If you have a dog.....

[68352]

I have 7 dogs, 1 sheltie (good with chickens) 5 chihuahua's and mixes of chi (all good with chickens except one but the chickens only have to turn around then he runs away) and one dog we rescued hes a JRT/Corgie mix (wasn't good) I say wasn't cause hes in training hes not left alone with the freeranging birds, but will be free to run yard when we are there with him, he will chse but stops when we say leave it, he hurt my young light brama pullet, pounced her and mouthed her, had to wash and tend to her for about 2 weeks, shes fine now, he has been good since, we just have to watch him, he will sniff their butts and has been really good about not chasing them, my 2 male chi's are the worst but they chase and nip tails until the hens turn around , we watch them but so far no real harm is done some lost feathers but the hens are larger and quite fast. All my dogs LOVE C.B.C's

(chicken Butt candy) all also will eat the chicken feed, but when food it tossed in the yard its a duck, dog , and chicken free for all have seen both the dogs and the chickens snatch and run with the food.

I really need to share some pictures, my Polish hen Gracie thinks she is a dog and will lay in the shade with Charlie, he's the biggest (little) chicken chaser we have (hes a chi by the way)

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My sheltie (hes 12) is the yard dog hes on patrol 24/7 so far no unwanted critters have gotten my hens.: woot

We Had a border mix we pulled from a shelter hrs before she was to be put down, beautiful sweet dog, but she turned out (after almost a year living with us ) to be a Chicken killer, Imagine comming home to see your FAVORITE PET CHICKEN (we took her for car rides and to visit elementary school kids) laying in a pool of blood and the dog who's live you saved laying there feathers and blood all over her paws on her proceeding to try to eat her

. Needless to say Annie was rehomed to a new home thats pet free except from her.

 

[mkearsley]

I've got a 5-yr old terrier cross. He doesn't bother the chickens, although when they first arrived, he was very curious. A few times of me yelling at him to leave the girls alone & I trust him completely with them - although he's lost the leash-free rights when he dug through the fence & let another dog in the back yard. He actually watches them while they eat his dog food & sleep & scratch in his doghouse, although I've told him he can scare them out of his doghouse so he can lay in it

We had a chihuahua pup, she loved to "play" with the birds - ripped all the feather off the back of our Polish hen's head, so she was not allowed to be loose with the birds any more. Our neighbor's terrier-cross did happen to get into our backyard (both terriers were digging under the fence) and almost killed my black sex-link hen (although the verdict is still out on if she'll make it, it'll be a week tomorrow & she's still eating & acting mostly normal).

I think the key is for the dogs to know that the birds belong there & are not toys. The chihuaha was still in her playful stage & could not be controlled (she went to a new home that could better care for her).

 

[bailey'smama]

1 Greyhound mix and 1 Corgi. Both good with chickens. The Corgi will give chase on command if chickens wander onto the porch just to get them off of it. Other than that, he's like one of them!

 

[Godsgrl]

My 10 year old PBGV, Reno, really enjoys the chickens. He likes to sit in coops if I let him. We had a house chick one time, Peepers, and Reno took care of him like a hen. If I needed to find Peeps, I just looked for Reno's tail. He even tried to tell me when Peeps was sick, and ultimately died. If a chicken gets loose, Reno will help me catch it.

My pup on the other hand.....welll....she isn't allowed near the chickens. LOL She is a terrier/bird dog mix, and maybe 18 months old. Not happening. LOL

 

[WonderWoman0625]

I've got 2 Blue Heelers/Austrailan Cattle Herding dogs. Zip is 12 and a little slow but with great herding instinct and Jinx is 6, full of energy, and no herding instincts.
I had a problem in the beginning because they wanted to chase the chickens and the poor birds would collapse and die from exhaustion. There would be no mark on the bodies, so no biting or chewing/eating. We had to train them not to mess with the chickens. Both needed different types of discipline, just like children. But eventually, Jinx figured out that chasing chickens was only fun for a few minutes and then she was in trouble! It helped to have a fenced off corner of the back yard that we surrounded with a cheap electric fence. Jinx likes to dig under the fence and escape AND tried to dig under the chicken fence once. Zip, my little herder, LOVES the tiny babies. He once broke into their little "playpen" I had set up in the yard on a warm day and "loved" them to death. I lost half of my chick order. He just held them down and licked them and nipped them until they died. It took all of 30 minutes to lose 8 bitties.

Now, he leaves everybody alone mostly. But if we have bitties, he tries to sniff and lick and "love" them. But since all our bitties are hatched by our hens now, Mama usually makes him keep his distance.

We lost a few birds training our dogs. But it was worth it because we love all our critters. Now they can stay out together all day and I know they are safe.

My "Chicken Friend" has labs. She has never had a problem with them. The Roo she adopted from me even likes to go up to her male lab and get in his face. He is totally ignored.

Any mild mannered breed can be trained as long as you take the time to train them, never leave them all alone until you are sure they understand the "no killing the birdies" policy, and don't stop supervising them until LONG after you think they are all ok together.

Also, my chickens like to escape and wander to the neighbor's yard to eat bird seed. A stray deer dog has taken up at her house in the last month. He completely ignores the chickens. We have more problems with the neighbor's cats than we do with the hunting dog. Go figure?

 

[Kill-em-all Kate]

I have raised all my babies with my pit bull, he loves them and is very sweet to them. He is the best natured dog I have ever raised.

 

[eenie114]

3 Great Pyranses, who kill predators.
One Havanese-Beshan, who likes to adopt ducklings and run into the middle of the flock to watch them flap.

One little mutt? who used to be scared of them, but now doesn't care.

 

[Brattybiddy]

We have 3 dogs - an anatolian shepard/great pyrenees mix named Greta , a japanese chin named Yuki (the rooster is bigger than he is) and a basenji named Dodger. Greta is an excellant guard dog and keeps the coyotes well away from the property. However, the basenji has a very high prey drive. There is no doubt he would kill the chickens. We keep the chickens in a coop and an electric wire goes around the outside pen. He is an old dog. Once he is gone we will never ever get another basenji.
The best live stock guard dog, I believe, is one that is a mix of anatolian shepard and great pyrenees. If you decide on that breed get a puppy and keep him around the chickens as much as possible. You can also find young anatolian mixed dogs on Petfinder.
I am attaching a photo of Greta . She is a great dog and very protective.

 

[razzme]

I have two Border Collies both good with chickens ,and have even used them to help herd them out of my flower beds.But Beware of Roosters and puppy's ,12 week old poodle pup brought into vet clinic this week with broken leg from rooster attack.They do defend there girls so keep lil dogs away!!!

 

[mychookschick]

I have a Ausstralian Shepherd mix! She is wonderful! She was VERY interested when we first got them but NEVER hurt them! As time went on she disregarded them more and more.... Then I decided to train her to herd them for me. She does very well and responds to hand signals (because she is older and cannot hear much anymore)... Overall I would LOVE to have another, but we got her from the local shelter and can't figure out what sort of a mix she is.