Do you have a dog that's good with chickens? Please share!

[paxicotrader]

Just curious about the types and breeds of dogs you all have, specifically dogs that have been taught to get along with or guard chickens....or dogs that just naturally assumed the job with no problem.

We have a black lab mix who is slowly getting used to our free range birds. She's not aggressive with them, but will sometimes chase if one of them runs.

Please share your stories and your secrets!

 

[pamperedpoultry]

We have 4 Aussies and and Aussie Mix. These are typically not good dogs to have around chickens. We had a few problems with them wanting to chase them as puppies but once that was corrected they are great with them

 

[Ducklove334]

us...no, not really LOL

we have two pit mixes, Sidney is a pitbull x hound, so you know, really really strong prey drive,however!, he has never ever killed a chicken, infact he lets them within feet of him and doesn't bat an eyelash, he does get up moments where he wants to chase and harass them if they get close, but he's never tried to grab one.

Winni is the same way, she lets the chickens get really close, but sometimes likes to scare them LOL

both of these dogs are tied up, so theres only so much chasing they can do.

neither of them were ever tought to behave around the chickens either.

our cocker spanial on the other hand, if he could he'd kill every single chicken he could get, and has killed a few, thus why he has to be locked in a kennel when the chickens are out.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

We have a labrador named Citra that is perfectly fine with chickens. They get into her pen when they're scared (and just HAPPEN to get out of their own! ARG!). She just sits there and watches them.

Now my other labs....

 

[19sarah90]

I have a six-year-old border collie whose instincts were very strong as a puppy. He would try to herd the chickens but would catch them sometimes and not know what to do when they didn't run. He accidentally killed one once and I tied it around his neck for a day. He hasn't chased them since, unless I tell him too. He still loves a good chase, but he listens now and only herds them enough to get them inside the pen. No more catching! He also protects them something awful now... he hates it when they cackle over laying eggs! He thinks it should mean there's a coon about!

I also have a five-year-old rat terrier who hasn't bothered with the chickens. He gets excited when the border collie is herding them, but he doesn't know what to do... he's more afraid of them.

And then there's the 10-month-old bloodhound... geez. She hasn't killed any yet, but she's driven them out of the yard when she's there. Thank goodness I haven't trimmed any wings or they'd be stuck in there with her. We're working on obedience training and she's gotten better -to the point that she'll stop when I yell, but she thinks that if I'm not in the yard with her, she can do whatever she wants. She caught one the other day, pinned it down a second, then got off and laid down waiting for it to get up. She wants it to run so she can chase it.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i have 2 brontosaurused sized german shepherds who i trained to help with the hens. they help me round them up, find them if they are lost (finding a black hen on a dark nite is a job for a good dog!), and keep the roosters off me.

do not let your dog chase the hens EVER. dogs cant 'naturally' resist the flapping and the squawking. dogs need to be trained to be around what they consider prey.

there are some dogs who have a natural tendency towards guarding livestock - but they still need to understand what they are guarding and their place in your pack.

my number one advice - be the boss of your dog. make sure she knows that the hens are YOURS and that you can stop her on command when when - not if - he is at a dead run at the chickens.

buying a dog just for breed and then tossing him in with the hens is a recipe for disaster. go back and read some of the posts about this.... it doesnt work.

the dogs that people claim 'didnt need training' are in fact trained whether its formal training or how they understand their place in the family...and follow what is expected.

if you dont have it already go and get the Dog Whisper's book "be the pack leader" so you can understand how dogs see you and what is yours. you can also watch him online at hulu.

if i were you i would not let your dog unsupervised with your hens. do not ever underestimate your, or any, dog's prey drive.

good luck!

 

[faykokoWV]

our chihuahua is great with the chickens. She loves to go in the coop and actually goes out the pop door into the "chicken moat" to hang out with them. When we had chicks inside she would sit by the brooder for hours watching the chicks. We have joked about getting her a chicken costume so she can be part of the flock. She runs off the other dogs if they are getting "too interested" and wouldn't let the cat in the same room with the brooder.

 

[Ferngully]

We have a variety of dog breeds:
1 powderpuff chinese crested
1 miniature poodle
2 maltese
1 german shepherd
1 chihuahua
When we got chickens I was very concerned as the dogs had never been around them. So far we have not had any trouble with peepers in the house (letting them out of the brooder to play), or with the older chickens wandering the yard. Training started the day we brought chicks home. We still watch everyone when they are together in a fenced area of the yard, but the dogs have never bothered the chickens(minus trying to eat their food, it is too tasty to them). 2 of the dogs are service dogs in training so that helps.

The GSD tries to mother them and will lay by the brooder and alert you if babies start making a racket. Bring in new babies and she gives you a look like "Jeez, more to watch". In the evenings she and I put "chickens to bed", I do a head count and close up the coop door while she does a perimeter check for strays and predators. She is from a high prey drive schutzhund line so I was really worried about her BUT, the big BUT, she is heavily trained to work for me.

All the animals here know who is in charge, including the roosters, and everyone cohabitates peacefully, so far. Now the kitten, that is a different story.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Does anyone know how to upload a photo?

I had a lovely picture of my lab/husky with a wild turkey and I can't get it to load.

She is an excellent chicken dog. She sleeps while the chickens free range.

I brooded my gals in a rabbit hutch in my mother's kitchen and her golden retriever was obessed with them. When I first set up the brooder and puts the peeps in, he stuck his head between the chicks and the heat lamp. My mom tried to shoo him away because she was afraid the chicks would get cold. I laughed and said, "Dogs have a temp of 101. I'm sure while he's panting on them, he's keeping them warm!"

A few weeks later, I was petting a chicken. He kept pacing back and forth between the chick in my hands and the food dish. I think he was hinting at something!

 

[CityClucks]

Weirdly, my Jack Russell Terrier is good with my chickens. He knows the difference between the creatures in the yard that are "ours" and the ones that aren't - and woe be to the ones that aren't - they don't last long. Generally a JRT would be the LAST breed (okay, one of the last breeds) I'd ever trust with chickens, but I've worked with Titus and he ignores the chickens - doesn't even LOOK at them - even when they come up to him, which is how I like it. I've been told by his flyball trainer and his vet that they wish they could clone his personality and put it in other JRTs.