Just Got an Aussie pup with hope of it gaurding the poultry!

[cassie]

Aussies are herders, not herd guardians. The herding ability is an offshoot of the prey drive. Your aussie may herd your chickens but I wouldn't trust it to guard them.

 

[cmjust0]

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[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

I would never leave my aussie or other two herding breed dogs alone with the chickens. I have two fences that keep them apart. I once forgot that I let the hens into the backyard to free range when I let the dogs out and Missy, the aussie went and pinned a big fat fluffy buff orpington to the ground with her front paws when I let out a scream. She didn't release the chicken until I went to her and told her to get back.

What Missy is great at though, is alerting me when a coyote is visiting the back pasture. She has a very high pitched bark when she sees 'the bad dogs' as I call them. When they visit in early spring and summer to eat the field mice, Missy will make it her job to patrol the back fence keeping an eye out.

Edited to add pics of my rescues.

 

[Joker69377]

I will agree with the previous comments about herders herding and guards guarding. I must say that if I truly thought my aussies would protect my flock and not try to eat them, then I would not have put a foot deep concrete wall all the way around the coop. I was JUST talking to my neighbor at the back fence and all of a sudden, my big red male Aussie Beau, jumped at the coop fence. he backed off at my command, but he still did it. I also put a field fence wall up around the coop just in case my dogs wanted some of Chef Steve's chickens.
Aussies are WONDERFUL dogs, but, as mentioned before, it will either herd, guard, ignore or kill. You won't know till you work the dog. My Aussies do guard my property. Anything tries to come across the fence or through the gate is immediately warned and repelled.

 

[CantSkipThis]

Chick~N~Family :

We bought an Australian Shepherd with the intention of training it to guard the chicken coop at night. She is Beautiful!! We have her out front under the carport, which she wont leave unless i am with her I have been taking her down to the 4 acre backyard in the a.m. to let them out and 3 times in the afternoon and at night to shut the pen. Each time we walk the perimeter of the yard and i dont talk except to tell her "Are the chickens okay?" I want her to able to gaurd them and do rounds when i say that. I hope that she will be a fast learner. For now she doesnt seem interested in chasing them or even paying attention to them. Now the geese hate her, they chase and hiss, but she just scoots closer to me as we walk and ignores them. If anyone has trained a dog to guard a flock of feathers, I would love to get some tips! Thanks Guys!

Hi,
Congtats on your new puppy!! I have two Aussies. Wyatte is a 5 year old red tri male and Cali is a 7 year old Blue merel female. I am new to owning chickens and so My dogs are new to being around them. My chickens are now 6 weeks old and I have just started to let them out in the yard with me. Both dogs like to hang out with the chickens. But Cali thinks its her job to keep them safe. Yesterday My brothers Pit bull walked by one of the chicks and Cali went after her, pinned her to the ground and let her know to stay far away from "her chicks". My brothers pit bull is harmless and has no intrest in the chicks even then they are flapping their wings and running around like crazies. I do think Aussies can be used to gaurd the coop but I think its more in the dogs temperment than in training. Both Wyatte and Cali are very well behaved, and both like the chicks but Cali is the only one who has taken on the task of gaurding them. Good Luck with your puppy!!

Becca
Mom to a beautiful 3 year old girl, two Aussies, 5 barn cats, 2 horses, one mini horse and 15 chickens​

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

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[Chick~N~Family]

Wow lots of different opinions to go by. I will not trust her till she proves she can be trusted. I keep them separate for now and she makes "rounds" with me 4 times a day. Otherwise she is at my front door waiting for me. The chickens are free range and in the 4 acre fenced in back yard. They have a 3 bay coop to roost in at night, chickens in one and turkeys in one and geese and ducks in the other. It is time for the geese and ducks to move out though, they stink are make a huge mess every night. I thught that in a couple of months my plan is to lock the poultry up and let her stay in the back yard to fend off any predators. Then let her move to the front yard in the morning to let me know when someone is coming thoughout the day. She already will run to the end of the porch and watch the car aproach, she has yet to bark. But i am sure that will come with time. I am a stay at home wife and i do have the time and energy to train her the way i want to. I just pray i do it the right way. I have high hopes for this little pup. Thanks for all the pointers and replies.

 

[Katy]

Aussies are great dogs for herding, but not for guarding.

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

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agreed

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

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Actually Steve, Aussies are an American breed. SOME of the stock that was crossbred to produce them came from spain and some came from other European countries but they were bred--as a specific type of herder--here in the good ol' U.S.A.

ETA: I think an aussie could be an OK dog for you and your lifestyle. But placing it as a guardian for your flock--well I think that is a mistake. Sometimes dogs surprise us and place themselves in the position of doing things outside of their normal breed characteristics. But most often than not an Aussie will herd or need some kind of intensive other "job" like agility or flyball or obedience to keep him happy and normal.

I wouldn't count on your Aussie being an LGD along the same lines as a Merema or GP or Anitolian. My own GSD who is very well trained and is a good guard dog of my house, cannot be trusted for long periods of time with my flock. He is 100% trust worthy for short periods less than 20 mins and when I am present. I have sent him out of the house to deal with dogs on our property and he does a superb job at that. He also guards the cats food from being eaten by the chickens. LOL but an LGD he is not. He does serve a good purpose in that if I need him to he'll chase down and eliminate a threat. But he holds no loving feelings towards my chickens and would and has killed them too.