Dogs that kill weasels but not chickens?

[Egghead_Jr]

A coop would solve most of your problem. Letting chickens roost in the open is an invitation to predators for easy meal. That said, we all have different ways of caring for our animals. Yes, a dog would keep most predators at bay in your fenced in 1/3 acre lot. It would need to sleep outside in that chicken yard.

There is not a breed of dog that automatically does not chase chickens. It takes training and understanding of the dog. Any dog with the correct handling will not injure the other animals you care for. Any dog will protect it's territory. In your case that would be a 1/3 acre fenced in back yard. The only requirement for the dog would be that it could handle, scare off, a raccoon. Meaning it shouldn't be smaller than the predator it's deterring from an all you can eat buffet.

 

[bobbi-j]

I do not know why they do not bother the big ones that are actually free ranging,

I think it would be hard for a weasel to kill a free ranging standard sized chicken. Think about the size difference. I don't know that a weasel could get a full-grown chicken pinned down or to stay still long enough to hurt it. A lot of standard sized chickens will go after mice, rats and other small animals. A weasel would probably become prey instead of a predator if it tried to kill a chicken during the day. It's a much easier meal for a weasel at night when chickens are helpless.

 

[bobbi-j]

You need a Great Pyranees or any livestock guardian breed. Mine patrols the perimeter of our yard and I’ve never lost a chicken (knock on wood). She loves all of our animals and people. She is very sweet but sounds intimidating enough to keep stuff out of the yard. I live in the country surrounded by fox, raccoon, coyotes, hawks etc.

The problem with a GP is, they need room to roam. The OP only has 1/3 acre. We had neighors who couldn't keep their GP contained, and they had many acres for it to patrol.

 

[Bound to Sea]

I have only considered dogs with a strong herding drive for my acreage. High prey drive dogs like to chase everything including chickens. It will take training with every dog. Adult or puppy won't matter. This is my Beauceron Shep cross, at 7 years old ....learning not to touch chickies. She used to sit there and whimper. Never hurt one.

 

[besorto]

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?

I have a chihuahua that chases off predators alongside my pitbull... we take the chihuahua hunting and he goes into burrows to flush rabbits out.

 

[JCaseyHammond]

Well, I've trained my 4 cats not to kill chickens. They don't stalk the chicks in their brooders, either.

But I think dogs are harder to train than cats are.

That’s the truth! Cats listen and dogs do not, IMHO. But that doesn’t address the weasel. I’ve had success with the Ratinator trap. There might be a similar trap for weasels.

 

[WestTNriverrat]

I have two dogs that I successfully trained to be safe around chickens and turkeys. One is a Great Pyranee who is good at night for he loves to go out on the night at any temperature. His thing is his deep bark, so he scares predators away. My smaller dog is a mur I got from the Amish, she is very bright and very athletic, she goes after rays and mice, and chases the neighbors cat if he comes near my barn where the turkeys stay. I lost one chicken in the fall, just as we were stacking wood, and both dogs were out. It ripped open her gut and left her. We don’t know what did it and how no it be saw it. I know weasels are very slick and could get onto my barn easily.

I’m not sure what a mur is, but we have had a couple of curs. A brindle that wasn’t worth the dog food she ate and a leopard that was ugly as sin, but one of the best hunting dogs I’ve ever owned. The only hound Ive had that wouldn’t leave the property without one of us.

 

[The Buckets]

Have you ever heard of a breed of dog called a Maremma. They are well known for their protective instincts. In Australia they are used on an island to protect the penguins from foxes ( check out the movie called Oddball, a true story) and there are free range commercial poultry farmers that use them to protect their chickens.

 

[Taygal37]

The problem with a GP is, they need room to roam. The OP only has 1/3 acre. We had neighors who couldn't keep their GP contained, and they had many acres for it to patrol.

I have heard that they can be hard to contain but that hasn’t been my experience. I first got my GP when we only had a small fenced area for her. She lived in the house with us but had a doggie door. She would bolt out if she heard anything suspicious. She got a walk everyday and was perfectly content. We only recently moved to the country where she’s able to stay outside patrolling. They’re the perfect mixture of guardian and sweetness

 

[Poultry mum]

I personally like aussies, but those are herding dogs and need a lot of exercise. Blue heelers aren't bad either. If you would want a dog that doesn't attack your chickens, you would probably have to get him as a puppy and associate them from day one. Full grown dogs are quite unpredictable.

Im from Australia and I have a kelpie x Australian mix... I got my chickens and ducks well after I got him (he’s 4 this year and I started my flock during lock down) and he has never hurt them.... he “suckles” on my Plymouth rocks feathers but has never bitten or attacked them.... he has a purpose now being a “farm” breed and that’s to herd and protect the flock.... my partners German Shepard on the other hand (who is a 6 month old puppy) has mauled one of my silkies to death and ”paw killed” (she now wears a muzzle when outside due to her mauling attack) one of my 3 week old Muscovy ducklings... hope that helps