Chickens and dogs coexisting?????

[TominWa]

100lb lab/pitt The chickens sit on him.

 

[JaeG]

Huskies and Malamutes have extremely high prey drives and are independent thinkers - they are not in it to please you. They can sometimes be kept with cats if raised with them but smaller animals and birds are viewed as prey. Anything fleeing is prey, no matter how big. They are hugely intelligent and need to work and run.

Our neighbours had two Malamutes. One was obsessed with cats and would kill them. She had to be put down. A pair of Huskies were getting out locally and killing sheep.

It will take a lot of training (do it individually so they cannot feed off each other) and be prepared for the fact that your dog's personalities may make it impossible for them to be trusted with your chickens. I've read of German shepherds on here who are as good as gold while their owners are around, but as soon as no one is looking they'll grab a bird. Not all dogs can be trusted with livestock, even with all the training in the world.

 

[drumstick diva]

I'm a dog lover BUT, so many members have said they lost chickens/chicks, to their own pet dogs /cats. I think when the opportunity presents itself - they will take advantage. Pets tend to be angels when their human parents are watching. Then they will give in to their instincts when they are alone.

 

[Johnny98]

The shepherd of my flock..

 

[PirateGirl]

Also consider this. It's one thing for a dog to be calm if the chickens are calm, but what happens when a chicken gets spooked or grabs a worm and runs past your dog at full speed flapping and shrieking? Will your dog still be calm and ignore the chickens? Or is your dog territorial? What happens if a friend comes over and gets out of the car while your dog is guarding the chickens? Is your friend now a threat? There are other factors at play to consider here. Only you know your dogs.

 

[Mimi13]

I have 7 dogs: 3 Labs, 2 Heelers, 1 Catahoula, and 1 Shepherd/Pyrenees mix. My 4 hens just began free ranging this past summer. For a little over a year my dogs could only see the hens in their run. The Labs were ALWAYS the curious ones. The others payed no attention to them. Once I started letting the hens free range, I would always put the hens up when the Labs needed to go outside to use the bathroom. After some time went by I did like several others and brought the dogs outside, one at a time, on a leash. I let them smell around the hens really good, which calmed some of the curiosity. Long story short I can let the dogs outside now without putting the girls up, but I’m always out with them. There’s still that look in their eyes.
Now my Shepherd/Pyrenees mix, Sadie, is my saving grace. She is an angel who just showed up in our pasture last March as a starving pup. She was about seven months old when I started letting the hens free range and she has been their constant companion and guardian ever since. Literally! Even though she is a mix, the livestock guardian dog side of her is amazing.
My Labs are all 9 and 10 years old and I’ve already decided that when they pass I am going to get a full blooded, Great White Pyrenees to be Sadie’s companion. The LGD is truly amazing. Here is a pic of Sadie with 3 of her 4 girls. She follows them everywhere.

 

[Patinas]

I have a small mixed breed dog that gets along wonderfully with the chickens. She even eats stuff off their treat trays with them! My daughter comes to visit often and she has a border collie mix that is fine with the flock too. But...she also just got a Blue Healer pup and I can tell already he's going to be a challenge. He totally keys in on the chickens and goes into that mindset where he's so focused on them that he isn't listening to us humans. Not feeling real confident at this point that we'll be able to train him to leave them be but only time will tell.