For Those Training Dogs as Poultry Guardians

[centrarchid]

My dogs go after almost anything that comes into yard. With most types of predators the dogs had to actually meet predator before first dog got its head in the game. He also learned quickly to listen to birds and respond to their calls. I have strong suspicion dogs get more out of chickens than simply a general alarm based on how dogs react.. First dog greatly sped training of second. This evening I did a search on youtube.com for examples predators going after chickens. When the videos played with chicken alarm calls the dogs go bonkers. A little work and think such could used to train green dogs not already experienced with bad guys.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

My Mastiff reacts to the chicken alarm call. Hawk caught a pigeon on the neighbor's roof over the weekend and when my cockerel sounded the alarm, my dog bolted out of the house to see what was going on. I was actually kind of amazed, as he's decidedly not interested in the chickens and mostly ignores them. So at least I know that if a raccoon shows up, it's going to have an bad, bad day.

 

[centrarchid]

Experience with actual predator still needed so dogs know sight, smell, sound, and where to look. My dogs took a while to develop idea that hawks are most likely to be above the ground. Ground predators where exceedingly easy to figure out.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

He's chased raccoons and our local hawk and ravens out of the yard, but that was before I got chickens. It was just interesting to see him react at all to the alert. I didn't think he would.

 

[centrarchid]

I think that is part of the purpose behind the chickens alert system. Not only does it notify flockmates of bird making the alarm, it also has potential to call in other predators, some that might be a threat to the first making so first predator feels motivated to move on quicker to avoid being munched itself.


Many times rabbits and small frogs have called me in where I ultimately interfered with snake, shrew or another frog trying to eat the caller. A few times the caller survived as a result. My chickens have done exactly the same when attacked at night by raccoons, owls and oppossums becuae I would come over quickly and at the very least run the predator off.