Help, please. Our lab is licking his chops @ the chicks!

[JiJis hens]

I know my dog will have no problem sinking his teeth into my little chicks. If I let my chicks loose all three of mine go inside even thought is only one I know is a predator. Even my 3.5 lbs smacks her lips.

 

[orumpoultry]

We have three labs. We would hold the chicks and let the labs explore them, almost daily. When they were in the run, we would stand with the labs to reinforce the desired behaviors. Our labs LOVE the chickens.
Their affection for the chickens became a problem last night. Our chocolate lab jumped INTO the coop, squeezed right past me while I was feeding!! She has never done anything like that before - she is a show dog - very well behaved. She stepped on four of our 21 chicks and killed them. She was not being aggressive. It was a hard lesson to learn.
I think I can trust my labs not to bark at, attack, or eat my chicks - but a playful lab can hurt chickens, regardless of training. (x2)

Two of my dogs are trained hunters. If there's not a fence between them and the birds, there is a LOAD of trouble. They are excellent guardians, but will kill a chicken given any chance. Not to say I didn't try to train them otherwise, but they did find out that chicks make tasty snacks and a fun chase. IF there is any chance that the birds are allowed to free range, Holly and Blue go on chains or in a kennel. Blue HAS killed a guinea on a chain, but I do believe the guinea had it coming ( i.e. he was a nosy bird who harassed Blue while he was on the chain ) . It just sucks that Blue got the bird. Holly, on the other hand, will not chase birds while we are there. She can walk the yard with us and have no issues. BUT if she is left alone with the birds, the issues begin. Now, give Holly her 'deadly' basketball and she's entertained for a minimum of two hours before she wears herself out and comes scratching at the door to be let in. But again, I try to maintain a minimum of one set of fencing between the birds and the dogs. If not feasible, like in evenings I'm home and let them out, dogs stay inside.

My other four dogs do not chase the chickens but I still don't trust them around my birds. My heeler is more worried about what the livestock is doing, and my Ridgeback is more worried about what my mother is doing. He's obsessed with her. Doesn't like being far from her at ALL. My other two dogs, albiet only 5 lbs, I never give the chance. They are either walking with me or not out at all.

From past experience, I've learned it's just easier to not let the dogs and birds coexist. They know the other exists, with minimal to no chance of ever crossing paths. Just yesterday my mother took Blue and Holly out with her on a horseback ride, came home and went inside to grab a drink and left the two of them unsupervised. Not thinking about it. Before she realized it was squawking she heard, two birds were dead and two were missing. Just that fast. It can happen in a heartbeat. So train early, train well, and never EVER trust the puppy alone with the birds. Even if he stops obsessing.

 

[dreamer5577]

I 100% am with orumpoultry on this one. My dog. a hunter. No matter what she will not cooperate with the chickens. She has killed some and goes absolutely nuts when they are free ranging or if peeps are in a brooder in my room. She will pace by the door until she finds a way in. Once she knows a chicken is there...she doesn't forget about it.

All in all, I can't let mine coexist.

Definitely train your dog. Especially since it is so young still. Monitor them. Always.