Dogs and Ducks

[18angovem]

Great! Also do pekin and Black swedish get along? I was thinking of getting Rouen, but i don't want ones that might be able to fly. How high should my fences be would you suggest, though i might have it all covered for predators.

Well all ducks should get along. With pekin, black swedish and rouen as long as the fence isnt so big they can fit through height isnt a problem because they cant fly. Call ducks you would need an an aviary or clip their wings. They can fly!

 

[Amykins]

Eh...for the most part different breeds get along, but I've heard of cases where they just sort of self-segregate into their own little cliques! I worry about that with these duckies, if I can't get them to BuffGooseGuy like we discussed, I have a local friend who can take 'em in but her flock is mostly pekins. I worry the lil' shorties just wouldn't fit in. :/

 

[wafflesandmoe]

Eh...for the most part different breeds get along, but I've heard of cases where they just sort of self-segregate into their own little cliques! I worry about that with these duckies, if I can't get them to BuffGooseGuy like we discussed, I have a local friend who can take 'em in but her flock is mostly pekins. I worry the lil' shorties just wouldn't fit in. :/

Wait, so you believe that they might not get along? Also what is the recommended number for each? like if i got 3 peking and 3 black Swedish, would that be bad because they wouldn't exactly have paris of their own breed?

 

[Amykins]

Wait, so you believe that they might not get along? Also what is the recommended number for each? like if i got 3 peking and 3 black Swedish, would that be bad because they wouldn't exactly have paris of their own breed?

I think it'll be okay. Forgive me, I wasn't trying to sound alarmist, I was just trying to play devil's advocate 'cuz I've seen farms where that happened. They also had a LOT of birds though, so for a small flock I don't think it'll be much of a problem? As long as you have more females than males I think it'll be fine!

 

[casportpony]

My Rouens, Pekings, Runners and Muscovy crosses all hang out together and the Muscovies avoid them, though one pesky Peking drake can often be found try to mate with them.

-Kathy

 

[Kleonaptra]

I was just asking about this exact thing. I got a beautiful maremma shepard from the pound (I do the rescue thing) to protect my flock from foxes. There have been some incidents - I dont let him anywhere near the ducks, but he has an extreme chase instinct. He stays on the chain in the daytime and once the ducks go to bed he has the yard. Its working well. I believe in time he will get used to 'my pack' but I doubt I will ever trust him. The good news is they are HIS ducks now...Even if he sees them as toys or prey, he wont let anyone else have them! No more fox problem!

 

[Adeth Chicken]

If a dog has a mouth large enough to kill something, it will.. We thankfully don't have to worry about our tiny, short snouted after pinscher.. But we have lost a Guinea and a Sebright to a neighbors little rat terrier that was used to retrieve birds.. If they have the capability, it will happen.

 

[seashoreduck]

If a dog has a mouth large enough to kill something, it will.. We thankfully don't have to worry about our tiny, short snouted after pinscher.. But we have lost a Guinea and a Sebright to a neighbors little rat terrier that was used to retrieve birds.. If they have the capability, it will happen.

Yeah, I had a Jack Russel that took down a gigantic gopher easily 2 times it's size...so I wouldn't base it on animal size alone. Hunting instinct is hunting.

Then again you have dogs in which the hunting instinct has been bread out to an alarming rate. My current dog, a Shepard, is tortured by my friend's cat and bird when she dog sits. It's nice...although pathetic to have a 40lbs dog hiding from a 6oz cocateal and a 5lbs cat.

 

[needlessjunk]

I hate that people generalize breeds so much. All dogs can hunt no matter the size. I have a coonhound/bloodhound mix and a beagle mix. I don't 100% trust them but trust my beagle more so than my coon. My coonnie is much more playful and that worries me. My dogs and ducks do well together but I don't leave them out alone if I'm not around.

I have a mixed flock and they all do well together. Sometimes 1 or 2 will go off on their own but they all stick together most of the time. I have 2 runners, welsh harlequin, Cayuga, white layer and crested. No one gets picked on too much or singled out. My Cayuga is low man but someone has to be.

 

[seashoreduck]

I hate that people generalize breeds so much. All dogs can hunt no matter the size. I have a coonhound/bloodhound mix and a beagle mix. I don't 100% trust them but trust my beagle more so than my coon. My coonnie is much more playful and that worries me. My dogs and ducks do well together but I don't leave them out alone if I'm not around.

I have a mixed flock and they all do well together. Sometimes 1 or 2 will go off on their own but they all stick together most of the time. I have 2 runners, welsh harlequin, Cayuga, white layer and crested. No one gets picked on too much or singled out. My Cayuga is low man but someone has to be.

It's not about generalizing breeds, it's about what the breeds were instinctively created to do. A hound has been bread to smell and hunt. A retriever needs no training retrieve objects--unless it's poorly bread it will just retrieve. Dogs will the word "bull" have been bread for their muscles and bulk in order to stand their ground. Boarder collies are a hearing dog, but their playfulness would give me pause especially since they've been know to heard kids. They won't necessarily kill animals but they've been know to heard them to death. While dogs can be trained to act outside their primal breeding instinct, it is what it is. We can teach dogs to harness their instincts for us, but we can't change their primal call.

It's not being cruel to "generalize" but rather to recognize what breeds may be better or worse, in general, around small animals. Shepherds, non-terrier toy dogs, or other non-hunting/prey oriented dogs are just going to be better because they are not disadvantaged by instinct. It don't mean that all shepherds or non-terrier toy dogs will be fine or that a hound would wreak havoc...its just a guideline about how these animals have been changed by humans to react to their environment.