Getting my chickens used to a dog

[DonyaQuick]

I just got a Great Pyrenees puppy; it really likes hanging out near the coop and wants to mingle with the chickens. My chickens however...they are not enthused. I really have no worries about how the puppy will behave around the birds based on what I've seen so far of how it interacts with smaller animals, so it's more the chickens that need to adjust. Although the puppy is too young now, when it grows up I want to have it out around the coop any time I'm out there and probably other times too to help deter predators. Some of my chickens are escape artists when I go in and out of the run; they don't ever run far, just to the nearest patch of grass or even just behind me as a ploy to be picked up, but I need them to be comfortable with encountering the dog when they do that. I have a secure coop+run and a walk-in run extension separated from the secure area by a mesh door. In the mornings I was thinking I would put the puppy in the run extension for a while (weather permitting) and keep the chickens on the other side of the mesh door until I take the puppy back inside the house. I was figuring I'd just repeat that process daily for a while, and then eventually open the dividing door under close supervision. Is there anything else I should add to that to get the chickens comfortable with the new dog?

 

[NatJ]

What you describe sounds good to me.

As long as the chickens regularly see the puppy, but do not get chased or hurt, I think they will get used to it and settle down.

 

[DonyaQuick]

One week later, I think I've made some progress with the chickens. They all started out not wanting to go anywhere near the dog. Now I have...
- One chicken that comes partway over and screams at the dog.
- One that will happily approach but then is mean and tries to peck the puppy nose.
- Three that are mostly indifferent but leaning towards curious.
- And one chicken that comes running to say hi to the dog and I think would follow it around if there wasn't a fence between them.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Ok so things have kind of escalated with one chicken...the one that used to scream at the dog now wants to FIGHT the dog. Puppy has done nothing to deserve this response. The chicken in question is Dimple, my tiny pullet who acts like a rooster and is growing spurs. If she sees the dog without a fence in the way, she gets the hackles out and starts bouncing her way towards the dog until I intervene. Her spurs are still blunt just little bricks, but they are clearly still developing, so I hope I can get her more used to the dog before she's got actual stabby things on her legs.

 

[Granny23]

One week later, I think I've made some progress with the chickens. They all started out not wanting to go anywhere near the dog. Now I have...
- One chicken that comes partway over and screams at the dog.
- One that will happily approach but then is mean and tries to peck the puppy nose.
- Three that are mostly indifferent but leaning towards curious.
- And one chicken that comes running to say hi to the dog and I think would follow it around if there wasn't a fence between them.

We got a 8-9 week old goldendoodle puppy last week. She's interested in the chickens and the day after we brought her home I got no eggs. She isn't leash trained fully, yet, so on occasion she has playfully chased the 4 hens. Since the first day egglaying has gone back to normal.
We try to not let her chase them and when I say chase I mean playfully loping along behind them. They run she's right behind. She is never left outside unsupervised either.
My question is, are the hens not horribly upset by her playfulness in that they are still laying as normal or would they stop laying if they were stressed out??
She's old enough to train and we are doing it. She herded all 4 into the coop the other night and sat down at the door as if to say "there. My job is done." My mouth was on the ground.

 

[NatJ]

We got a 8-9 week old goldendoodle puppy...My question is, are the hens not horribly upset by her playfulness in that they are still laying as normal or would they stop laying if they were stressed out??

It's hard to tell.

Sometimes hens quit laying when stressed by something.
But other times, hens keep laying even when they seem to have the same stressful things as the ones that did quit.

Chickens are confusing!

 

[Granny23]

You are absolutely correct. Lol. Rather than take a chance I seperated them. The girls have a bit less free range area than they had before but they are safer...unless the jump my fence which so far they have not.
Training Lacie May is a top priority but finding puppy classes is proving to be hard. Training classes are all over and most are quite expensive. Finding one that is 7-8 weeks long for puppies under 16 weeks has been difficult. I get and can do all the other stuff. It's leash training and the No No chickens has me stumped. But most of all I want my girls safe.

 

[NatJ]

I get and can do all the other stuff. It's leash training and the No No chickens has me stumped. But most of all I want my girls safe.

Do you know how to teach her to leave something alone? Like a piece of food dropped on the floor? That is a very useful command when teaching dogs to leave chickens alone, too. Don't eat the cheese, don't eat the chicken, etc.

I have read of someone who put the puppy in a pen right next to the chickens, for several hours at a stretch, so he just got used to chickens being there, and became so bored he would take a nap.

In my family, we have had one person hold the dog's collar or leash, and a different person hold a chicken, and we let the dog sniff the chicken but not grab it or be rough with it. The dog gets praised for being gentle.

You can also work on other obedience training near the chicken pen, so the puppy gets used to obeying commands when the chickens are nearby. I consider "stay" to be especially useful. Once a dog is good at that, it can practice staying while the chickens have more freedom and you supervise.

All of these are things that MIGHT help but are not guaranteed. None of them is a quick fix by itself.

 

[Granny23]

Do you know how to teach her to leave something alone? Like a piece of food dropped on the floor? That is a very useful command when teaching dogs to leave chickens alone, too. Don't eat the cheese, don't eat the chicken, etc.

I have read of someone who put the puppy in a pen right next to the chickens, for several hours at a stretch, so he just used to chickens being there, and became so bored he would take a nap.

In my family, we have had one person hold the dog's collar or leash, and a different person hold a chicken, and we let the dog sniff the chicken but not grab it or be rough with it. The dog gets praised for being gentle.

You can also work on other obedience training near the chicken pen, so the puppy gets used to obeying commands when the chickens are nearby. I consider "stay" to be especially useful. Once a dog is good at that, it can practice staying while the chickens have more freedom and you supervise.

All of these are things that MIGHT help but are not guaranteed. None of them is a quick fix by itself.

That is some great advice. Ive trained my large breed dogs before but its been 20 yrs and not with chickens. I am brain dead it seems and I can't teach other family members what to do and how to do it if my brain is blank.
You gave me some good ideas. Fencing them off should have been done last week when we first brought her home. A work in progress for sure.