English Shepherd as Poultry Guardian

[centrarchid]

Heat source of cponcern with active dogs is endogenous. Shaving has not damaged the pointers coat.

 

[centrarchid]

This heat business involving dogs benefiting from long hair works only under a very narrow set of conditions. It works when external heat is most important, is contacted in the form of light, and is of short duration during the day following cool nights. It also assumes the animal has low levels of endogenous heat production so when involving a dog, it is inactive. In my location we do not have cool nights when it is hot during the day. Additionally, my dogs often do not have the option to control heat endogenous heat production when it is hot. Look carefully at occupation of short-haired dogs. They are active, often sustained when temperatures are above freezing. Short hair is not prevalent in the working breeds becuase it eases grooming, shedding or running through brush. Rather it helps dissipate heat. Get your self a hunting dog and see what limits its ability to sustain activity. It is heat exhuastion usually well before oxygen dept. This can even hold true when snow is on the ground.

Look at this rooster in the image below. He is groomed as such not to have a particular look, rather to dump heat when engaged in sustained activity without loosing aerodynamic benefits of feathers. The system shown does not provide protection from external heat sources like you would assume most of the time. The grooming as such is for the sustained activity levels only.

I have been fighting this problem for a long time as well. Look at livestock dog breeds as a function of where they are developed. Breeds in the US are only a selective sample of the breeds found globally. You will see a pattern that will make you rethink the long hair benefits in the face of heat.

There are physiological and physical realities that we seem to ignore when it comes to animals where we have not had a role in the selective pressures applied during their development.

 

[centrarchid]

The crew is ready for the night.

We chased off an alien space craft that landed in orchard.

 

[centrarchid]

 

[scottcaddy]

The crew is ready for the night.


We chased off an alien space craft that landed in orchard.
View attachment 1054848 View attachment 1054850

Yeppers! that looks like a small crop ring to me.
And a very nice Sunset was enjoyed by all.
Scott

 

[centrarchid]

We hopefully completed a spate of raccoon invasions that dogs could not suppress. Raccoons did not go after chickens, rather feed. Duration if visits about eight days. All came from NW. Yesterday or day before Lucy treed one during the day in thicket between barn and property boundary and could do nothing with it as the thing came down on roof in neighbors property and loped away. First night of encounters we did what has been done many times, we tried to cut the critters off. Lucy got in the correct spot for doing so but was not effective against multiple targets that could only be snatched as they ran across a ten foot gap.

Yellow depicts approximate path coons come from and retreat along when chased off. Main perimeter hot-wire follows mid-line of mowed pathway forming a square.
Dogs post themselves in front yard, often in what looks like a triangle due north of deck on west side of house. Staying in barn would leave pens in pasture outside perimeter exposed. Those outer pens usually targeted first by bad guys and serve as trap crop protecting core flock.

Image below depicts property boundaries with mine of concern on blue. A group of neighbors defined by red have a common boundary in orange where raccoons have been coming across. What is not evident in images is the orange boundary is heavily populated by trees. House to east with brown roof is mine. Barn is about 100 feet from orange boundary. Fence is just 10 feet from barn on that side. Gray triangle west of barn is tree patch we can tree raccoons in but most of time raccoons go all the way to orange line. Understory of trees really slows dogs but raccoons not so much.

I think this is the last of the group that was coming in targeting feed and BOSS.

I was instructed to leave opening in fence. The opening will now be closed. Several fence post with the built in insulators will now be replaced. Appears they last only 4 years.

Fencing will be revisited to make so dogs have more space to work in addressing predators. Trapping is kind of demanding relative to having dogs and fencing keep critters out. I also prefer we are in mode emphasizing repelling rather than actual capture and dispatch.

A key point to stress is no loss of chickens.

 

[centrarchid]

Neighbor and I will have to work out social issues between Ben and his dog. Ben beats the neighbors dog up on neighbors property while neighbor watches. Account similar I indicated some time ago in this thread. Dog being beaten up used to beat up Lucy. Neighbor and I will start working Ben an his dog under supervision work issues out. Dog is the Australian Shepherd we mauled a couple months ago. Neighbor thinks Ben is vicious and Lucy is sweet. I have to educate neighbor on multiple points. Dog is good with chickens so potential for win-win.

 

[scottcaddy]

I hope that things good well with neighbor's education and working Ben with his dog!
3 dogs working together should be a bigger threat to those coyotes that come around.
Scott

 

[centrarchid]

It would be four dogs. White dog above already part of the mix. She is problematic in breaking rank to be drawn out of position when coyotes challenge. Coyotes will not be pushed of by one dog but with two or more working together even multiple coyotes back off.

 

[centrarchid]

A lot more going on that reported as of late. Bad weather and fox action caused some losses. One event was heavy. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/red-fox-makes-mass-kill.1199310/#post-18983402
Also had to raccoon fun but no chicken losses or attacks in feed storage.

About 15 minutes ago a Red Fox came into front yard from NE which is not typical. Pet rooster in porch gave alarm causing dogs to come barreling around barking. Fox ran off immediately such that dogs did not see it but they did track it a bit. I think fox young of the year.

All this excitement this year is pushing me to make modifications to setup that will include an additional dog actually based in the barn. Dog will be female English Shepherd. Saving monies for pup to start immediately. A stronger fencing setup using woven wire combined with hot-wire will provide an inner perimeter that will also support a small number of sheep and goats. My kids are ready for that. Ben and Lucy will have to be broke to be around such without killing them. Ben and Lucy will still be based around house as will be pushing free-ranging area for games into woods to south. New pup will eventually be taught how to negotiate fencing to join patrols.