How are Border Collies for pets and living with chickens

[Finn's Mom]

My border collie was 4 when he was rehomed to us and I can't say he wasn't a challenge in the beginning, but he became without a doubt, the most trustworthy dog I have ever known. He was 17 when he died, and while I never had him and chickens at the same time, I did have him with my tiny preemie babies, whom he guarded fiercly, without being fierce, if that makes sense. He got along with every dog he ever met, even in his geriatric years when he would not have been strong enough to defend himself. A wonderdog, truly. I haven't thought of him for a while but I realize I still miss him after 5 years. I have nothing bad to say about the breed, but if you don't have the time or energy to imprint your wishes on them, then their wishes will be imprinted on you and I'm NOT saying all their ideas are good ideas!

(bambi is right!) Good luck and I hope you find your wonderdog!

 

[rocketdoctor]

Quote:
The farm that i am getting him from has several BCs and sells the puppies. I found out about this place because I dropped my Rooster off there since Im not allow to own one. When i was there I told them to contact me the next time they have puppies since the price was very reasonable. I can go and pick one out now and they will release to me when they are 8 weeks old. I did see the other BCs one possibly being the dad when I was their and they all appeared freindly and very well behaved. I really want to get a puppy so i can have a better chance to train it well around my kids, chicken and bird. Im not apposed to getting a pound dog but where I live all the pound puppies are either chihuahas or pitbulls.

 

[Finn's Mom]

Eh, did you read the book Marley and Me?

 

[bambi]

Please be sure you are making the right choice. I really,really love BC but if you don't have the space and time it is a really big mistake. They are called a working dog for a reason and they can be very,very destructive if you don't know what you are doing they are also very sensitive to training. I hate to make it sound like they are a bad dog they are far from it but you have to have time to spend with them not just a hour here and there. They are one of the type of dogs that get thrown away because the owners don't understand how they operate. Good luck on your dog search

 

[noodleroo]

I had BCs when I was little. Very smart and protective. I agree it depends on the dog and the trainer. I have a rough coat collie (like Lassie but black, white and tan) who is wonderful with the chickens. Here she is with them:

 

[pgpoultry]

We keep a Border Collie, too....from sheep working dog parents. We were offered our pick from the litter....my daughter chose the runt, a quarter the size of the others, skinny, scrawny and full of worms.

Well 3 plus years later he is still small but sleek, lovely and a complete asset around my chickens which free range over 6 field plus the garden. He shares his bed with them, protects them, shoos off the crows and my favourite hen sleeps with hem rather than go into the chicken coop at night. We regularly leave him for hours in the day with the chickens and he looks after them. Very intelligent and beautiful dogs, easy to train.

So, having sung the praises of the BC, what's the downside? Well, they have to be VERY active, and have some kind of job to do. They need a ridiculous amount of exercise if they aren't able to run free all day. They can be destructive if bored, but we have never had issues with boredom as we keep ours on the go all day.They like to herd and I have been told they are not great round small children (though ours just tries to lick them to bits).
Having owned other types of dig before, the BC must rank as my own favourite.

Always, always, always, see the parents and give yourself time to train any dog,

Sandie

 

[Gypsy07]

Yup, what everyone else has said. The best dogs in the world if you can give them a job, the most destructive noisy pains in the bum if they're not trained well and kept busy. I would also say they're probably not good dogs for beginners. If you haven't had a dog before you'll likely have problems with collies. They're smart enough to run rings round most people, and half the time you won't even notice it's happening. Most folk I know who own BCs, I'd say it's actually the dog that's the one in charge!

One other thing: If they've been trained to do a guarding or herding job and they're out running free and doing it all day then that's ideal. But if you're just letting them run free aimlessly all day without a proper job to do then you'll have problems. Just running free and doing their own thing is NO substitute for proper training and structured exercise.

 

[matthewschickens]

Our BC's adore the chickens! Our female BC thinks they are her babies and if one is lost she will look for it. Also, they can be a big help herding them in! The chickens have learned that there is nothing to fear with them so our BC's can walk through them without any trouble of running away. Two things I don't like are:

1. As they have learned the dogs don't hurt them... They think the same with foxes so they don't really run away or alarm the others as much as they should.

2. BC's want to be the leader over the chickens, so if you have a roo they will both want to be leader. They won't fight (at least ours don't) but they will have standoff's sometimes.

I am saying these things but I really love BC's and think they are a great dog when it comes to chicken caring or just being a pet. Just make sure they have plenty of interaction with other people besides your family when they are young and ride them in the car sometimes. Otherwise they will be scared of every person but your family and will get carsick. One of our dogs is like that. She is the sweetest thing but if something happened she would let no one touch her which wouldn't be good.

Good luck with your BC!

Matthew

 

[Keene's coop]

i have a border collie and he does great with them. the few times we let the chickens out to roam, he would herd them back close to the coop if they got too far away. and this is the first time he's been around them.

 

[noahsgeese]

Border collies are GREAT with chickens! But you just have to train them to like chickens and they will scare all of the predators away! They are also good with children although if they live with them because one of our border collies does not like guests that much and might try to bark at them and that kind of thing! I think that they are great dogs overall and you should try them!