Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

Hello everybody and Happy Thanksgiving! I am looking for a dog for my chickens and would love some advice on what to look for. Mostly been looking at great Pyrenees...

Make sure you get an LGD breed, nothing else. You can get a mixture of these breeds such as Great Pyrenees & Anatolian, that is what I just added to my pack. I also have two Great Pyrenees. There are several breeds of LGDs, you can research all of the breeds online & read about them. The Great Pyrenees & Anatolians are the most common in the US, although there are other breeds not as common. HEChicken has two of the rare breed LGDs, she can tell you about them. One thing to consider in getting an LGD is that if you get a puppy you will need to get through the puppy stage no matter what breed you get. They will need some guidance if you plan to have them with chickens & other birds. Puppies will play & chase if allowed & you have to be very firm with them & give them boundaries & rules. You also will have to confine them for several months at night till they're big enough & old enough to fight off a coyote or other predator for their protection. I kept my two in a dog run at night till they were 7-8 months old. This is especially important if you have no other older LGD to teach them. They will start working about that age but keep in mind large breed dogs like that aren't adults till 18 months of age. There are several of us who have LGDs on this thread, so feel free to ask any questions you may have. Also you might get on the sites on FB if you're on there & read, however people are very opinionated & you may find lots of opinions of all kinds. Also, it is much better to have two because one dog cannot fight off a pack of coyotes alone & can be injured or killed.

 

[chicklover56]

...

[COLOR=0000FF]Make sure you get an LGD breed, nothing else. You can get a mixture of these breeds such as Great Pyrenees & Anatolian, that is what I just added to my pack. I also have two Great Pyrenees. There are several breeds of LGDs, you can research all of the breeds online & read about them. The Great Pyrenees & Anatolians are the most common in the US, although there are other breeds not as common. HEChicken has two of the rare breed LGDs, she can tell you about them. One thing to consider in getting an LGD is that if you get a puppy you will need to get through the puppy stage no matter what breed you get. They will need some guidance if you plan to have them with chickens & other birds. Puppies will play & chase if allowed & you have to be very firm with them & give them boundaries & rules. You also will have to confine them for several months at night till they're big enough & old enough to fight off a coyote or other predator for their protection. I kept my two in a dog run at night till they were 7-8 months old. This is especially important if you have no other older LGD to teach them. They will start working about that age but keep in mind large breed dogs like that aren't adults till 18 months of age. There are several of us who have LGDs on this thread, so feel free to ask any questions you may have. Also you might get on the sites on FB if you're on there & read, however people are very opinionated & you may find lots of opinions of all kinds. Also, it is much better to have two because one dog cannot fight off a pack of coyotes alone & can be injured or killed. [/COLOR]
Ok. I've researched a lot and that's mostly the breeds I have seen. I didn't know about getting 2 though. Should I get 2 boys, 2 girls, or a boy and a girl? Or does it matter? And thank you so much for the information that is really helpful!

 

[HEChicken]

Quote: Trish is correct that you need at least two. They will be company for one another but will also back one another up. A lone dog will burn out quickly as it is always on alert for potential dangers, whereas two dogs will spell one another. Also, one dog is vulnerable to being killed by the predators (in our area mostly coyotes but mountain lions are an increasing problem). A single dog does not stand a chance against a pack of coyotes.

Before getting my pair, I researched gender and although every dog is an individual and therefore everyone's experience is different, the general consensus is that a male/female pair will work best together. Just keep in mind that it is best to wait to neuter until they are fully mature at 18+ months of age, and a female will generally have her first heat cycle around 8-12 months of age. So you will need a way to confine her so that she doesn't get bred on her heat cycle (about 3 weeks).

 

[Trish44]

I got two female GPs to begin with & they're sisters. That seems to be somewhat of a mistake on my part for the reason that they argue & fight over silly things, sibling rivalry at it's best. However, when it comes to working they do work together very well & back each other up, so I guess the minor fighting at times is something I can tolerate as long as they do their job. They have not injured each other in their spats & tend to just guard different directions on the property so that works out OK. I did get a male puppy this time hoping that maybe it would balance things out some, time will tell about that. I got my two females spayed earlier than HEChicken said because of the fact that I did not want to deal with heat cycles because that causes stray dogs to come in & that poses a whole other problem. Also, the females tend to wander more at that time as well. I do not have fences to keep mine in all around the property & my situation is different than HEChicken's so you have to do what is best for your situation & your property. HEChicken has her two LGDs confined in a totally fenced area with the sheep & goats. Mine protect the whole property, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, & geese as well as us. So I guess what I'm saying is that you have to look at what your needs are with the LGDs & act accordingly. As I said earlier, you will have to provide a safe place for them to stay especially at night for several months till they get big enough & mature enough to fight off a coyote.

