my brother accidentally let the dog out earlier and he never comes when called. I went out to feed the animals and i hear a horrible squaking and their my black star sat. my horse protected it literally by standing over it until i came and picked it up. he was okay with only a few feathers plucked and just a little shocked. sadly, one of my RIR's is still missing but my dog came back. he doesn't eat them, just plays with them until he gets bored and moves on to something else. i looked for it for an hour but no sign so the coyotes or something else will eat it. just started laying too
This is one of the most overly posted topics here. If it was YOUR dog and YOU let it out then any losses are on you. I have a hound who has killed a few of my chickens and quails. I understand and have been there so don't think I'm just some cruel guy posting here. It is YOUR responsibility to keep your chickens safe. I know this is harsh but it's true. If you have a missing bird it may have been another predator or she is hiding somewhere. Best of luck to you from a dog, and chicken owner. 2 of my dogs love the chickens. The third loves to chew on them. Dogs and chickens are a tough mix.
We have a dog that likes to play with them too. We do our best to keep them safe, but once in a while one flies over. That dog is getting old and is in the house most of the time so it isn't a problem. We also did some dog training with the dog and the chickens which seems to help a bit. But I think it is hard to change once it starts. The chicken is traumatized, but will likely be ok.
My dogs are afraid of my 6 hens. Two of the hens are very territorial and will rush the dogs and jump them. Most of the time, the dogs (10 and 12 lb dachshunds) will slink away squealing. However, I have had two incidents where the dogs retaliated. I don't trust them together unsupervised.
you have to get your dog/ s use to your chickens, and vice versa. Any running/ squawking poultry will trigger the dog's chase instinct.
even the tiniest chihuahua i used to have who weighed three pounds dripping wet would pluck, albeight very daintily, feathers from chickens. it really can't be overstated that it's not just playing with them. playing with them leads to death. my cat is fine with the chickens. if one of my dogs one days show their up to being with the chickens, fine, but none of them has so far. my neighbors dog played with her chickens until all twenty of them passed away. i think it's cool that the horse literally stepped in. hang in there and figure out what to do. my dogs do come when called and i'm still wary of the situation. on the other hand, the boy goose tried to kill one of the chihuahuas last year during mating season when she got back there by accident. thankfully, it was unsucessful. so, it can go both ways. oh,my. take care. and, please do take it as the warning that it is.
TRAIN THE DOG!!!!!!! get a trainer,, go to classes,, BUY a book!!! its not that hard.. ONE hour a week if it is a smart dog.. or 15 minutes a day with a hand full of chopped up hotdiogs... if you need help i can give you pointers... the dog does NOT need to "get used to" the chickens.. it needs to be trained to LISTEN to the owner. i hate to sound harsh .. but i am talking from experiance.. i have BEEN THERE.. many of my dogs killed my own chickens,, i can tell you, it wont stop untill that dog respects you and is trained
beg to differ.. the dogs need to get used to the chicken so they know the difference between what is allowed and what is not... if they only "listen" to you, what happen when you're not around? My dogs can rush into the bush and ate any starlings chicks they found, but they will stop on track when they pick the scent of any chickens in there. The only dog I have that ever killed a chicken is a 2 y/old rescue who has never seen them before, and the 3 we have now are fed on barf diet (includes chickens).
I have a solution. My neighbor has chickens and my children twice left the gate open. My bigger dog likes to chase anything that moves so he ran over and chased the chickens. To prevent the gate from remaining open again, I put a lock on the gate. In order to leave the fence, you have to be aware of putting the lock back on. That means, of course, that the person entering or exiting the yard has to be pay attention a bit closer to what he or she is doing. The lock isn't on the gate because I am afraid that people will break into my yard but merely to make my family stop and think before they enter or exit the fence. I also make people walk through my messy house to get into the back yard now instead of using the gate. We only use the gate when we have items that we can't carry through the house, like large pieces of wood. my dogs haven't escaped anymore.
