***UPDATE***
Well...... We think it was the dog! We have a 5 month Anatolian Pyrenees that has been out with them for several months and never harmed them.
Yesterday my neighbor called and said that my dog was killing one of my chickens so I rushed home to save her. It was Princess Leia that was slightly injured but able to be outside, so I thought! He ripped out some of her feathers and she is ok. We have put her inside with Camilla the badly injured chicken but they are separate for now till Camilla has scabbed over and I can put a sweater on her.
WELL TODAY WE GOT HOME AND ONE OF MY HENS WAS DEAD IN MY YARD!
Her neck was snapped and chucks were missing! I don't understand! We have now pinned up the rest of our flock and our duck. We are looking into how to properly train the dog to not hurt the chickens and try to build a budget friendly run. I don't want to keep them locked in the small one we have now.
Anyone have any advise or experienced this? I need tips on what to do! I had a hawk kill 3 of my ducks and that is why we got the dog!
The dog in my avatar is also 1/2 Pyrenese and 1/2 Anatolian Shepherd. Just as people tragically make the mistake of thinking chicken wire will protect their chickens, many similiarly think a classic lgd breed will naturally protect their chickens. The classic lgd breeds typically have a lower prey drive and higher territorial instincts than other breeds. But lgd breeds are still Dogs, & yours is still a puppy, with normal puppy behaviors and instincts.
It May not be too late to train your teen-aged pup to be trustworthy around your poultry, but will now take more time and training than if he had never attacked those "squawky, flappy running "toys" in the first place.
With your pup, you will need to start from the very beginning, doing what needed to be done when he was 7-8 weeks old. 1) Absolutely no unsupervised exposure to the chickens. 2) Absolutely no exposure to chickens unless he is leashed and under your control. 3) At all times, watch and observe the pup's behavior and interest toward the chickens. Immediately give a firm reprimand if he shows any interest in the chickens whatsoever. Be 100% consistent with your training. You want to teach him to completely ignore their squawking, flapping and all other typical chicken behaviors.
Since you are now training a pup that has experienced the thrill of the chicken chase, it's going to take more supervision and Time. He needs a secure separate fence where he can see but not get at the chickens. If he tries to chase/reach them through his fence, he should be completely removed from their presence unless you are present to take the training steps listed above. If he continues to try to reach them despite his separate fencing & your reprimands, he may never be trustworthy around your chickens. But you will never know unless you try. And he needs time to outgrow his "puppy-ness."
There is hope that with time and consistent training, along with the fact he is a classic lgd breed cross, he can eventually be trained. Good luck and im glad to know your hurt hens are healing ok.
