INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[SallyinIndiana]

So how do you keep a dog from chasing/killing your chickens? My dog killed two of mine. :-( I'm so upset. I don't want to have to build a large run/pen as we have so much land they can roam on. Suggestions?

I'm not sure you can teach a dog not to kill chickens once it has.

 

[me me me]

He is a cutie. Let us hope he isn't as whiny as his name sake.

He is! All he does is yell but I guess it's not uncommon

 

[Little Ameraucana Mom]

I guess today is happy Star Wars day. In honor of this auspicious occasion I would like everyone to meet Anakin my three day old ram

SO CUTE !!!!

 

[Little Ameraucana Mom]

Got back about 2 hrs ago from the Wolf lake swap. It was nice, but a lot of garage sale/flee market type stuff. Game type chickens, quail, pheasants, and peafowl were everywhere though! Good number of dogs (when will Indiana outlaw puppy mills!). I was proud of myself when we were walking back to the car with the carrier still empty. That is until we came up to the very last booth that just had got there and unpacking. My weakness! Silkies and showgirls. Yes I was just complaining how have too many chicks and then buy more!

There were several juvie's and adults, but wasn't happy with the way they look. Plus, I'm not a fan of buying adult birds as I don't have. Great quarantine area for them. So tis last book was week olds, hatched this past Tuesday (2 showgirls little older). I have no idea the quality but they were ok cute to pass up. Silkies and showgirls are the only thing this guy breeds so hoping they turn out nice. Im not sure how silkied the older two showgirls will be. they were freebies though.

Enough talking, here are the pictures
Silkie chick 1

Silkie chick 2

Silkie chick 3 (my favorite, can't wait to see adult color)

Showgirl chick 1

Showgirl chick 2

Showgirl chick 3

If you ever want to sell that little partridge showgirl (showgirl1) Let me know, I have a grandson that would love to have one.

 

[Quinstar]

Is the brown one a welsummer? If so and you got the chicks from the same seller, I remember seeing them. He had a bunch of geese as well, right?

Yup! Only ones I saw today. I got the Brahma cause I didn't want her to be lonely. One of the geese kept jumping out and trying to escape. It was pretty funny.

 

[ShawnaScott]

I agree with SallyInIndiana. Well, partially anyway.

First off, what kind of dog is it? If it is a "high prey drive" dog, like a Jack Russell or Rat Terrier, I doubt you will be able to train it out of him. Dogs that were bred for the express purpose of killing small animals will kill small animals no matter what. Now, somtimes a mix of a high prey drive dog with a non high will be able to be trained to leave them alone.

The next thing, how old is this dog? Is it a puppy? if it is a puppy, then it will be much easier to train than an older dog. If it is much more than 2 or 3 years, again, it's probably been chasing small animals it's whole life and will not respond to training.

Did the dog eat the chickens? If he ate it, then there's no hope. It is true, once a dog tastes an animal, he will always see it as food.

If the dog is a non high prey drive (especially retrievers.Most of them will not attack and kill because they were bred to "wait" for the signal. It's not true for all of the dogs in those breeds, but its like as not that the won't kill), is a younger dog, and DID NOT eat the chickens, you need to reassert yourself as "alpha" dog. It will sound mean, but it is something that I use, other rescues use, and trainers use. Get the dog around the chickens. Make sure he can't actually get them. When he lunges or makes a move, grab him and put him to the ground. If he does not roll immediately on his back, put him on his back. Hold him to the ground by the throat. BUT DO NOT, under any circumstance, hurt him. Be very gentle, it is easy to accidentally hurt him when you do that. Make sure he can breathe, but let him know you are the boss. Let him up, if he lunges again, repeat the process. Once he will not lunge, put him in a dog crate/cage where the chickens are. Hopefully he will get used to them.

If your dog is well trained, you can also train him to view the chickens as a "no touch" object. Most dogs when they come to me are older, and training them that well is not feasible. Depending on your budget, you can hire a licensed trainer to work with him. They can be very expensive though.

So how do you keep a dog from chasing/killing your chickens? My dog killed two of mine. :-( I'm so upset. I don't want to have to build a large run/pen as we have so much land they can roam on. Suggestions?

