Introducing chicks to dogs

[deedee1]

ok. my. little yorkie has just killed one of my baby chicks and injured to of the others he got under my shed and dug under the fence that is connected to the shed I am just so upset. I have called my uncle to come get my little Sammy (yorkie) sod confused and upset.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

ok. my. little yorkie has just killed one of my baby chicks and injured to of the others he got under my shed and dug under the fence that is connected to the shed I am just so upset. I have called my uncle to come get my little Sammy (yorkie) sod confused and upset.

Why did you call him to come get your dog?
Remember some breeds are bred to go after small animals. Even if you do not use your dog that way it's in their DNA to do it. Never leave the dog outside alone even if there is a good fence between it and the chickens/chicks.

 

[cary 1973]

my dogs and chickens

my thoughs on the matter is you really need to know your dogs. I have a 14 year old lab and 8 year old samoyed both could care less about the chickens as a matter of fact had to save my lab from the chicks the other day they where pecking at her fur what was she doing laying there sleeping they chase my samoyed around he tries to avoid them at all coast what he doese love about them is there coop he knows htere is either watermellon or yogart ext in there so when they are out and about he goes in there and steels there food. I also have rats and the dogs have same opions of the rats adn they do the chickens (now mind you my chicks are 3 months old now when they were little they could only see the chicks at a distance and when i was holding the chicks so the dogs would learn they are part of our pack. so now the chicks free range most of the day in the yard no worry matter of fact duke spotted another cat in back yard and chased is off before it even spotted the chickens.

now that being said i also have a 2 year old pit bull mix Candii she is great with my rats and loves the chickens too (she left last week with my kid and father to spend the summer up on mountains) this dog even though she loves the birds I would NEVER trust her alone with them not becase seh is mean or cuz she is a pit but she is still a puppy and with my rats they can take her holdign them down and getting a toung bath as they are squesshie and she thinks there her puppies she feels the same about the chickens but they are not so squesable so beign held down for a toung bath not a good thing. also when the chickns practive there kung fu moves Candii wants to get right in the middle to play so like i said will not trust her unsupervised with chicks just out of fear she will love them to death or play to ruff with them how ever when i am out there with her she let the birds walk on her and they pluck her and at her face i have to yell at birds not to go for the eyes.

my cat ran up on them one time she did not try to hurt them but when they see her now they chase her away she too love my rats and has never killed anything as matter fact i have had one none redsident mouse in my room she is the one who brought it in and let it go on my bed took me a weeek to catch the dam thing it and take it out. she has brought me a few birds none have ever been injured when she lets them go in my room they fly around then i have ot open the door to chase them out.

So my point to this long post you need to know your owne animals and go from theer and when in doubt play it safe

I WANT TO POINT OUT NONE OF MY DOGS OR CAT WAS ALLOWED NEAR THE CHICKENS BEFORE THEY WERE ALMOST 3 MONTHS OLD AND BIGGER.

 

[JohnBerry]

Sadly Yorkies were bred to kill small animals (rats). Hunting is part of their genetic history. I have a yorkie/poodle mix and am trying to get her used to having the chickens around. My 5 pound dog has gone after everything from chipmunks, to turkeys, to a bear (yeah, a bear). Even a face full of porcupine quills did not slow her down. She kept the porky treed until she was dragged away. It is something in them.

So far she has only sniffed my chicks. No barking, no attempts at harming. But I doubt I will ever fully trust her. You just never know.

So don't be too mad at the dog. The dog did what she is programmed by nature to do.

 

[centrarchid]

I have a intact male German Short-haired Pointer that is about 20 months old. He was reared starting at 5 weeks with 3 juvenile American Dominiques. Initial difficulties involved pup attempting to wrestle and hump birds. This was stopped by exposing pup to an adult rooster that flogged pup when it attempted same on him. Introduction to chicks a few months later resulted in loss of a couple chicks which I disciplined him for quickly with voice and by holding him to ground. Thereafter for next couple months I could leave him out with flocks as they free ranged but he still would go bowling through carrying items. He also had undo interest in feeding and watering equipement. By time pup was 9 months old he could be left out all night to patrol pens and roosting areas. Many of the penned birds he could have pulled through wire if he wanted but did not. He also stepped up by killing oppossums and harassing raccoons and began keeping foxes off property. By 16 months he dominates local coyotes and took on a full adult male pit bull of his same size long enough for me to intervene and prevented loss of birds in process. That required a some modest vet bills. Now at 20 months he helps with treeing and killing raccoons and I have not lost any birds to critters this entire production season. He also patrols neighbors flocks resulting in the dispatching of a raccoon taking his birds. Dog now sleeps on porch within easy reach of a flock and during day has complete access to brooder where he reach all corners yet only checks on chicks. He still messes with feeders. In this country he is known a bird dog but is used as livestock guardian and a hound. This was a planned effort. You can also start with an adult that killed birds and get a dog that can trusted and provides a service. I have done this many times with Black and Tan hounds and even Dalmations so it is not difficult.

