Livestock guardian dogs/dogs VS poultry (are they compatible?)

[bantam_crazy]

do you guys think LGD are to be trusted with poultry ?

I've heard people say they are for bigger mammal livestock. and don't bond to birds/poultry like they do to mammals + no breed of LGD has an history of protecting Poultry specifically so they are actually *the threat* to poultry

or like. “ dogs in general regardless of breed pose q threat to poultry”

what do you guys think ? do regular low prey drive etc. dogs and/or specific dog breeds bred to protect livestock, compatible with poultry ?

 

[kattabelly]

I know someone who has LGDs partly for their sheep, but mostly for their chickens (healthy, adult sheep aren't at much risk of predation in the UK compared to other places). It seems to be working well.

Maremma dogs have been used successfully in Australia to protect little penguins during their breeding season.

 

[atomic]

I don’t have experience with livestock guardians, but my two dogs are excellent with my birds and I have no doubt would protect them. That being said, they live in the house and are only outside sometimes. They are a full blood German shepherd and a doberman/german shepherd mix. In fact a kite swooped down when I had my youngins outside and the Doberman immediately barked and started lunging in the air after it.

 

[atomic]

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sammy is a Sheltie. We don't have losses to coyotes, raccoons or other predators - not because he goes out there and fights them off, but because the areas where the chickens free range is permeated with his scent. Predators stay away because they can smell that he is on duty. And that works for us. Does that make him a LGD? Hmm.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

My LGD (a CAS) does perfect with chickens and ducks. She's highly protective of them. If she wasn't so big she could probably raise chicks of her own

 

[BlueDawnRising]

I have two large dogs, both mastiff mixes. One LOVES my chickens! When we first got them, as chicks, they were in the basement. He would stand at the top of the stairs and cry until someone took him down and he would hang his huge head over the side of the brooder and just watch them. He loves to go in the run and just lay down and have them “groom” him. If someone/thing comes on our property, he stands between them and the chickens and barks/growls.

Our other dog would like to eat the chickens. She had no interest in them when they were young and will stand on the other side of the fence, licking her lips, sitting like she is waiting for me to give her a snack. This is an improvement from lunging at them so I’m hopeful that she will decide they are not for her but she is not allowed outside if they are free ranging. The only “predator” the first dog wouldn’t defend against is the second. She is alpha and older so maybe that is part of it but I honestly don’t know. She kills raccoons and, really anything, that comes on the property that she doesn’t think should be there so I don’t know that the chickens will ever be different.

All that to say I think it depends on the individual dog and/or training they receive.

 

[Chicken_man_J]

No experience with live stock guardian dogs, but have absolute trust in having Rowdy, my 85lb Blue nose, around all my chickens. From eating watermelon with my previous hens and has been around my new 8 Rhode Island Blue pullets since day one. It is how you raise your dog, he will NOT harm anything just wants to play but doesn't realize his size and how much smaller other animals are.

 

[Nym]

I have a boxer x staffy and a GSD x staffy who I trained to respond to the chickens' alarm sound. I'm in suburbia, so cats are my only real concern, and my Pekin Suzie Bellows has no problem sounding the alarm when she sees anything out of place in the yard! She will not even be happy going to the coop if the dogs are not somewhere close by. The boxer I had to correct a number of times for getting too close to the chickens, but he's a good guardian now.

 

[EggzactlyRight]

We have a dog who's a Dachshund and Pekingese mix, we got him from a shelter when he was around a year old. Dachshunds are known to have a high prey drive, Pekingese have moderate/low prey drive. We have never, ever had a problem with him in 10+ years. He has learnt to respect the birds and to not scare them. He loves to eat chicken but does not bother our flock, ever.

We have a younger dog too, most likely a German spitz (not pure), who has learnt the same. We had one incident because of him unfortunately, but he has learnt to not do it again and can be left unsupervised with our flock when we let them out in the garden - he doesn't bother them in any way, he isn't even interested in them most of the time despite being a very energetic and curious dog.

What I'm trying to say is that while I know that there are certain breeds better suited for certain tasks, a lot depends on the individual dog's personality and tempter, as well as how much time you invest into training. ​