 

[Quinstar]

Got back about 2 hrs ago from the Wolf lake swap. It was nice, but a lot of garage sale/flee market type stuff. Game type chickens, quail, pheasants, and peafowl were everywhere though! Good number of dogs (when will Indiana outlaw puppy mills!). I was proud of myself when we were walking back to the car with the carrier still empty. That is until we came up to the very last booth that just had got there and unpacking. My weakness! Silkies and showgirls. Yes I was just complaining how have too many chicks and then buy more!

There were several juvie's and adults, but wasn't happy with the way they look. Plus, I'm not a fan of buying adult birds as I don't have. Great quarantine area for them. So tis last book was week olds, hatched this past Tuesday (2 showgirls little older). I have no idea the quality but they were ok cute to pass up. Silkies and showgirls are the only thing this guy breeds so hoping they turn out nice. Im not sure how silkied the older two showgirls will be. they were freebies though.

Enough talking, here are the pictures
Silkie chick 1

Silkie chick 2

Silkie chick 3 (my favorite, can't wait to see adult color)

Showgirl chick 1

Showgirl chick 2

Showgirl chick 3

I totally missed these! Nice find! I've got my two new girls seperated from my other 8. I'm pretty nervous about the older chicks bringing something into the flock, but I REALLY wanted a Welsummer, so I couldn't pass them up. Planning on keeping them seperated for quite awhile to make sure they're healthy.

 

[teach1rusl]

So how do you keep a dog from chasing/killing your chickens? My dog killed two of mine. :-( I'm so upset. I don't want to have to build a large run/pen as we have so much land they can roam on. Suggestions?

Training, training, and more training, depending on your dog's prey drive. I have easy to train dogs (golden retriever and great dane), so within a few weeks (of regular, consistent training), they were fine around my birds. My sister-in-law, who lives nearby, has a little high energy JRT (named Sweet Pea) that I was pretty nervous about. But Pea learned quickly, in part because I had my SIL bring her over regularly for training, but also because Pea saw how MY dogs behaved around the chickens. So now, even when her little high energy pooch sneaks under the fence onto my property, the only thing we worry about is how much chicken poo Pea eats...lol.

Daily, consistent training is key. Don't allow the dog anywhere near the chickens unless the dog is on leash. Walk the dog around the yard, with the chickens out/about using the "leave it!" command (or whatever command you're used to using)...do that for a week to three...depending on your dog. Work your way up to walking the dog off leash - daily - consistently - using the same "leave it!" command. Then let the dog think he/she is unsupervised - but make sure you're in the garage, or working around the yard, keeping an eye on things. Ultimately, you'll be the one to know if your dog can or can't be trusted after all of your training...

 

[cdgualtieri]

Thank you for your replies. My dog is a German Shepard and lab cross. He's extremely smart and typically very docile (unless you try to hurt me or my son). He's highly trainable. And we have had to establish alpha role with him before when he growled at us over touching his bone. I will work with him. He did tear the flesh open but did not eat the bird. Just injured her past the point of no return. We had to out her down. Poor thing.

 

[vickichicki]

Thank you for your replies. My dog is a German Shepard and lab cross. He's extremely smart and typically very docile (unless you try to hurt me or my son). He's highly trainable. And we have had to establish alpha role with him before when he growled at us over touching his bone. I will work with him. He did tear the flesh open but did not eat the bird. Just injured her past the point of no return. We had to out her down. Poor thing.

I have a springer spaniel and he show way more interest in the chicks that I would like. However I take into account he is a bird dog, he will always want to chase birds. It is his nature for the breed. He sits at the chick coop and 'points' at them. I would never leave him alone with the chicks for a minute as I would not trust him not to want to grab them. My older dog is a pitbull mix. She is allowed to check out the little chicks in the bathroom with supervision, I trust her not to attack them, but left alone, who knows. She is older and finds scolding scary and with a firm tone will walk away from whatever she is being scolded for. Took almost 5 years to get her to that point though.

If ever you are in doubt. Either cage or leash them when the chickens are around.

By the way... Welcome to the thread!