of my kids or a neighbor and I've got a monumental problem.

As far as free ranging when I'm watching...I wouldn't stand a chance of saving a hen if this dog got to her first. She attacks and runs with it. The hen would be a mangled mess by the time I got to her.

I will try running a strand of my own electric fence beneath the electric fence that runs the farm next door. It's about an 8" space from the bottom wire (which isn't hot) to the ground. If I make that space 4 inches with my own wire, she'll get zapped by it and hopefully not figure out that she can get around it. Again, I don't want to endanger her health, I just want to scare her enough to keep her on her own side of the fence. Her personality and bad behavior was created by those who own her and no effort has been made to control it. If push comes to shove, I will shove but I think the electric fence will be a good place to start.

 

[PortageGirl]

hehe, I don't mean to imply that Anatolians or any of the other breeds are 'killers', they're not, they're mostly big gentle giants, but very powerful too.

Honestly, most would be willing to head back to the 'flock' after the intruder ran out of their territory. Be it a flock of sheep, goats, cows or poultry.. . They are also usually fine with kids... er, children not just goats. I think they know children need protecting too.

A hyper 'herding' dog, could be more nippy, but again there ARE calm ones out there, it just takes effort to find the right match. I think you're doing the right thing for now, and it sounds like you'd like another dog anyway, so you can keep an eye out for one with the right temperment in the mean time!

I don't think I'll ever have another dog that isn't a working type, either a flock guard type or another good aussie.