Huskies and chickens

[dewey]

Huskies are beautiful animals so it's easy to understand why your family is attracted to them. But like so many others have said, I think a different breed would be in order, one whose nature/instinct is in line with being dependent on their humans instead of a breed that allows a human to lead (sometimes, lol). Independence and drive is part of what makes the breed distinct. Those traits cannot be trained out of them since it's not a behavioral problem, it's genetic and needs a proper outlet. Same with other husky and similar breeds.

That being said, my siberian x (1/4 shepherd) was drawn to "mamma" any creature we had, from baby chicks and kittens, to sick pigs or goats. She'd never leave their side and would whine for them and lick them (and nope, she wasn't tenderizing them lol

). Yet she was a terror with strangers or stray dogs/cats or any creature that happened over my fence line that didn't belong to us. Maybe it was the x that toned the drive down, but what was in her nature was not typical.

Good luck in your search! And which ever breed you decide on, NILIF training for the humans is a great way to go. (Maybe you could get your poodle and they could have their larger breed, with the chickens protected of course.)

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Huskys & chickens go together like Ice cream & flame throwers do.

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

Go with a Golden.....mine do have a high prey drive but they can control it. They kill mice, rats and snakes outside. They also bring me baby wild turkeys (usually very wet, but still alive). But because they love their people more than anything else, it was not too hard to teach them that chickens and house bunnies were part of their family too. I raised my peeps indoors for eight weeks. After the dogs got over how exciting birds in the house were, they accepted the chickens as family and don't treat them as prey.

On a side note....the only other dog that ever attacked my dog in the pic below was a Husky. Not the Husky's fault. It was on a leash and dragging it's owner around a state park. They are very strong. The owner just couldn't hold the dog and it attacked mine.

 

[DanceswLabs]

I am part owner of a wonderful Siberian Husky. I have several friends in the Siberian Husky show world, and I love the breed. Our Siberian is great with people and kids; however, pretty much everything I have read in this thread about prey drive and containment agrees with my experiences. You have to have a zoo-keeper mentality to keep them contained. And if they get out, they are not going to come running when you call them. Also, any animal smaller than they are are potential meals; they can't help it; it is in their genes. Our rabbit was killed by our Siberian. Our boy now lives with his "show mama," because when we moved to a farm with our horses, he was so obsessed with the large prey animals that we were all miserable. If we had had our chickens then, I am sure he would have found a way to get them. He lives with his "show mama" now and she is set up to deal and live with these wonderfully entertaining and sweet, but difficult-to-manage dogs. I miss my boy, but my first love is Labs and Goldens. My two Labs are fine with the chickens, because they are obedience trained. I don't leave them alone with chickens or ducks, but I don't worry if they are in their yard that they will escape to have chicken for dinner. My Labradors only have extreme prey drive for tennis balls!

 

[greeneggsandham]

Well I had a husky/chow and she was a great guard dog, wonderful with the horses, my two small beagles and even the cat, but the chickens forget it. If she ever got out of her pen she went straight for the chicken pen and would run circles around it until one was stupid enough to stick its head through the fence then lunch time. She even growled and attempted to snap at me when she had a chicken half through the fence, but remembered real quick who the alpha dog was. She passed away last year at 16.
But I will tell you that one of her daughters is great with my mothers birds. Heck Trixie is great with any other animal and I think maybe because her dad was a herding dog of some sort.

 

[dandelionheart]

I love German Shepherds!!! But the best dog I've seen with fowl is a Great Pyrenees. Massive dog that will take a LOT of dog food - but the biggest & gentlest giant EVER... unless you are going after their "family". Their "family" is the humans that are around it, the other dogs, cats, chickens, goats, etc... and they recognize kids and will keep them with the pack (if you have small children that are wanderers). And yeah, our 1/2 GS and 1/2 Husky was a goofy, high energy, runner dog (and she went after EVERYTHING).

 

[Brindlebtch]

Quote:
ditto ditto ditto

generally speaking
husky + chickens = bad combo

 

[WhoopiePie]

thanks for all the responses everyone.

i will bring up these points with my family, and just to make things clear (if you just skimmed my original post): I DON'T WANT THE DOG! this is everyone else's decision because my parents grew up with dogs and my brother is a dog magnet (they automatically love him).... i've made it clear to them that i do not want a dog especially a large breed no matter how gorgeous they are, but i'm outnumbered 3 to 1. it's really not fair for me to keep preventing them from doing something they've wanted to do for years and i don't make enough money to move out yet

otherwise i would take the chickens with me!

i will continue to push for a different breed. nothing is concrete yet, i assumed we would be getting the husky in the next month because they started making phone calls etc. but what do i know about dog acquisition? they might be persuaded to consider the great pyrenees because of it's size and cuddliness (i don't think my brother wants to be seen walking a micro poodle

)

again thank you for helping me make my case

ETA: i may not be a dog person but you guys have some beautiful dogs!

 

[michickenwrangler]

I think Huskies may even be on the aggressive dog breed list ( may be wrong, but I think they're on there. I know chihuahuas and dachsunds top the list)

There have been several threads about huskies in this section so you may want to do a search function to browse

Yes, huskies are gorgeous and the blue eyes don't hurt either

Many people also like the wolf-like appearance but they have a wolf-like mind too.

The following dogs all need jobs and are not recommended for a beginner:

Akitas
Queensland heelers
Border collies (often smarter than their owners!)
Huskies
Malamutes
Samoyeds
Elkhounds
Foxhounds

Basically anything that looks like a wolf or if you've ever heard anyone say "They're supposed to be smart dogs."

I know too many people with house bound Heelers that get nasty and obese and start nipping at children's heels, huskies that take off, Akitas that won't let children's friends in the house and Border collies that begin herding their owners.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Oh lord help the novice Samoyed owner. You will be hiding under your bed crying, and the dog will be sleeping on the bed.

My sam used to walk along on the snow with her head tipped to one side, listening, then rear up on her hind legs, twist in the air, and slam her forelegs into a pile of snow, then snap up all the mice that flew up into the air.