This is our first year with chickens and our dog, a boxer has only been introduced through the fence to the chickens. Today I am walking him near our coop and he runs around the back. I followed him only to find him pouncing on my favorite chicken, Ms. Hook a Bantam Polish. She is the sweetest thing with a beautiful crest that I trim so she can actually see. She is meek and mild sticks close to the coop and nest boxes and loves to be held. She also tends to get stepped on because her limited sight. Somehow on a very cold windy day with no other birds out in the yard, she came out and managed to find a gap where the fencing had come away from the side of the coop and escaped. I pulled Leo off her but he managed to pounce at her two more times before I got him fully under control. In tears I took him to the house and went back to find Ms. Hook. I took her in and looked her over, No blood, no visible injuries just a few loose feathers. I put her in the basement in a dog kennel for the afternoon for observation. As of this evening she is back in the coop and appears to be normal. I am so thankful!! I wish Leo would get along with the birds but at this point have little hope for that.
ya i just found out the other day that my female jrt might be great with the chickens but my male isnt. he had my big rooster on the ground before i knew what happened. didnt hurt my roo, but doesnt look like im gonna be able to let my jrt male roam the yard
Dogs are prey driven, some have a large desire, some don't. I have a pitty and he's only 6 months. He's great around the chickens and ducks until the run... them he does the natural dog thing - chase. When he does i call his name. He looks at me and stops. I've had him around the chickens since we got him so he knows pretty much that they're friends... takes a lot of work but he's good for the most part now
Dont know if it will work for all dogs but I spent alot of time getting my pitbull to get along with the flock. At first she would chase and pounce them. I started working with her on a leash, taking her around the birds during feeding, etc. If she acted like she was pointing at them or attacked one I made her submit then swiftly put her on a short chain away from the coop but still in view of it. I monitored her and if she paced and kept her attentions on the birds, submit her again and tell her no while she was on the chain. After her timeout, we got back on the leash and tryed again. After about a week of working with her the leash came off, and she did really well...following me to the coop and watching but never pointing or being aggressive. I praised her and rewarded her every time she did good without the leash, after all, most dogs just want to please their owners in my experiences. She now roams the yard and coop even when I'm not there and when I get paranoid and do a head count...all chickens present and accounted for Hope this helps. Ive never had to do it but I hear that if a pet dog does kill a chicken, hang the chicken around her neck where she cant get it and chain her up for a few days to a week...supposedly this cures the taste for chicken.
the chase is what causes most problems with dogs... you have 2 species to introduce to each other, most people pay too much attention to the dog that they forget the chickens need to be calm around the dog as well... a running squawking chicken can trigger the dog's chase instinct... and when somebody tell you about taste of blood, etc.... don't pay any attention to it... all my dogs are fed raw, and they can stay with the chickens unsupervised.
