Could i have free range chickens with dogs?

[the fox]

I have a boxer cross boer bull and a great dane cross german shepherd (she is a hunter).

I will give your plans a try and i will say how it goes.

 

[Critter Crazy]

My chooks free range, and i have two dogs, a rotti and a bloodhound/lab mix, the rotti roams the 13 acres with the chickens, the bloodhound mix is on a run, as he has no recall whatsoever. but neithe of my dogs bother the chickens. In the very beginning, when they first met the chickens, they tried to chase them a few times, but after a few crrections from me, they leave the chickens alone.

 

[cath]

my german shepard dog is fine with our free range flock, but i certainly wouldn't trust my mother-in-laws two jack russell terriers. It really depends on the individual dog. Good luck.

 

[RebelsHope]

For every person on here that says that their dogs do get along with chickens there is someone who is not on a board like this because their dog ate the chickens.

I would highly suggest teaching your dog to "leave it." If you don't know how there are several articles on the internet that teach you, just google "leave it".

Mine also get along, for the most part, with the chickens. Dachshunds and bichon.

 

[tink]

When we moved into our house we inherited 2 goats and 1 chicken. Our dogs were okay with the chicken but not the goats. We have since brought home 24 baby chicks and had them in the house and told the dogs that they were their babies. We have a Jack Russel and a Doxie that dont bother anything. The Pit....protects those babies like you wouldn't believe.....from other animals and from the hawks that fly over. It worked for us....maybe it will work for you too
Tink

 

[Varisha]

Yes the leave it command is a must for any dog. A good solid sit stay is also highly important.

If your chickens are to be safe you need to evaluate your dog and yours relationship as well. If your not top dog then he/she will not respect your right to keep him from the tasty morsals that peck around your yard. After you test out the behavior on leash (and it works fine) then I would not allow any unsupervised visits with the chicks for severl weeks and maybe months.

I have a great dane that will chase the chickens if I let her. I simply don't let her chase them down a simple leave it does the job. However, she is also a willing partner in herding the chickens to other locations or away from buildings I don't want them in (at that momment). As her pack leader she reads my body language to figure out what I want from her. And as pack leader I reward good behavior and fairly punish mis-behavior.

 

[me&mygirls]

When I got my 6 chicks a year ago my cow dog (Aussie/Border Collie mix) Molly had to check on them every night when she came in the house where I had them.
When I moved them in to their outdoor pen she couldn't wait to visit them and didn't mind them following her around.
Posted in Predators recently about a weasel getting into my coop and killing one of my girls.

Molly now sits with them in the morning when they come out of the coop for breakfast and she sits again in the evening before they roost up. I live in the mountains of Montana and weasels are a fact of life here. Don't clip the girl's wings and they have places to get up out of the way (and the pen will withstand skunks, foxes, coyotes & hawks) but weasels would require hard cloth wire and thats not in the budget so the girls need to rely on their natural instincts when a predator that size is around.

 

[the fox]

Thanks i will soon try it out