How do you TRUST your dogs with your chicks?

[Mommysongbird]

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Unfortunately they will have to make due with the heat lamp, space heater don't work in our bathroom, not enough room! We are going to take the 250W brooder bulb (that is too hot for the brooder) and put it in the bathroom in the ceiling light fixture, so if we are going somewhere and I know that we won't be gone more than maybe and hour or so, I will just turn on the bathroom light.

Heck, with that light bulb in the bathroom, I might just have to take longer showers and baths.

 

[Break an Egg]

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I don't agree with this. My dog is a little over a year old, she's %100 mutt and I've never had 1 casualty with her and my small flock free ranges all day, and she has free reign of the yard. She mostly just sits and watches them. She will run at something if she thinks it shouldn't be in her yard. She is a very smart dog, very eager to please, she's %100 potty trained, no accidents.

Last night when she caught that baby possum, I didn't want her to eat it so I told her to drop it, which she did then it ran under some wood. I told her to get it, and she did and I had my pond net next to her and said "give it to mama" she dropped it and nudged it into the net with her nose. I couldn't believe it. I knew she was smart, but now I am going to start training her to do jobs, like herding and fetching.

 

[deserthens]

I agree all dogs are different some can be trusted and some cannot. If you have a kennel that the dog does not like could you fit the chickens into it to keep the dog away from them? When our chick were young we kept them in a rabbit cage. When they were small enough to squeeze thru the bars of the rabbit cage we kept them in am old fish tank.

 

[boredcolliejane]

My border collie is excellent with my chickens and goslings. Very protective. She loves to herd them close to me, and will bark at anything that appears too close or threatening to the birds -- including our other dog, garbage cans, parked cars, the neighbors, and the construction guys next door. I take her with me to check on them on the side porch and she always races ahead and barks away any raccoons or possums that may be lurking nearby. The other night I brought a flashlight and saw a raccoon sitting on the porch steps, and my dog chased it away.

BUT, when I first got the chickens, I didn't think I was going to be able to get her past her prey-drive. It's now been a month and a half, and they're HER chickens and HER geese, and no one outside the human family should be getting close to them.

 

[Akane]

We are going to take the 250W brooder bulb (that is too hot for the brooder) and put it in the bathroom in the ceiling light fixture

If the fixture is not specifically made for a 250w bulb this would be a very bad idea. Most fixtures are only designed for 60-100w bulbs and many have warnings on them to this effect. At best you'll destroy the fixture and at worst you could start a fire. Special porcelain fixtures are used in heat lamps for brooders and reptiles.​

 

[ChickenWisperer]

You have to know your dog.

I have chow/lab/border collie mix. I trust that dog completely with my chicks, adolescents, and adults. With so much lab blood, you'd think she'd go nuts - she doesn't.