Living with the predator.......

[milleryardchx]

For me dogs and chickens go together like oil and water. my moms golden killed 3 of bcm at 3 months old and a BO (that reminds me i never got money for replacements). and this week my moms renter on the back property got a hold of my EE rooster under the run fence because the hot fence was off to mow and she got his rump and pulled out every tail feather in one mouth full. he got away with his life because our other rooster came over and was clawing and pecking at her face. i would have a area for dogs and a area for chickens with hot wire at the base thats ALWAYS on.

 

[jenni2142]

I skimmed through the posts and didn't see that anyone commented on the coop. It looks secure but not at all big enough for 3 standard hens to be in full time, 4 by 3 is 12 sq feet okay for coop but small for run. Have you planned an additional run for them? I think I have read you need 10 sq feet per bird for the run, please someone correct me if I am wrong. Mine get closer to 20+ per bird.

I just read the to the bottom of your page so I think with the garden that is enough space for the 3 maybe 4.

 

[wildorchid053]

i have a yellow lab/german shepard mix.. good prey drive.. from the first time we brought them home she was involved.. she could sniff and watch but only with us there.. we would close the bathroom door if we left.. my grandkids would sit on the couch or floor.. ages 5 and 8 with the babies and she would sniff and nose them.. she never nipped. but she did lick a couple of times.. they were always inside our hands .. just in case.. she was never not petted when we had the babies out.. and she was never sent away.. now every one is grown and she wanders around with them.. she has been very good.. mostly interested in the chicken leftovers if you know what i mean.. the only time i have seen her get excited is when they fly and flap their wings... we just say abby leave it and she does.. other wise she roams around with us and the hens all day and is very good.. i would never leave her alone with them.. but when we are there she is good ..they are her babies. gl with yours

 

[jlapham]

A lot comes into play here as I see it. First I noticed you have a pointer which is a bird dog, used for hunting, second are the dogs trained and listen to you. My dogs do not bother the chickens, goats ,pigs , horses or rabbits. Here is what I would do assuming your dogs listen to you. Introduce the dogs to the chickens,if they seem excited tell them easy if they stay excited and NOT focused on what your doing you need to keep them secured at all times. It is a process, do this several times a day until they accept the chicks, as they feather the dogs should have come to accept them.

Here at back to basics we have 3 dogs and just ready to pick up another one on thurs afternoon. That is what I do here, when we go out to check the animals or do chores the dogs are usually right under foot, if I see any aggression toward any of the livestock they are scolded, and I keep up the introduction and be easy with them. Now and again we'll get a stray dog that will come and chase the chickens and goats,but the other dogs keep and eye out and lets me know what is going on. It's always better to start as a puppy,but here you have to take the time and train. It will take time. Great looking dogs!! My son has a pointer a boxer and a jack russel and none of them bother his chickens either. Just be patient. Your invited to check out my site at any time.

 

[Msbear]

Quote:
Id have to agree

They look like they are always down for a good chase/slurp up

 

[rino081]

about the dogs:

Yes my dogs listen.....until they see something that excites the sh** out of them

. They are both still puppies so they will probably learn pretty quick. The pointer is a French Pointer (braque francais). Yes he is a bird dog to the max but his instincts are to find at point. It's the hunters job to kill and the dogs job to retrieve with a "soft mouth" as to not ruin the catch.

The pitbull is the younger of the two and is very docile.

So far neither one have shown prey drive, just curiosity. So maybe there is hope. I will definitely do some supervised visits one dog at a time so I can get a feeling for each dogs potential to be my chickens new friends.

 

[Barred Rocker]

I really think it depends on the dog. I know some just can't help it and you can't trust them at all no matter how much you train them, but my little terrier mix has learned to completely ignore my chickies, they'll even come up behind him and peck him on the butt and he just moves out of the way. It wasn't always like that though. He used to think they were something to play with and anything that would run from him was fair game. It took several months of dicipline and getting him to sit still while they free range. Now they boss him around. Somehow I don't think I'll be able to train the chickens to leave him alone.

 

[babyblue]

you have a nice looking coop, but it looks like it needs a bigger run. I would add on to the run and use electric fence. one good zap and training from you will teach them DO NOT TOUCH. my old horse got smart about electric fenceing, if he had a winter coat on or ran and hit the fence between ticks he wouldnt get zapped too bad. I ended up turning the fence up as high as it would go, spraying down his face chest and neck with water and then pushed him into the fence. before anybody says that was cruel think of it this way, if he got lose and went anywhere other then the barn he could have gotten hurt or hurt others. car vrs horse will kill people. I would much rather let the animal learn once then deal with death and destruction.

 

[bad]

I have an Austrailian Shepherd that has never looked twice at my chickens. He will even go in and lay with them. I have never had any problems with my guys bothering any of the free range girls. My outside cat does not even mess with the hens.

 

[CityChook]

You've gotten some good advice here. I just wanted to add that I have a young lab with a strong chase/birding drive. However, she is very submissive to me. From the start, she was exposed to the chicks (they were brooded in the house) in my hand and she would lay by their brooder and watch them/sleep with them. By the time they moved to the back yard she could have cared less. I regularly leave her unattended outside with the chickens free range with no worries at all. It can be done.

Only you know your dogs. It sounds like you have a pretty good handle on their personalities and what will trigger them.