If you have a dog.....

[Hottchick]

Two of my sweet Leghorn chickens managed to find a way out of their run. I have corrected that situation but the minute they got out my lab mix killed them. It was devastating to everyone.

My dogs will never be allowed access to my chickens. I trust them less than as far as I can throw them and all 3 weigh between 55 and 85 pounds, so that's not very far. And when my 85 pound dog killed my chicken, believe me, I wanted to throw her!

 

[silkydragon]

chocolate lab,rat terrier,chuhuahua(sp) they are great with the chickens (kill other birds chase the pheasants when guest dont shut door behind them and the dogs get in)i think they just like to chase things that fly but they leave my bantys alone that fly all the time?

 

[Eglyntine]

Here are my babies:

Mystique is in the front and Phoenix is the one peeking over from behind. They are 8 month old purebred English Mastiffs, so while they look big and weigh in at 130lbs already they are still very much puppies. In all my life with various breeds of dogs I have owned with and without chickens these are the first ones I have ever had that was good with my kids (3 and 5), my chickens from puffball to full adult, kittens, you name it. I never had to yell at them one time to stay away from the chickens, do not chase them, do not hurt them, etc. I trust them explicitly with my birds. But unfortunately I cannot trust them to stay away from the chicken poop.

It is the most disgusting thing in the world but they would kill to eat chicken poop. It of course is virtually impossible to keep them from doing it since the chickens free range my yard and I also compost the hay and chicken manure all over my yard but it is a daunting task keeping them away from it to say the least.

They are super protective and anything that tries to come in the yard after the chickens and the girls are all over them. They have super sonic hearing I think because even if they are inside with us, if a cat or whatever comes in the yard they are up and out that door faster than you can say "WTH?!" I would like to take full credit and say that I am a great dog trainer but I cannot. They have been like this since day one with the chickens and I could not be prouder that is for sure.

 

[Shura]

I have a 8 month old American Bulldog male puppy and will be getting a female of the same breed in about 6 months. Although he has not been around chickens, I anticipate that he will be safe enough after initial introduction. Even though he is very protective and is big boy, he is gentle with other animals that are smaller than he is.

 

[NEchickens]

We got our first two chickens when my Rough Collie was only 8 months old. He has crazy prey drive, does not listen, and is the nuttiest thing. He is absolutely the antithesis of my last Smooth Collie who was all sense and protectiveness and response extrodinaire. Needless to say the two little Brahma qeens were protected scrupulously. They were contained and expenned and moved around in thier tractor. The Collie pup Rocket though would very often be found (along with my old, since passed, Newfy girl) lying next to wherever the chooks were enclosed.

When we got our chicks I put them in their brooder in the spare bedroom and closed the door- we had gotten our other pup a boy Newf, Diesel, by then and we have two house cats. But the very next morning first thing my Collie did was go and stand at that door, then I let him push past me to see what he'd do. He had to check on them and be in there with us as much as possible.

Our girls have an enclosed run and for a long time I didn't let either of the young dogs out when they were out of their run. But we hatched a few eggs and brought home a few young sebrights and a feral cat started thinking we were a fast food stop, so I thought it sure would be great if my silly Rocketdog would actually act like a Collie. So, I took him out on a leash.

Now, he'd also been "involved" in the brooding of the home hatched chicks, so I fed the girls some scratch and brought them in kinda close to see how Rocket would do and when any of the chicks we brooded in the house came up he didn't even look twice but the Sebrights he was really interested in. I gave him a correction and a "leave it these are family"- introduced them and darn it if that dog isn't the tireless defender of the flock! He is a Collie!He does give a laughing blast through them when I first let hem out sometimes but it is just his just out romp thing. He also loves chicken poop.

I still don't let Diesel out loose with the the Chicks because he is only 14 months and 150lbs or so, and is in the rubberheaded boy stage, he's like a train! and very goofy but I have high hopes for him, after all he is a Newf.

 

[YoYofranko]

I have a staffy/lurcher & staffy/labrador and yes there both trained but it did take alot of effort, now they protect my hens and as my lurcher cross is a fast runner he can catch upto any predator.

 

[BorderKelpie]

My Border Collie X Kelpie is great with the chickens. He got yelled at once for chasing a rooster. Now, when I need one gathered up, he (Coulter) doesn't bother to herd them, he gently picks them up and hands them to me - kind of weird, but it works. Poor chickens. lol

My Shih tzu, OTOH, has killed a couple already. I have to watch him closely, he's sneaky-smart.

Leave it to the little 10 pound hairball to be a chicken killer.

 

[dlfridie]

I have 3 chihuahuas and they get along fine w/ the chickens. I would never leave them unattended though.

 

[celticfarmer]

I've got a German Wirehair Pointer. She's not real great with the chickens, maybe because she's a bird dog?
But she knows that they are my birds and she will get her clock cleaned if she messes with them. When they get wound up and start jumping around its fun to see her shake with excitment. I pretty much have to take her out for a walk in the woods once she gets that riled up.

 

[theCandEs]

We have 3 dogs. The only one allowed out with the chickens is our Chocolate lab. She likes scaring them a little by walking close to them, but I think she just thinks they are funny. My other two can't be trusted. One is an American Eskimo Spitz. She attacked one of the birds that got in her face. The chicken seemed to be provoking her. I don't know why it would do that. The other is a stray German Shorthaired Pointer. She is a real bird dog, and really wants a chicken for dinner. I'm very nervous about having her around them. We just found her two weeks ago, and I told her I like the chickens better than her, so she better watch her step.