Hey CluckyCharms,
I don't want to derail this thread too much, but when a dog licks their lips or the air they are typically telling you that they don't mean any harm, it's OK, I'm just a little stressed. The dog trainers call it "flicking". I don't think it has much to do with how much they want to eat something. You can actually test it out. Just hug your dog. Most likely they will flick and lick you, but they have no intention of eating you. Unless you squeeze really tight
Also, ChickensRDinos rocks with more awesome dog training tips.
Jim
omg! you need to post this pic were everyone who is against pit bulls can see it! I have a pit mix years ago, one of the best dogs I have ever owned. She knew her job and did it amazingly! My chickens were free range then and they would roost on her dog box. I would give anything to have a picture of that! But just didn't think about it then. Daisy laying in her dog box and my girls roosting right above my killer{not} pit bulls head! I caught her chasing one and punished her and she never bothered them again! I have 3 Maltese and I don't trust them at all with my girls! My male wants to play with them and he plays to hard!I think overall impulse control training and not just chick training is going to be the best way to go to solve the problem either way.
I have a pit-bull mix and three pugs. The pit and two of the pugs are rescues from urban shelters with mixed histories of abuse. All four dogs are out in the yard with my 5 chickens everyday without any problems. In fact I once had a chicken attack a dog but never the opposite. Everyone guaranteed me that the pit would kill my chickens but she has never been a problem.
Have you done any food training with them? Do you free feed your dogs or do they eat at regular times? I would recommend taking them off of free feeding if you are doing that. Focus on training your dogs so they they will not eat anything unless you give a specific command. I set down all four bowls of food and make the dogs wait. They do not eat until they hear their own name and see a hand gesture. Also work on them stopping eating at a command and willing stepping away from their food. I say "Name, wait." and they stop and sit until told to continue. These skills help with impulse control in many areas of training. It may seem unrelated but to a dog, the one who controls the food is the ruler of them all. This could also resolve any of the possible food aggression questions/issues.
Have you worked with them at all doing the "leave it" without putting the chicks on them yourself? My only concern with holding them up to her face is it seeming like a game or a toy but it really depends on how she is reacting. If you let the chicks be free and behave in a chick way - perhaps with the dog on a lead so you can control the dog is needed, the dogs can get used to the chicks natural behavior that way.
When I was training my dogs I scolded any behave except mild curiosity and ignoring completely. Even happy excited was a no.
I hope maybe that helps a little.
Here is my pit, Lou, with a silkie chick who fell in love with her.
But I never had any problems, even with a bird hunting dog. He was so interested in seeing the baby chicks when they hatched, he would come get me to bring him in to where the brooder was and he would stick his head over the side to look in but never went after them. Once the chicks got to 5 or 6 weeks old and would fly to the top of the walls in the brooder, they flew off onto his back a few times, he didn't really like that and would get jumpy, but not going after them, it kinda just scared him. Its a process but you can have a great time with the dogs and chickens intermingling outside with no worries.