 

[chicklover56]

Ok thank you two very much. Excellent information, I think male/female will work out. @Trish44 @HEChicken

 

[chicken danz]

I agree with the others. I have two females and one male. The males are really more docile than the females normally. And most females will compete with each other for dominance. Pyrenees greatest fault is that they are food aggressive. This is a trait that Antolians possess as well. They often don't even want the food, but they don't want anyone else to get it either. I haven't seen that trait in males at all and I've had several over the years. They are the most docile, and less aggressive initially but they are a perfect back up for a female because they will come to her aid with an almost scary change of personality if she needs it. Watching the dogs work over the years each takes a position, in close or outer limits and that is their work area. Then they come to each other's aid as needed. The males appear almost lazy at times and usually take the close area. But when I female becomes incapacitate, like if she has puppies, the male will give her in the inner area and take over the outer area. Amazing animals who seem to know just what to do on their own.
I've been so busy that I haven't had time to post or respond to anyone. Today I was out working but am not feeling good so I decided it was time to relax and rest a little. I have another appointment tomorrow so the coming week is starting off busy again.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Lizzy - congrats on the chicks - how many did you end up getting and how are they doing?

Sorry for the slow reply, we were on vacation last week.

I ended up with four chicks total - 100% of the eggs hatched that I gave my broody hen. The only rooster I have on the place is a barred rock, so the chicks are all 50% barred rock. I've got one chick that looks like a barred rock chick (black with a little yellow spot on the head). One of the other chicks is black but has a sort of mottled look, especially on the head. One of the chicks is yellow and the fourth one is yellow with greyish marks. I don't know which birds lay which eggs, so it is only my best guess as to what else these birds are crossed with. I tried to grab one Easter Egger egg (only blue/green egg I've got). I don't know which chick hatched from which egg though, so they are all just guesses right now as to what they are. It is so neat to watch them with the mama hen though! My toddler hasn't had a chance to see them yet. I'm excited to show them to him now that we are back on vacation. The chicks have been doing really well despite all the cold weather we've had. You guys were sure right when you said it was way easier to let a broody take care of the chicks than it was to raise them myself!

Quick question on the chicks though: I don't have any medicated feed and only have a little bit of crumbles left. Is it bad if I just feed the chicks the pellets I feed to the adult birds (16% layer pellets that I buy from Orschelns)? It seems silly to buy a bag of feed for four chicks, and I am almost out of the crumbles with the chicks being only about a week or 10 days old.

 

[chicken danz]

Quick question on the chicks though: I don't have any medicated feed and only have a little bit of crumbles left. Is it bad if I just feed the chicks the pellets I feed to the adult birds (16% layer pellets that I buy from Orschelns)? It seems silly to buy a bag of feed for four chicks, and I am almost out of the crumbles with the chicks being only about a week or 10 days old.

No don';t give the chicks the adult feed. It's not formulated for chicks and they can't eat anything as large as the pellets. If you are letting the hen take her chicks out and free range they will probably get plenty of nutrition from the ground. They do sell little bags of chick starter though although it's not a real bargain by any means.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Is it okay to let the hen out to free range with the chicks? What about the bigger birds? Is it okay to put the mama hen and her chicks in with the adult birds (or let them out to free range with the adults)?

 

[HEChicken]

No don';t give the chicks the adult feed. It's not formulated for chicks and they can't eat anything as large as the pellets. If you are letting the hen take her chicks out and free range they will probably get plenty of nutrition from the ground. They do sell little bags of chick starter though although it's not a real bargain by any means.

I agree with all of this. I would just caution at this time of year there isn't much nutrition for them to find so they really do need the chick crumbles as well. In summer they can get by nicely with a lot of free-range.

Is it okay to let the hen out to free range with the chicks? What about the bigger birds? Is it okay to put the mama hen and her chicks in with the adult birds (or let them out to free range with the adults)?

Everyone's situation is different but yes, I let mine out with the flock. I've never had an adult bird bother the chicks but if they get too close, he Mama Hen will let them know it. She is very protective of the chicks and will fluff up and charge anyone she thinks is too close. Motherhood makes hens especially brave and I have seen tiny bantam hens go after turkeys, cats and dogs, in protection of their chicks.

What I did is to create a "chick creeper". It is a box with a small opening at the bottom that the chicks can crawl under to get to a feeder filled with chick crumbles, but the adults cannot get to them. That way the chicks have free access to the food they need, but I'm not feeding it to the whole flock.