guard animals help me decide please!!!

[Hotwings]

I would suggest a donkey of llama. I don't know if llamas would guard chickens tho-I thought they were strickly a sheep protector. Llamas and donkey's would also be cheaper as they can forage. Llamas are great outdoor animals and with their coats they can deal with any inclimate weather. Most people recomend a gelding llama.

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Hi, I'm new and this is my first post.

We have found that our Great Pyrenees is by the most reliable guard dog we have. But, I guess one should not expect much guarding from two Labs and a Brittany puppy. After the Pyr, Fluffy, was old enough and socialized with the chickens, we have not experienced a predator loss for the year she has been on guard duty. Once matured, the Pyrs focus is to guard. I think by just sitting on a high vantage point and barking with the booming bark lets the predators know that her territory is off limits.

Our training method for Fluffy varied a little from the typical LGD training. The chickens are much more delicate than sheep the LGDs typically guard. Plus, for our little farm there is little need for Fluffy to bond incredibly close to the birds. The birds and dogs roam free on a 1 acre fenced area. Hence, all we needed was for Fluffy to not eat the chickens. Since, the birds are in the yard which is Fluffy’s territory; she will defend them and the yard.

We have had Chinese geese which did a good job alerting the dogs to just about anything abnormal that occurred around the yard. But, the geese were not very useful if the does were not out. For one, the chickens didn’t care for the geese, hence were not near them. Second, the Chinese geese are down right violent. When penned up they killed a young duck and a chicken that made the mistake of getting into the geese pen. The geese are no longer with us.

Interestingly, when last winters snow obscured the fences, we couldn’t leave Fluffy out with the birds (Pyr have a sort of wanderlust). We hadn’t seen a predator for quite some time, so we thought it was safe to let the birds range free (our chicken run was buried). We were wrong. A bobcat ran through our flock with a ferocity we had not experienced with the red foxes. The geese were no help. We dug out the fences and Fluffy was back on duty. One morning, when we were all out in the yard, dogs (4), me (digging out fences) and all the birds, the geese made a heck of a lot of noise. The bobcat had slipped into the yard (I was distracting the dogs by my activity). Before I could get to the birds, Fluffy had the bobcat treed. One goose suffered a superficial wound.

I think the Pyr made the most sense for us and our climate. Other guard dog breeds might work out well, too. They would require good socialization with the chickens, which I have some thoughts on. If anyone is interest in how we socialize the dogs, let me know. I wrote up a little procedure.

Jim

 

[panner123]

The first thing I would do is put up an electric fence. If this is done right
it will keep almost all predators out. If thus is not an option, dear hubby best get over his fear of llamas. Once they get familiar with the other animals you have, they will attack anything tring to harm them. And I mean anything.

 

[MarkR]

Personally, I'm looking for any excuse to get a couple of donkeys (minis preferably). I have the space, the time, and the energy for it now. My beautiful wife, however, is not so hot on the idea.

So, do me a favor, be a pal and get a donkey and keep it for me, would ya?

Mark

 

[newchickowner]

my mom heard of someone in FL who is raising mini paint donkeys as a hobby now that they are retired, and she's selling babies for $1,500 each and the price goes up as they get older and gain more training. Maybe that'll change her mind.

 

[purplebaby]

Quote:
i had a great pyr back when i only had young children and myself to guard, he was the best. my best friends border collie used to round up the kids contain them in an area to play and the great pyr would stand watch over them. he would also get between me and my ex husband when he would yell at me. there was no doubt snowbear would have given his life for us, his flock. there are many images on the internet that show a pyr taking on a much larger animal to save sheep. they are the guardian of the flock i would choose if i had a real farm, and not just a few chickens. hmmm maybe i need a few more animals and a pyr.

 

[Ga Chicken Mom]

I also agree about the Dobes not being good dogs for guarding outside. Dobes are people dogs and need to be inside with the family. They don't do well in cold weather or being left by themselves for more than several hours. My 4 have been good with the chickens, a new experience as 3 of our Dobes are over 9 yrs. and the chicks are about 18 weeks. The 1 1/2 yr. old would love to chase but she knows there will be trouble if she goes after mom's chickens. Get a Dobe if you never want to go to the bathroom alone again. Mine would never let anything get the chickens during the day and at night they are in a safe hen house. The Dobes sleep near their people and alert us to anything in the yard. Woe to the predator that would disturb the chickies. Once the girls start laying the Dobes will get extra eggs as payment for their protection.

 

[ChickieDee]

That's the truth!!! Haven't been to the bathroom alone in nine years.

Dee
Technologically Challenged
(tried to pull quote)

 

[ninny]

humm well the thing with the dobe is that he/she is going to be trained for therapy so not much use as a guard anyway. as for never going to the bathroom alone i have bichons they are like leeches. im leaning towards mastiffs as my guard dogs as that is what we used at my moms (still do) and woe to any one or thing that trespasses. prys tend to roam so not sure if that is a good option for us. would keeping the horns on the goats make much of a difference?

 

[bantymum]

Alpacas are fantastic stock protectors. They will protect your flock so well. Can you get one over there? They are soft footed too.