Do Dogs and Chickens EVER mix??

[Chickenmaven]

I have not read all the replies...
I must confess that my first response to your initial question was a big ol' sigh... "Here we go again." Seems that alot of people have fantasies that their dogs and chickens will lounge about together. This is against the core nature of these animals.
Case in point: I have the mellowest doggie - a real doll. His run is adjacent to the chicken run. He lays against the fence and the hens hang out next to him. Oh, dreamy, yes? We were able to take photos of him with the chicks, just like many other BYCers. Perfect, yes? He was this dreamy Mr. Sweetie right until the day a hen got loose. (We do not freerange. ) The hen flew straight at him. He had it in his mouth and on the ground in a split second. Because I was 'right there' the hen lived.
I do believe that there are livestock dogs and a combination of TRAINING and genetics make them suitable for guarding chickens. I also believe that MOST dogs are not suited to this role.

(Just my opinion - one of many...)

 

[journey's end]

I haven't read all the replies either but would like to add, I have a lab cross that will sit beside a chicken and ignore it. She doesn't care one iota that it's there. My outside farm dog, however, can never be left alone near the chickens, she'll kill them all. And she was started at 5 weeks old to coexist with them. So yes, some can, but some are too ingrained to hunt.

 

[halo]

I havent read all posts either, but mine are fine with them. Ive left them outside together, gone in the house, forgot they were out there until hours later, and the dogs were just snoozing under the tree with chickens pecking around them. I really think it needs to be on a case by case basis.

 

[suburbanminifarm]

Quote:
Yes I second that, my dogs are out unsupervised all the time. The chickens bore the heck out of them. But yes it is on a case by case basis. I'm sure some dogs have an unusually high prey drive.
But to me, the argument that "oh, it's a dog's instinct to prey on chickens- they just do it and we are helpless" does not hold water. No one ever says that they JUST CANNOT train their dog to not eat food that's available on the counter, or to not attack a toddler, or to not bite when a human removes their bone, or not to defecate all over our house, or not to eat from the owners plate, etc etc etc. We establish pack leader dominance over our dogs (hopefully) and they have an instinct to always respect things that belong to their pack leader. I have personally let friends dogs in to our yard with the chickens free ranging; I just have to give the dog the unmistakable message that the chickens belong to me only. It does work. No problem. But if you don't have that kind of relationship with your dogs, for heavens sake don't push your luck!

 

[dlolato]

I have a three year old Boxer and two Dachshunds (one seven and the other 1-1/2 yrs old). The Boxer is the protector and gathers and gets along well with the chickens. On the other hand, the Dachshunds are the ones I always have to watch, and would never consider leaving them unsupervised around the flock. Surprisingly, our cats love to intermingle with the flock and will go into the coop and lay with the chickens. Many a day, I will find one or more of them lazily on top of the nesting boxes, while the chickens are laying.

When there are special kitchen treats for the chickens, the cats are again right there seeing if anything is of interest to them!

 

[edselpdx]

My dachshund was very interested until the chickens were full sized. She even caught one once when my back was turned for just a second and got a mouthful of feathers. Now that they're bigger than her, though, they just reach out and peck her mercilessly whenever she comes outside, so she avoids them like the plague.

That said, I have a very submissive dachshund, and most dogs are not like her. Different dogs are different, and you'll just have to see. In general, I would NOT leave a dog unattended with chickens ever. Now, for me, it's concern over the welfare of the dog, of course, but in most cases, it's just the predator instinct in the dog goes off if the chickens run or skitter. Mmmmmmm, chicken.

My cats are fine with the chickens and like to hang out with them. I've found one sledping inside the raised coop in the morning, which means she was in there with the chix all night long. She was eager to be out, but the ladies weren't in the least distressed, and the cat was just hungry for her crunchy cat food.

 

[sephiroth]

My pit bull is often out with the free-ranging chickens -- un supervised. No problem. I do have two other dogs I do not rust like that however.

 

[Dutchgirl]

My standard poodle will chase chickens if he gets the chance, but usually he'll just sit and watch them rather closely. We can now let him outside while the chickens are also roaming free. I think he is jealous, too, because he will eat chicken food without hesitation. He has never, ever killed one. We did have to train him not to chase them all over; plus he's an obedient dog. He's kind of the same about toys -- he'll only think he's allowed to play with something if you play with it with him.

About the matter of the chickens eating poop, I haven't seen them do it so far. Of course, all chickens are different, but I think it would be safe.

It's not good if they may have cocci virus, though!

 

[luvmychks51]

my aussie guards my chickens like they were his babies. i don't trust any of my other dogs.

 

[BlackBart]

Mine dogs get along with the chickens. They do not hurt family members. I give them no room for them to think otherwise.

One will growl at the chickens if they try to peck her bone when she is eating it but she will not hurt them.

I even have taught one ACD to stop the Rooster when he jumps on a hen.