Keeping Chickens Free Range

[duluthralphie]

I like my Labs, except for the sneaky egg eating habit the pup has.....

They never bother the birds.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

I personally prefer the Shepard breeds. A Great Pyrenees would be wonderful, but DH is very against a large dog.
There are of course exceptions, but the dogs I avoid are the dogs bred for hunting.

I tend to agree with OrganicFarmWife here but when it comes to foxes I would suggest a couple geese would be just as good as a dog. Foxes are cunning little ******** and will wait until a moment that no one is looking to strike. There are other things you could try like trapping but chances are you are going to run into the fox again sooner than later. I deeply sorry to hear about your Henrietta. Do let us know how you decide to proceed. I am all for free ranging your birds.

 

[duluthralphie]

I tend to agree with OrganicFarmWife here but when it comes to foxes I would suggest a couple geese would be just as good as a dog. Foxes are cunning little ******** and will wait until a moment that no one is looking to strike. There are other things you could try like trapping but chances are you are going to run into the fox again sooner than later. I deeply sorry to hear about your Henrietta. Do let us know how you decide to proceed. I am all for free ranging your birds.

NO NO NO NO GOOSES!!!

Guineas are so much cooler.....

 

[islandgirl82]

Newfies get my vote but they don't do well with heat and are prone to rashes/hot spots because of it and I'm in Maine. Not so sure I'd recommend them in GA. I have a male and I've had females but find the males to be calmer and react only when necessary. I've watched my boy chase off roaming dogs, fox and even a crow who had one of my hens pinned to the ground last summer. He did go after my old rooster twice. The first time was when the rooster bit me, drew blood and I yelled "Ouch". The dog snapped at him but never touched him. The rooster never bit me again. The other time he went after him was when he viciously attacked on of my hens. Again, he never touched him but the rooster learned to behave himself a little better until he found a new home with a lot more girls and a couple of roosters to put him in his place properly.



He always gave the ducks first dibs on his water - even when they had their own pool and pond.

 

[dekel18042]

I know every dog has its own personality however does anyone have any breed suggestions that they have found work well with leaving alone free range chickens/ducks?? And I also understand I will need to work with the dog to train it properly that they are to be protected not eaten

My favorites are English Shepherds if you can find one. No poultry was ever lost when our ES was out. One on one they should be able to take down a coyote but if coyotes were the problem I would want two dogs.
On the ES list, some have even gone after Mountain lions, but that can be a bit fool hardy and cause the loss of a dog. For that I would want several.
My shelties are good alarm clocks but couldn't stop anything big that was determined to get at the birds.
We do have the capacity to keep our chickens locked in runs when needed.
Our worst predators are foxes and hawks. We have raccoons and opossums but I don't worry about them because they are out only at night when the birds are locked in Fort Knox.

 

[EmilyP]

I had a coincidental post to Ramblin Rooster and his unfortunate loss of a silkie

I have not had any predator issues *yet* aside from a snake getting two teen ducks early on. I know there is a fox living on the other side of our hay field but he has not traveled all the way across yet. My biggest issue on hand is the deer eating 25 okra plants two nights ago, definitely not a terrible problem to have. We have started leaving our ducks out when we are gone a little more and I would like to have a dog around to chase anything off. Especially once we let the chickens out too. Neighbors dogs are actually the only thing we have had an issue with in the past (licking the dripped grease off the grill pre having ducks and chickens), another neighbor lost all his chickens to a neighbors dog as well.
The Georgia heat is also a factor in choosing a dog. It's been in the upper 90s all week and it's only June!

 

[JanetMarie]

I tend to agree with OrganicFarmWife here but when it comes to foxes I would suggest a couple geese would be just as good as a dog. Foxes are cunning little ******** and will wait until a moment that no one is looking to strike. There are other things you could try like trapping but chances are you are going to run into the fox again sooner than later. I deeply sorry to hear about your Henrietta. Do let us know how you decide to proceed. I am all for free ranging your birds.

Do you have geese that defend themselves and chickens against foxes?

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Do you have geese that defend themselves and chickens against foxes?

geese are naturally territorial. I prefer african geese due to their size. That being said, you the human are the best defender of your flock.

 

[JanetMarie]

geese are naturally territorial. I prefer african geese due to their size. That being said, you the human are the best defender of your flock.

I know humans are the best protectors, but do your geese protect themselves against foxes if you are not home?

 

[ChickenChaser9]

I know humans are the best protectors, but do your geese protect themselves against foxes if you are not home?

i have not encountered any predator a goose wouldn't defend the flock from including strange humans.