Guard dogs for poultry project

[cobrien]

I have an australian cattle dog (blue heeler) cross who is a terrific chicken guardian dog. We think she is crossed with an Australian Shepherd but not sure. She does not have much herding instinct but will sit with them for hours watching perimeter of our yard. We leave her alone with the chickens and trust her 100%. Eight years with chickens and counting.

We've had a second dog for a year. I thought he was a small Australian Shepherd mix when I adopted him, but now I think he is a Dachsund/Spaniel mix but we can't be sure. I looked for a rescue dog that was known not to chase cats. We were told when we adopted him that he didn't chase cats and also was not very interested in chasing birds at the park. He also does very well with the chickens, and can be left alone with them. He is more of a goofball and not much of a protector unless squirrels count as a threat! He ignores the chickens other than eating their poo (ugh).

I think you have a good mix for your experiment. I am a former vet tech and dog groomer and worked with dogs for decades and know something of the various temperaments. I have always thought a German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Bouvier, or Belgian Shepherds and other police/working dogs would be great poultry dogs. I think border collies and cattle dogs could be good but the herding instinct could be a problem; I think I just lucked out. The livestock guardians would likely be great but I also can't handle the barking. I'd love to hear how the experiment goes!

 

[joyofsynergy]

Whoops. Had to wait on the roosters as we realized we would be attracting the predators while the pups were too young and too small to defend even themselves. May have to make secure night-time area for the roosters on our side of the creek and just let them be with the pups when we can watch them in the day.

 

[maggie&thechicks]

I have two English Shepherds who protect my small flock (8) when they are allowed out of the run in the afternoons. They chase off any hawks, stray dogs, foxes, raccoons, etc. They also keep the chickens away from the house & front garden by herding them back to the barn area. We are still working on this. The chicks were hatched July 1st so I'm training both the chickens and the dogs. So far the dogs will let me know the chickens are getting into the "unacceptable" space but don't yet have the confidence to move them without my "help". Actually, I don't do anything at this point but cheerlead and reward but they appreciate the participation. They drive them gently and slowly back to their favorite tree near the barn. The chickens are not at all afraid of the dogs since they were raised with them. The chickens also get a reward for moving to the tree. I hope this doesn't turn out to be self-defeating! The dogs have been very useful overall. My garden has been free of deer and my flock has been the only one in the neighborhood not attacked by predators in the last 8 months. They do a "last check" of the property just before bedtime and chase anything they think might be threatening away. The chickens sleep in a house in a pretty secure run.

Good luck with your project. It takes more than just raising the two species together. It takes training and a general aptitude of the dog. Even though my dogs were bred to be farm dogs they don't "automatically know" how to get along with livestock. They have to be worked with and things have to be explained to them! It takes time and effort. With English Shepherds, it didn't take very long. You may have to protect your puppies from your banty roosters or you will eventually have confirmed chicken-killers! GSDxRott should be a very interesting project!

 

[ducks4you]

I have had 3 dogs that have worked with my chickens. The first, "Xena," (RIP, Feb., 2008) was a GS/Collie cross, and an excellent herder. The two that I now have are also mixed. The dog on the left, "Pgyma" is Lab x GS/Pitbull and the dog on the right, "Rose," is Husky x GS/Border Collie.

Rose acts more like a purebred BC than either of the other two breeds. When I had to catch my 5 roosters a few years back, she, being only 6 months old, knew how to grab them by the tailfeathers and bring them to me. Pgy just turned 2 years old, and Rose will be 3 years old next May. Rose loves to herd them, when she can--she even "tested" my door a few days back and let the birds out of their stall in the barn, just so she could help me catch them! (Bless her little heart!

