I'm thinking about a mule/donkey to protect my chickens...

[BigBlueHen53]

I have a small herding dog that does a great job keeping coyotes off the property. She is a Sheltie, a Shetland Sheepdog or what some people call a miniature Collie. Our property is not fenced, but we are pretty isolated. She does not wander. Nobody fences dogs around here. I have seen her chase three coyotes off the property at once. She is fearless when it comes to protecting her property. She is also a pet. When she isn't lying on the front porch surveying her domain, she is at my feet. She sleeps next to my bed.

 

[Northern Flights]

We had a litter of shelties dropped off at the farm back in 1992 when we first started fostering. They were amazing when something nasty came over looking for dinner.

They used to work as a pack, circling and taking turns to dart in for a nip. I watched them tree a very hungry cougar like that. Fearless and fast, but they also liked to do the same thing to people sometimes! Lol.

 

[perchie.girl]

I think the best thing to consider is what are you most comfortable with.... I will be doing LGD... or a cross of some sort. Donkeys and Mules take an educated hand in handling or they will out smart you every time... Bunny lady is spot on ....

Llamas here are good are a good choice... Alpacas are much smaller and Dogs or Coyotes will gang up on them. They take some handling education as well... Their feet need to be trimmed and their diet needs some education.

My best suggestion is to provide excellent fencing including hotwire for the predators. And Dont expect to free range without your supervision... I have lost four flocks to predation.... so i have learned the hard way.... I also lost my last hen to a Coyote that took her not fifty feet from me...

Coop your chickens up at night....
Provide good stout fencing not just chicken wire.....
Hot wire both bottom and top of the fence.... I have mountain lions and bobcats.

Good luck keeping your flock safe

deb

 

[slippednfell]

Thank you all for your input! I greatly appreciate it!

I think other than having an electric fence at the moment, everything else is secure.

We live on 55 acres of mostly wooded land. Some neighbors let their dogs run wild and we have coyote and bobcats. Wild hogs are also not uncommon. I could house a large animal but only reason I would want to is for flock protection. Since that isn't necessarily true, I am abandoning the idea of a mule/donkey.

I have two dogs (one is a wolf hybrid and the other a Brittany mix) and the next one we get is going to be a German Shepherd, so getting another dog to guard the flock is out.

I will look into hot wiring the perimeter of the run instead.

I appreciate all of you taking the time to provide me with your input.

 

[townchicks]

I have two dogs (one is a wolf hybrid and the other a Brittany mix) and the next one we get is going to be a German Shepherd, so getting another dog to guard the flock is out.

This may or may not be helpful, but a friend of mine stopped a raccoon from coming back into her attic by sprinkling urine from her wolf hybrid by where he was coming in. Wolves and coyotes are natural enemies, so maybe walking your hybrid around the perimeter , letting him/her mark, may discourage some predators. It's not sure fire, and I would certainly not rely on that alone, but you say you are secure anyway. Might just add another layer, and wouldn't hurt.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've had donkeys for decades. They have done a decent job keeping most predators at bay here for the past 20 years. We recently put down the old mom donkey due to age related problems. Her 2 boys haven't been as good at going after predators. Maybe they are still grieving their mom.

I would recommend a female for guarding. The males can sometimes go after critters. Mine have gone after the goats, and muscovy ducks in their younger days. I haven't had problems with them and the chickens. I sometimes see a chicken riding a donkey. One chicken would routinely roost on one during winter one year.

Donkeys will stomp any canines so if you have dogs you need to be careful.

Donkeys are a long term commitment, but are fairly easy to keep. They don't eat much, and don't require fancy stuff like grain or alfalfa. Good pasture and grass hay will keep them fat, maybe too fat. They do need regular hoof care. Otherwise they are pretty simple.

They aren't like horses. So working with them is different. They are intelligent critters, who need gentle handling. They will never forget cruel handling.

If your set up is right they could help with predators. Not every donkey does the job well or consistently, so be sure you actually want the donkeys, yes get 2 or they will horribly lonely.

 

[SueT]

I had 2 donkeys when I had guineas. The birds and donkeys were close friends. The donkeys enjoyed the bug-eating service provided by the guineas. But I don't know about protecting them--I don't really think the donkeys were altruistic. And the guineas ranged outside of the donkey pasture much of the time. I enjoyed their interactions.

 

[slippednfell]

This may or may not be helpful, but a friend of mine stopped a raccoon from coming back into her attic by sprinkling urine from her wolf hybrid by where he was coming in. Wolves and coyotes are natural enemies, so maybe walking your hybrid around the perimeter , letting him/her mark, may discourage some predators. It's not sure fire, and I would certainly not rely on that alone, but you say you are secure anyway. Might just add another layer, and wouldn't hurt.

Excellent suggestion! We will give that a try!

 

[slippednfell]

I've had donkeys for decades. They have done a decent job keeping most predators at bay here for the past 20 years. We recently put down the old mom donkey due to age related problems. Her 2 boys haven't been as good at going after predators. Maybe they are still grieving their mom.

I would recommend a female for guarding. The males can sometimes go after critters. Mine have gone after the goats, and muscovy ducks in their younger days. I haven't had problems with them and the chickens. I sometimes see a chicken riding a donkey. One chicken would routinely roost on one during winter one year.

Donkeys will stomp any canines so if you have dogs you need to be careful.

Donkeys are a long term commitment, but are fairly easy to keep. They don't eat much, and don't require fancy stuff like grain or alfalfa. Good pasture and grass hay will keep them fat, maybe too fat. They do need regular hoof care. Otherwise they are pretty simple.

They aren't like horses. So working with them is different. They are intelligent critters, who need gentle handling. They will never forget cruel handling.

If your set up is right they could help with predators. Not every donkey does the job well or consistently, so be sure you actually want the donkeys, yes get 2 or they will horribly lonely.

Thank you very much for the insight.

 

[Debbanne]

I had 2 donkeys when I had guineas. The birds and donkeys were close friends. The donkeys enjoyed the bug-eating service provided by the guineas. But I don't know about protecting them--I don't really think the donkeys were altruistic. And the guineas ranged outside of the donkey pasture much of the time. I enjoyed their interactions.
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So beautiful and l absolutely love donkeys. I know they could fit in well on our farm.Bern trying to convince my husband. We are in a bad drought at the moment so I am hoping things will pick up some. Love the photo.