Hurtful?

It won't hurt them. My dogs bark all the time, haven't lost a chick to a bark yet, just to a barker that wanted to eat chicks.

 

Our Australian Shepherd is our chicks' babysitter...





Just keep an eye on the dogs, when you first put the chicks hutch, to make sure they (the dogs) won't be a problem.

I was worried, too, when we first got our day-old (last May) but Pepper Anne has turned into a surrogate mom.

Hope this helps!

Dawn

 

1. When I was a kid, on Easter morning, I watched a dog break into / tear apart our neighbor's rabbit hutch and kill the bunny. On Easter morning.

2. Be VERY VERY careful about any dog around a chick. Just because you love your dogs and you love your chicks, doesn't mean your dog will automatically understand not to "play" with them or kill them.

 

Dogs are predators, they are designed to hunt and kill to survive. Chickens(and especially chicks) are prey. Dogs(with a few exceptions) will naturally kill any small creatures that they can catch. Your dog can be very friendly to you, and also make a habit of killing bunnies in your yard, skunks, oppossums, turtles...and they will not think twice about killing your chicks.

Training can help your dog to learn that YOU can touch the chicks and he can not ever touch them without you giving him permission...but you should never trust your dog alone with them. To be on the safe side, I would just keep him away from your chicks at all times, AND make sure he cannot get into their coop.

My dog is a small, ornamental breed, a Japanese Chin, and she has been raised her entire life knowing that she may not touch any other animal in the house without my permission. I have trained her this way because I keep all kinds of exotic animals, from reptiles to bugs to birds, and I rescue/rehab injured ones too. So, she is always with me when I care for my animals, but I continually reinforce the idea that they are my animals, not hers, and she must respect them. She does a very good job, and is so happy to follow me through my caretaking routines every day.

So, training your dog is not mean, it is necessary around chicks. It actually makes your dog happier because he knows what he can happily do, and what he is not allowed to, so you don't have to actually punish him for making lots of mistakes. Train your dog, keep him completely away from your chicks when you cannot be right there, and you will both be happy!

 

I think it's safe to say that most dogs will kill a chicken (especially a chick) if they get the chance. It's in their nature to chase and catch things that run and move around in quick, jerky movements.

My own sweet, wonderful, best of the best dogs killed my favorite chick when she stuck her head out of the tractor. It was all my fault for not getting the 1" chicken wire put up around the 2x4 wire before actually letting the chicks out in it. My dog loved to sit and 'protect' my chicks from all the other dogs and cats but when he got his chance ... he took it.

 

^^That reminds me of another good point. Frequently, guarding-behaviour in dogs when they are around small animals like chicks is interpreted by people as "affection" and "protecting" the small animal from other animals who want to hurt it.

Sometimes this is the case, but quite often the dog is only "guarding" the animal because he feels it is his animal...and he is also entitled to kill it when he gets the chance, or when his mood changes.

Just be careful and watchful if your dog appears to be protecting your chicks...he may just have keeping his lunch to himself in mind.

***If it sounds to anyone like I'm not fond of dogs, I very much am. I'm also really big on reading animal behaviour accurately and I love chicks so much I just want them all to be as safe as they can be!***

 

It looks like it's pretty sturdily made. Still, if a large dog wanted in there really badly ... it's possible that it could get into it. If your dog doesn't have free access to that hutch then it's a great hutch for your chicks.

We had our rabbit in a hutch like that and the hutch got tipped over by a horse (long story), the door popped open and the dog killed the rabbit.

So, make sure that the hutch cannot be tipped over by an anxious dog pushing around it to get at the chicks inside.