Dogs Protecting Chickens

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i love these stories. i would love this to be my dog.
Today my dog is "fake" limping because i spent extra time with the chickens free ranging. She loves to spend time with me when i garden. however, Doggie goes inside and is not permitted out during free range times. She "knows the chickens since they were chicks. She smells around their run/coop freely.
HOW DO YOU TRAIN A DOG NOT TO KILL YOUR CHICKENS?
Our dog is a chocolate labrador/pit bull mix. She was awesome with the baby, when he was a baby, so soft and patient. AND She will kill anything that enters the backyard.
As long as she is in the backyard the chickens are safe in their coop/run, but her kill record frightens me.
 
I have a pug and two Maltese Chihuahua mix dogs three cats and a duck when I got my 4 chickens it was just like they knew they were family. My chickens free range all day and all my fur babies just hang out with them like there part of the flock.
 
micstrachan said:
Hi everyone. I was curious to hear your stories/opinions/anecdotes and even statistics of anyone has them on dogs protecting their flocks. It is well known that Great Pyrenees protect livestock, including chickens. But I have a Border Collie who also seems instinctively protective of the flock. Border Collies are working dogs, but not necessarily protective dogs, as far as I know, by nature. Mine was raised as a pup around the chickens since we first got her at eight weeks old. I only let my chickens free range when both the dog and I are out there. I control the dog’sposition In the yard by throwing the ball. If one chicken is off by herself, I make sure the dog makes a couple visits over there. If I hear a hawk, I send the dog through the most visible spot on a fast run. Her presence seems to be keeping predators away so far (we have many). But I also noticed she seems protective. We had an HVAC mechanic over a couple weeks ago and when he leaned over to say hi to a chicken, she went crazy. Our neighbor has a Bullmastiff, who is a BIG, but friendly dog. He could easily kill a chicken with one move of his giant head, even if unintentionally. Thankfully he’s a bit slow. He occasionally gets into our yard and when he does, my dog ZOOMS across the yard between him and the chickens, circles around him, and puts her face right in his. Pretty cool. Anyone else?
Click to expand...
Border Collies are herding dogs. Their job is to herd and protect. It's instinctive. When my daughter was learning to walk, out pup would follow her around wit his nose in her butt. We thought he was just checking out her hind end, but he was actually keeping her from falling down by supporting her tush with his nose. Dogs are great!
 
Fluffy&Cutie said:
i love these stories. i would love this to be my dog.
Today my dog is "fake" limping because i spent extra time with the chickens free ranging. She loves to spend time with me when i garden. however, Doggie goes inside and is not permitted out during free range times. She "knows the chickens since they were chicks. She smells around their run/coop freely.
HOW DO YOU TRAIN A DOG NOT TO KILL YOUR CHICKENS?
Our dog is a chocolate labrador/pit bull mix. She was awesome with the baby, when he was a baby, so soft and patient. AND She will kill anything that enters the backyard.
As long as she is in the backyard the chickens are safe in their coop/run, but her kill record frightens me.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, lab breeds are bred for birding. Just like my Daschund attacks our hamster, my lab would love to catch our chickens. They're easy to train, though, so you may be able to break him of it. I currently have my chocolate lab on strict "just smell" supervised visits.
 
micstrachan said:
Yes, herding dogs and the smartest breed, but I didn’t necessarily think that meant protective. Apparently so! I’d love to teach her to round the chickens up, but as of right now, she thinks her job is fetching the ball. LOL!
Click to expand...

I have an Australian shepherd/Shiba inu mix puppy and I'm waiting to see what he does when he finally gets over the "YAY! BALL!" stage.
 

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