Dogs that kill weasels but not chickens?

[parvani]

The simple answer is most any dog, purebred or mixed, that has good prey drive will take care of whatever unwanted critters you have. It's the training a high prey drive dog that your chickens, cats and goats are off limits that will be the hard part.
There really is no certain breed of dog that is best for this sort of task. It's more about the individual dog, the owner's set-up and circumstances and their ability to train said dog.

Maybe there's no "best" breed for this, I don't know. I know that some people keep large guard dogs to protect themselves and their animals, and that they recommend specific breeds that are better than others.

For instance, so far I have never seen anyone recommend a Chihuahua.

I just figured people at backyard chickens.com would be most likely to have some experience with dogs that don't attack their chickens but do attack small predators like rats and weasels.

I wondered if anyone has had a rat terrier that didn't attack their birds?

 

[Howard E]

I think you are barking up the wrong tree in your quest to solve your problem with a dog. And probably same if you think a weasel is your only problem. It happens, but is rare. My guess is you have a lot more going on than you know.

For giggles, can you share a photo of the coop and run you offered the birds........and how many birds total?

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you for an on-topic response that doesn't make a lot of hyper-critical assumptions. (Seriously, what is with all these posters ganging up to attack newbies? Do I smell bad, or what?

No one's attacking you.
They're trying to get info that hadn't been provided and fill in the blanks. You do have a very unique set up for your chickens, a set up that many wouldn't have a flock last more than a week with.
I suggest maybe a weiner dog or a terrier, they're great at ratting. but they'll have to be trained for it.

 

[Geena]

Maybe there's no "best" breed for this, I don't know. I know that some people keep large guard dogs to protect themselves and their animals, and that they recommend specific breeds that are better than others.

For instance, so far I have never seen anyone recommend a Chihuahua.

I just figured people at backyard chickens.com would be most likely to have some experience with dogs that don't attack their chickens but do attack small predators like rats and weasels.

I wondered if anyone has had a rat terrier that didn't attack their birds?

This is where you are confused. In order to have a dog that will dispatch weasels and other varmints you need a dog that is prey driven. To a dog, or any other predatory animal, anything they can manage to catch and kill is considered prey.

Dogs can be taught that certain prey, namely your cats, chickens and goats are off limits. But there is no breed of dog that innately understands which ones you want him to kill and which ones you don't. Cat... weasel... not too much difference there as far as a dog is concerned.

Chihuahuas are feisty little dogs! They just don't have enough size to be able to handle most critters.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I suggest maybe a weiner dog

Dachshunds love to chase and kill chickens. Thankfully my two older ones have no prey drive. They used to bring me the baby chinchillas when they squeezed out of their cage for me to put back up. Completely worthless for ratting. Standard Poodle on the other hand...Both of mine have an absurd prey drive. That being said, I think finding a dog is the least of your concerns.

 

[nuthatched]

Dachshunds love to chase and kill chickens. Thankfully my two older ones have no prey drive. They used to bring me the baby chinchillas when they squeezed out of their cage for me to put back up. Completely worthless for ratting. Standard Poodle on the other hand...Both of mine have an absurd prey drive. That being said, I think finding a dog is the least of your concerns.

I've never had that problem with Dachshunds, personally.
I agree, the main issue here is security.

 

[NatJ]

I wonder, do you really need the dog to KILL the weasel?

Or would the smell of a dog be enough to keep the weasel away?
Or maybe if the dog tries to run over and play with the weasel, that might be enough to make the weasel hunt somewhere else.

I don't know enough about weasels, but I have seen many other animals run away when a perfectly friendly dog tries to run over and play.

 

[50-45-1]

They were free ranging the first night,

Chickens do not "free range" at night .they roost and sleep at night time.
Weasels are almost always night time hunters and so your solution would be to lock them in a securely closed coop at night.
I have 3 guardian dogs and not once have they caught a weasel. They are in the house at night with the family.
Sounds like you know that your weasel is helping you control your rat problem, a problem that will quickly get out of hand if you eliminate him.
I have trapped a couple weasels in the past and now I am sorry I did that. Now my coop is tight with no gapes or openings and chickens are safe. I recommend a peaceful coexistence with your weasel.
Good luck!

 

[parvani]

Chickens do not "free range" at night .they roost and sleep at night time.
Weasels are almost always night time hunters and so your solution would be to lock them in a securely closed coop at night.
I have 3 guardian dogs and not once have they caught a weasel. They are in the house at night with the family.
Sounds like you know that your weasel is helping you control your rat problem, a problem that will quickly get out of hand if you eliminate him.
I have trapped a couple weasels in the past and now I am sorry I did that. Now my coop is tight with no gapes or openings and chickens are safe. I recommend a peaceful coexistence with your weasel.
Good luck!

I did a lot of research into weasels after the attacks.

Weasels are not strictly nocturnal. They have been known to hunt in the daytime. If you look on YouTube, you will see videos of weasels attacking prey during the day.

Weasels are tiny vampires who kill for the fun of it. They eat their fill of organs, they drink the blood, and then they continue their rampage until every bird is dead or dying. They kill ALL the birds, not just one or two.

I can keep my chickens safe at night. That is not a concern for me.

But during the day, I'd like to let the birds out to forage for bugs and do their chicken thing in my slightly-wild, goat-pruned, fully-fenced yard where, aside from weasels, the greatest daytime threat is hawks, which are kept at bay by the very large, permanent colony of crows in the neighborhood.

The crows keep the hawks away. Now I'm looking for an equally vigilant solution to keep the weasels away.

 

[aart]

They kill ALL the birds, not just one or two.

Many preds do that.
It's called a killing frenzy and is about ROI, killing as much food when opportunity strikes and stashing much of it for later. Weasels and mink might stack up their kills in a row, fox and bobcat, and probably others, bury them one at a time then come back for the rest unless they are interrupted.