Do Dogs and Chickens EVER mix??

[horsejody]

BTW

 

[ChooksChick]

My take:

If your dogs are a part of the family and mainly live in the house, have house rules, etc., you'll be able to teach them the chickens are part of the 'pack.'

I brooded my first birds in the house and brought my Lab and Terrier mix into the room with the chicks daily and made them lay down while we spent time socializing with the chicks for an hour. By day 3, the dogs were bored.

We continued this until the birds were ready to go outside- this *DID* change the way the dogs saw them- temporarily.

We never left the birds and dogs unattended together until we were certain the dogs wanted to protect the birds- that was about a week in when a neighborhood cat came around.

I would feel safe leaving my dogs in the coop overnight. It's just the way these dogs are, though. I can tell you it's not a lack of prey drive- the Lab still tries to get squirrels and occasionally gets a tail (but loses his grip). The birds are HIS birds, and he won't mess with them at all. He patiently waits until they walk away from treats to get his share, btw.

I don't want to encourage dangerous behavior- you have to de-sensitize the dog to the birds. I don't actually know if Henry wouldn't eat other chickens- you know, ones that aren't *his* birds. He might!

ETA: Both dogs were over 4 years old when we got birds.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Trust this lady on this, her dog killed ALL her chicks.

She knows what she's talking about after that experience.

Start them young if you want to try it. I have a Lab and a hound- and I NEVER allow them around my birds, too tempting for them. My personal theory is to plan and build for the worst and hope for the best.

 

[Bandit]

My golden retriever was 1 when we got chickens and I had to tell him a couple of times to leave them alone. Now he lies on the lawn and the chickens scratch through his tail looking for bugs. He does like to eat their poop but they don't eat his. Just one big happy family. The chickens are scared to death of the cat, though. He's so slinky!

 

[Akane]

If you don't want to risk losing a chicken never leave any dog unsupervised with chickens. Any dog could suddenly decide to give chase. I have seen more than a few instances where someone's dog had great obedience training and was just fine around their small pets until one random day when they were left alone and then a slaughter happens. You never know what could do it. Most dogs can be made trustworthy while someone is around. I would have once said all dogs and then I met shibas. Don't even try to raise a shiba not to think "kill" everytime it sees anything it's size or smaller. It's what they were originally bred for and it's ingrained in them to go after anything. My akita knows chickens, hamsters, sugar gliders, etc... are part of the pack. She's followed me around the chickens before and every now and then she gets it in her head to jump the 6' fence out of the dog yard and run out into the field past the chickens. She rarely pays any attention to them. However she's banned from the coop because she just can't resist sticking paws on chickens if they wander too close. She lets them go and they are unharmed but someday I know her large size will lead to an accident if she's left unsupervised with them too long.

 

[OutInTheStiks]

I hope I don't jinx our good luck... I think it depends more on the individual dog than any other factor. Callie, our Australian Shepherd, free ranges with the chickens all day. She and the chickens are both confined to the back yard. She tends to totally ignore the chickens unless they get too close to her and then she acts more scared of them than they do of her. Our other dogs, I would not trust alone with the chickens for 30 seconds.

As for the poop eating; Callie is a chicken poop eating machine. She seems no worse for it, she just doesn't get any kisses from us. Our bantams scratch around in her poop, but I think they are looking for beetles that are also looking for the poop rather than eating the poop itself. The bigger chickens pay no attention to the poop at all.

 

[pamperedpoultry]

I have 3 australian shepherds that share the yard with my standard Cochins its nothing to see them all sharing a pile of crumbles..LOL

 

[cluckychick]

I have a mixed breed large dog. I'd say Lab/Bird Dog of some sort that lives in my backyard. My chickens are penned but one pen is not enclosed on top and those hens come and go as they please. When they first started getting out I thought I would lose some if they interfered in his "territory" because he kills things that don't belong here including cats. They go in his dog house take dust baths in his dig holes and steal his bread if he drops hit when I'm feeding treets. I was totally amazed. He's had no training whatsoever with any livestock. I think them just being here and him knowing they belong here and are not intruders. I would say he tolerates them and they know when to move out of his way. He's turned out to be a good livestock guardian and I've yet (knock on wood) to lose a chicken to a varmit.

 

[McCord6]

I dont know if this would work but someone just told me to try this...my neighbor. He told me to do this...Keep the dog on a short leash and hold him/her tightly. Go to the coop with the dog. If the dog tries to attack or make a run for the chicken, give a loud HIYA! Make it loud! Dogs do not like loud sudden noises like that, they will skitter at the noise. Pull the dog back to your side. Phrase the dog. He said he trained 2 adult dogs using this method.

He also said find something noisy that the dog DOES NOT like, like windcharms or something and hang them around the coop. Dog is not going to go near something that hurts it's ears or it doesn't like.

I don't know if this works since I haven't tried it on Pearl yet but Im thinking about giving it a try. I say it's worth a shot.

 

[Nyrial]

My miniature poodles chased and killed two of my chicks.

Haven't bothered them now that they're big.. or the ducks, or the turkeys. However, we don't leave them unattended either.

On the other hand, the chicks were great squeeky toys I think. I also

them for it. I'm hoping it gave them a total aversion to chickens... but I still don't trust them.

ETA: It was my fault though really. They know better than to mess with the house birds. The chicks escaped the pen they were in, in the backyard, and I wasn't with them, I just figured they would know better, and I thought wrong. ACtually they know better, by the way they scattered when I came outside. However, the temptation... ooooh.