Introducing other pets (dogs) to your flock

[carbojam]

Hello, new member here. I have a question on introducing other pets (specifically dog) to our flock. We’ve been letting our chickens (still “teens”) free range on nice days inside our backyard fence, which raised the question, what would our 5 year old dog (Morkie) do if he was allowed to hang out with them. He appears to get jealous when he sees them outside, but not sure if he wants to play or eat them. We are afraid he would try to chomp on them. (Up until now, he observes them excitedly through their indoor brooder/home). Anyone else have experience with having their small dogs and their chickens peacefully coexisting in a fenced environment? Are there any tricks to ensuring they are friendly with each other?

 

[centrarchid]

Make certain you have control over dog. A leash works good at first. Take dog out and sit with dog for a bit watching dog, not chickens. Talk to dog calming it. Take dog for a good walk, then repeat. You will be working towards dog moving about freely among chickens without paying them much attention. You may have to go through a stage of hold dog back with leash. Strive to turn corner on getting dog less interested in chickens. Ideally chickens are calm too, and you may be training dog through a gamut of chicken behaviors. For me, in the end, the dogs need to out with chickens when I am not around. This especially the case at night. Having a dog kill one the chickens, or even eating one, does not mean my desired end point will not be reached.

Takes a lot more time than I spent typing. I am training two pups now that are a lot more energetic. Butt munches. Those pups will supplement 3 adult dogs so I can keep sheep over several acres with free-range chickens kept over same acreage. It may be easier to do what I do than to keep a dog in a fenced area without much in the way of mental stimulation.