) This morning I accidentally shut Rose in with the birds, but she waited patiently while I called her from the back door, until I came to let her out--NO upset birds. BC's are VERY intelligent. Rose KNOWS that these are My birds and off the kill list, though she's run down, killed and consumed 6 wild rabbits in the last 2 years. I would HIGHLY recommend a BC or a BC mix, as long as you have space for them to exercise. Both my dogs explore and run the 5 acres (and the farmland behind us) for 1-2 hours/daily.
"Merry Christmas! from Rose & Baby Pyg

 

[kota1369]

Are you planning on the dogs being with the chickens full time or just when they are out free ranging?
I have 2 cocker spaniels a rottwieler and a german shepherd puppy who is 5 1/2 months old. I got my chickens about 9 months ago and they were raised in my living room for the first month. The 3 dogs where around them from day one.
My rotty was a rescue and is very very obsessive but also well trained. She is still not allowed loose with the chickens. She has been taught to ignore them and not to look at them. She is a work in progress as I hope next year that I can at least have her off leash when we are all out together. She ignores the chickens now, I just know if she goes barling after a squirrel and they don't get out of her way she will run right over them. The puppy has seen the chickens since she was 5 weeks old as I fostered her mother. She does very well with them on leash and helps me herd them when they are tough to get in. She will end up a great protecter of the chickens down the road. My protecters now are the cocker spaniels. They are not the best chicken guards but all I got right now. They quit helping me herd them once they got challenged and pecked in the nose. Now Riley will at least follow them around the yard and stays fairly close to them most of the time. But if he barks.......... the chickens come running to him like they know he will protect them. I can not give him a bone or anything like that while he is hanging with the chickens as they will run him off of it and go to town on it. Now, that is a funny sight I have to say. I need a video camera. You Tube would love it.

The lady with the 4 dogs and 4 city chickens

 

[SteveH]

I've pretty much worked with dogs all my life , though I'm certainly not a professional . Follow this link I'm posting about training them . You will not need the electronic training collar on puppies , just pin them down [ as their mother would for misbehaving ] if they want to grab at or attempt to chase a chicken . They should also be raised with chickens in an adjoining pen if possible . Remember they are only puppies and vert apt to get bored at this stage of their lives and decide to play with a chick or chicken so must be supervised untill they get older . Do not cuddle them if they show fear of a chicken at this age , just keep leading them past the chicken . [ Rewarding them for showing fear just tells them its good to be afraid .] The actual guarding will come natural as they get old enough to claim the property and chickens as part of their own territory and adopted pack . Teaching them to attack on command is easy but not necessary so I will not go into it .

edt to include link
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=277526&p=2

 

[Redbear]

Greetings everyone. I just signed up for Backyardchickens. I hope it's OK to post here first without a formal introduction.

I am about to embark upon my backyard chicken experience and the prime reason is for my dog. (yes, pampered pooch) Bella is a one year old Bearded Collie. Last summer we raised both pheasant and quail. She was amazing with them all. They were here babies and she would run out every day and just sit and watch them. When released from the pen, she would either just sit and watch them or herd them back to the pen if they wandered too far. It was truly amazing to watch her slowly approach them, like a Heron, so as not to spook the chicks. When we release all the birds and they eventually wandered off she was lost. I believe some dogs are jsut meant to have a 'job'.

Attached are a couple of pictures as we anxiously await our new flock.

 

[BriteChicken]

I know my one year old GD pup will be very curious about the new chicks and that is why I am planning on raising them in my living room even if my allergies flare up from the dust because I want her get aquainted with them and learn that it's no big deal and that she can't bite or chase them. but I don't know where to start! There will be a hardware cloth lid on top... so she can't just reach in and grab one and she is crated when I'm gone so she will be closely supervised.

Anyone with suggestions is welcome to pipe up I need all the help I can get!

 

[twinstar]

We have/raise Catahoulas and have always let them run with chickens from pups. Now if we get an older dog, we usually don't let them mingle but it seems as if they are raised with them, they do well. We only had one incident of one of the 3 month old pups wanting to run up on them. He got a good flogging from one of my hubby's game roosters, caught his head perfectly between his wings. Needless to say, Eastwing hasn't come back for anymore. LOL!

ETA: The only thing they haven't managed to run off was the hawks. We still lose a chicken every now and again to those big winged heifers. The pups have managed to mangle every o'possum or raccoon that shows up.

They also herd them up for us in the evening when it's time for them to come up.

They used to try and get the horses for us, but the horses kick back. LOL!

 

[little_grey_bantam]

Quote:
If you plan on taking in unwanted birds, PLEASE make sure you have another place for them as you do not want to spread disease and sickness. I have known way too many people who have had to killed their flock (and these birds were from shows) and they didn't even bring their new bird to their homes - it was tracked on through poo on their shoes!