 

[shadewolfo10]

I started to introduce my chicks to my dog when they were about 8 weeks old. First, I kept them in an inclosed run away from the dog, and every time he showed to much interest I would make a *shht* sound and tell him to 'leave it'. Then I slowly would let him spend more and more time with the chicks and now they are fine together. Of course, the chickens are still a little timid around him, but they know he won't do harm. One of the chooks even will seek out my dog to hang out with him!

But even though they are fine with my dog, they are still very afraid of other dogs and cats.

I think that it is better to have your chickens used to *your* dogs, so that they won't run away and initiate prey drive in the dogs, but not introduce them to too many dogs, so that they still keep some of their instinctual fear.

For me, there is no downside to introducing my chickens to my dog. He will run outside and guard the chicken food from squirrels [although sometimes he eats it himself

]
And he will protect them from the neighbors cats.

I would also recommend to introduce them when they are still young, as I find it to be *a lot* easier, because they kind of accept the dog as part of their flock from the beginning. If you wait until they are older, then they are generally a lot more afraid of dogs, as they didn't grow up with them.
Also, when you start to introduce the dogs to the chickens you will need to supervise them 100% of the time! We did not let my dog be alone with the chickens without supervision until a couple months, when we were sure that he would not hurt them. Of course, it all depends on your dog and their personality!

Best of luck!

 

[deedee1]

well I called my uncle because I was afrAid he my dog would continue to sneAk out and kill my chicks however after more consideration I could not get rid of my dog. I read and found we need an electric fence ran around the ther pen to help protect our babies and chicks so my sweet husband went out and got the fence up around the pen. I did not think he could get into the pen because it was all anchored down with #9 wire made into a u shape. I have learned a valuable lesson through all this and rest assured my little yorkie is still with us

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

well I called my uncle because I was afrAid he my dog would continue to sneAk out and kill my chicks however after more consideration I could not get rid of my dog. I read and found we need an electric fence ran around the ther pen to help protect our babies and chicks so my sweet husband went out and got the fence up around the pen. I did not think he could get into the pen because it was all anchored down with #9 wire made into a u shape. I have learned a valuable lesson through all this and rest assured my little yorkie is still with us

I was just wondering why you called him and making sure you weren't going to do something harsh like give away your dog because he attacked chicks/chickens. The only way to keep some dogs out is to put wire on the bottom of the chicken run, and on the top of it. Makes it harder for the chickens to scratch but it does keep dogs out.
Anytime I've had a dog in the past kill a chicken I blamed myself not the dog. Because I see it as I failed both the dog and the chicken by allowing it to happen. I'm just a no excuses kind of person though.
My dogs can open doors too so containing them in the house required the chains at the top of the doors and a special latch at the top of the door going into the garage. seriously think I put way to much money into these chicks so far but my husband doesn't know so it's all good LOL. And I still don't have their official pen yet. I'm going to get it soon. Buying a chainlink kennel for them

 

[mhart5067]

I have a 8 year old black lab and a 12 year old husky/sheppard mix. I've been raising chickens for about the past 5 or 6 years. Each time I get an order of chicks I would "introduce" them to the dogs by holding the chicks and letting each dog sniff them. Niether one of my dogs have ever shown any sort of agression to any chicken/chick we've ever had. I let my hens free range around my yard and I notice that both my dogs give them a wide berth if they have to go around a hen. There's been times when my dogs have been chewing bones in the yard and the curious chickens have pecked at the bone while the lab was chewing it. He just picked up the bone and moved away.
When asking yourself if you should introduce your chicks to your dogs I believe that each individual dog is different and should be monitored closely at the beginning. I consider myself very lucky that both my dogs get along well with all my chickens.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

Update on how introductions are going...
My large dog (my service dog) is allowed to run free in the yard while the chicks free range. I started this the past two days. Yesterday he chased off a crow, and today he stopped a cat from coming into the yard.
My other dog (the Australian cattle dog mix) has to be leashed to me. He doesn't get to go close to the chicks because the chicks are showing they are comfortable with him. They run after my other dog so they are letting me know that Oscar isn't ready to meet them yet.