Dogs and chickens

[lgdnevada]

Pit bulls and chickens don't mix well especially if the dog is over 6 months old. Once they kill a chicken the will want to keep on killing them. I have raised bull dogs and had to make a choice between them or chickens. Now I have Great Pyrenees and catahoula hog hunting dogs. Both seem to gaurd chickens.

Amen - thanks for posting this.
I used to raise Catahoulas back in the day! Great dogs!

 

[blackdog79]

Thought I'd post an update after a bit with the collar. The shock on this particular model isn't overly strong and I'm now sure if she went into full kill mode it wouldn't stop her. That being said it has been working very well as a reminder, coupled with the beep and treat to reward good behavior. Wife and I even took her on a leashed walk for the first time at a state park and was wonderful how well it worked. She has been doing well with the remaining adult hens we have so far. Did have an issue today when we moved the six new ones to the coop, I covered the fenced run with 2x4 goat fence instead of poultry wire like I had at first to keep her from pushing through and the little ones kept sticking their heads through and pup was trying to play whack-a-chick. I can't completely blame her it actually looked kinda fun, but I had to pull the chicks from the run and put them in a dog create in the garage until I wrap the run with chicken wire again. Other than that I'm quite pleased on how the training has been progressing.

 

[wild chick]

It's good to hear you are making progress Blackdog. Personally I would not have let her "play" with the chicks though the fence. Because she can't be trusted, and would probably kill a chicken again if not supervised, this should be viewed as stimulating & teasing. I don't think the collar will ever teach her to become friends with the chickens, the e-collar is to teach her that the reward of catching a chicken isn't worth the risk of an unpleasant zap. Keep up the good work. Also, our dog is very collar-wise. She is fine with the chickens without it, but when she is in any situation where the temptations to misbehave are great (a backyard bbq with neighbors - she wants to run amok and put her feet on people when they pet her), just having the collar on makes her totally well-behaved. Never have to use the remote anymore, just the snug fitting collar makes her remember her p's & q's.

 

[bsautner]

I just wanted to add some info to this thread - hope it helps.

I have some animal behavior expertise having earned my undergrad working on a wolf research team and studying canine behavior.

Here is a photo of my 9 year old German Sheppard "Loki" and my 1 year old Silky Rooster "Bok Choy". The rooster is on my lap and my buddy is sitting next to us happy as can be.




Before we got chickens, if I let Loki off leash in front of a chicken - winner, winner, chicken dinner. He'd kill it.

Loki is an old dog and had no experience with chickens aside from knowing they are delicious.

The recipe here is as follows:

1. Start with a good dog.

If the dog in question has behavioral problems, doesn't listen, isn't socialized etc - then see step 1. Again, Day 1 Loki'd kill a chicken and eat it. That's not a bad dog behavior at this point. Find a local dog park and get the dog socialized and work on developing a pack mentality with you as the alpha.

2. Habituation. When our first flock was still in their eggs, they knew his bark. After they hatched we'd never let him have full access to the chicks, but he could smell the brooding box when we cleaned it - smell our hands after we handled them. Smell smell smell.

3. Relaxing outside the run. Eating for a dog is a time of relaxing and accepting their environment. Feed the dog outside the run while the chickens bop around. It's all about keeping everyone separated so the dog being around doesn't cause a panic in the flock and seeing a chicken doesn't get him excited. Create an environment where energy levels are low when they are around each other.

4. For herding breeds - helping you guide the flock into the pen at night gives them a job - just leashed at first. If you have step 1 done then your dog knows you're the alpha and won't hurt your flock - spending time with everyone together and under control makes that point.

5. Take your time - it took 1 whole solid year for Loki to stop chasing our chickens and he's an exceptionally intelligent and obedient animal. Results may vary

Hope that helps! Worked for us!

 

[blackdog79]

Wild chick I think you misunderstood what I was saying about what happened with the chicks. I did not allow the dog to continue, I suppose using the word play gave the wrong impression. As soon as she started nipping at them through fence she went inside and I moved them to garage.

 

[BrinaChick]

I've never used a shock collar on my dogs. When training a new pup, I go out to the chicken pen with the pups on a 6ft leash dragging so I can correct their behavior and give them a firm 'No' and tell them how I want the to act and I give praise when they are good.

I raise and Breed working Scotch Collies, they are naturally inclined to nurture and care for baby animals, and herd/guard these dogs are incredible around all types of livestock, with natural instincts to herd, guard and be great companions- Yet even with all of this great potential puppies do make mistakes and need correction. I inform the puppy buyers about training, and answer all their questions, helping them through the rough places.

These Scotch Collies are the perfect match for a small or large farm, they are loyal, kind, gentle, brave, smart, quick, loving dogs.

We are expecting 2 litters this May 2017!!!!

I've been breeding and training dogs for 10+ years and I've always grown up with good farm dogs. I introduce all my pups to every animal on our farm and start them on training and learning how to herd, behave, and respect the livestock. My dogs are Registered with the OTSC and puppies will be eligible for registration as well.

If you are interested in buying a working farm collie puppy, please send me an email. and check out my website @ onegoodfarmdog.wordpress.com

Start off right and get a farm dog who has been bred to work with and be around animals!

here's my pack!

 

[lazy gardener]

Beautiful dogs.