do ya all use a gard dog to keep watch over your chickens

[countryboy1988]

hi i am new to the whole chicken raiseing thing i hear many a story about coons killing chickens well her is my ? do any of you use a dog to help keep your chickens safe i am thinking about useing my treeing feist squirrel and coon dog to help me keep watch over them which i tink will work any one easle use a dog to watch over your chickens if so what breed thanks

 

[missourichickenmama]

No, But that sounds like a good Idea

 

[Olive Hill]

Raccoons are most generally an issue at night, at which point your chickens should be fast asleep in their well-locked coop. A dog never hurts for back-up however, ours do a great job of deterring varmint from entering the area immediate to the house -- but you'll still occasionally get a very persistent predator that comes in anyway so make sure any dog you expect to guard is utd on vaccinations.

 

[mahsmaj]

I do! He is a Golden Retreiver Chow mix. He has the coloring of a rottweiler or doberman somehow but has the body and longer hair like a Golden Retreiver. His name is Bear and he is the friendliest thing around. He loves the chickens! One day I came home to find him in his dog house sleeping with my three young silkie roos! It was sooo cute! He chases and barks at anything thats comes near the chickens pen. Hes the best!

 

[Weewanona]

I know someone who kept loosing chickens to 'night' killers. So they re-built their chicken yard and then built another fence about 4 feet out around that.

During the day the chickens free range. At night the chickens are locked up and then they put their dogs from the backyard into the pen that surrounds the chicken pen. Next morning dogs return to backyard and the chickens are let out to do their thing.

No more chickens lost.

 

[countryboy1988]

well this littel treeing feist i have are hunting dogs but they have never harmed a chicken but if its a coon it better look out i breed and raise these as my hunting dogs but also thought of leting them gard my coop at night and yes my chickens will be locked up in the coop at night

 

[werecatrising]

I have a golden retriever/pyrenees mix who is an excellent gaurd dog. I have my chickens in a secure coop at night, but she is added security.

Countryboy-do you have pictures of your dogs? I have never heard of them.

 

[speckledhen]

I'd be cautious about allowing the dogs with the chickens at first, especially with the breeds you have. Many folks find out that the dog doesn't have any idea that the chickens are not to be "played with" or killed outright. Dogs are predators, though some can be trained to guard the birds.

 

[Bizzybirdy]

Aaaarrgghh.....I bought a GP to guard my chickens and it wound up killing 2 of them.

Am done with dogs, prefer owning chickens.

My best guard dog is my 20g. shotgun.

 

[Buster52]

Absolutely. If you look at the common theme of most of these posts about predator losses (even in "secure" coops), there is rarely a mention of a good guard dog or two.

My chickens are cooped at night, but my turkeys, ducks and geese aren't. They are well protected by my two dogs, a black lab and a mixed Pyr. I am getting another Pyr soon.

The primary problem of folks losing stock to their own LGDs is a lack of proper training. It takes time and effort, and few people want to do what it takes.

A dog can watch your flock 24/7. You can't.

ETA:
Just saw your breeds. Hounds don't tend to be good LGDs. The predator instinct is too strong, which is what makes them great hunting dogs. They may be trained, I guess, but it would be tough. My Pyr and lab wander among my birds all day without bothering them at all. Yours would need to be kept separate from them, although they can still act as a deterrent.

I'd seriously consider getting one of the breeds that is bred for livestock duty.