Introducing Dogs to chickens

[P-Funk]

I did it the other way around and got a puppy who was smaller than the old maids. They used to beat the &^%! out of him. He's getting bigger but still knows his place in the pecking order. I have yet to see another fox. Bring on the puppy pics! Good luck

 

[teach1rusl]

I started when mine were chicks (contained or in-hand only initially). All of my dogs were highly interested when the chicks were of the peeping, darting, jumping, flapping age (like living squeaky toys to my young dane), so even after weeks of exposure, I always closely supervised if/when my chicks and dogs were out together. Now, other than my dogs chasing one another through the middle of my flock (I'm thinking they do this intentionally

), my dogs and chickens can co-exist unsupervised.

First days of exposure:

 

[Bauer in Montana]

 

[P-Funk]

Bauer, I'm going to have to politely disagree. ANY dog that is trained properly with lots of love will be the best dog ever. I got a laborador from the Denver Dumb Friends League and she ran away all the time. Then the girlfriend started bringing her dog (a 200 lb chocolate lab) over. I thought 'cool, now she has someone to play with'. Now I'm driving 4 miles to pick up 2 dogs. When the Dumb Friends League called to tell me they had her (About 20 miles away) I said 'just keep her because she's gonna hit by a car'. What they failed to tell me when I got her is she had been locked in a cage in an apartment for 10 hours a day and only got out to, well, you know, and only on a leash. Cruel.

 

[goldies99]

i started mine really young!

and now she has to eat treats with them!!

 

[Bauer in Montana]

Quote:
Cool picture! Speaks volumes.

 

[TrystInn]

It depends entirely on your dogs - are they already obedient? Do they follow your voice commands? We trained ours through obedience lessons with a local trainer, because we knew we had a breed that can be a bit problematic (Basset Hounds) - Flash and Doodle.

But we also have a Border Collie and she doesn't put up with ANYTHING messing with her "herd" of chickens and ducks - she also is an obedience school graduate. Gracie, our BC, is also a flock guardian, as you can tell.

So we introduced the dogs to the ducklings in the brooder. Went over commands - Leave It, Sit, etc. until the Bassets were so bored of the ducklings, they didn't care when they grew and ran around the yard.

With the chickens, we got four older hens (Rhodies and Ameraucanas) to start with. Went over the commands, Bassets on the leash. Chickens ignored them, they ignored the hens. Good deal. At one point, one of the Bassets (the dumb one) went over and try to jostle a hen for feed, she pecked him in the forehead so fast it was like a stealth ninja attack - now he ignores them entirely.

Flash, the other Basset, is our hatchery chick nanny - he watches the chicks, grooms them and still grooms our rooster. That rooster, I may add, is now nearly 2 feet tall - a Cochin rooster. We still give Flash all our hatchery chicks to nanny.

Gracie herds the ducks and chickens. The chickens and ducks all free range unsupervised with our three dogs and three cats. For awhile, we even had a Flock Guardian pig but hubby couldn't get used to him so now its just back to the dogs.

 

[hockmangirl]

My dogs are still relatively pups, and I started when my pullets were tiny peeps. By holding the chicks in my hands and letting the dogs sniff. As they got bigger and were using my whole bathroom floor as a pen, I would hold my dogs by the collar and let them sniff. When I felt more secure, I released the hold on the dogs (still in the bathroom) and let them sniff around, ready to correct any unacceptable behavior. Now that my chickens are in their outdoor pen, my dogs come in with me when I go in to care for/play with the chickens. I still supervise to immediately correct any unacceptable behavior. Have only had one instance of "uh, uh" behavior from them. When one of my pups wanted to "play" with the chickens as he would the other dog or his brother cats. One sharp, "No", and then making him leave the chicken pen immediately, stopped that. The chickens are the dogs "Sissies". They protect them from EVERYTHING, they love hanging out in the same space with them, giving them little licks and sniffs (like they do each other), they share their treats (willingly) with them and vice versa (Ha ha!). It's a great relationship! I still don't know that I'd leave for long periods unsupervised, not yet anyway. I don't do that when my pups are out of doors anyway, they are escape artists!

I hope that helps you somewhat! I KNOW that dogs and chickens can live together. I think it just depends on the particular dogs and chickens, just as it would with any animal/person. And also, how much you are willingly to work with them.

Good luck & Best Chicken/Pup Wishes!

Kitty

 

[tuckertori]

I love the photos! We have 2 mix breeds from the same litter that are 8 years old. They chase every bird and squirrel that comes near the yard. When we brought the chicks home on their first day and for the next 8 weeks, we kept them in the house. The dogs seemed to learn that the "girly girls" are a part of the family and aren't to be hurt. The dogs pretty much ignore the chickens unless they want to share their treats. They all love cheese! Now, they coexist while the girls free range in the yard. In our experience, they can live together.

 

[stitch81]

The only thing my dogs are interested in when it comes to the chickens is how to have one for dinner. The first night we put the chickens in the coop (completely dog proofed), that dog sat there all night trying to figure out how to get in. We got up the next morning to see some of the framing around the bottom chewed up, that's how much of an effort was used. Despite best efforts, that dog refuses to understand that these chickens are to be left alone. All she understands is that there is dinner, and she can't get to it. There is no way we would attempt to introduce the chickens to the dogs without fencing between the two.