I have been involved with free-range chicken keeping for a long time. Virtually all that time dogs were employed and sometimes they almost the only measure. Until I started to ply this site the dogs used were valued for some other purpose, particularly hunting and sometimes the very same animals that threaten chickens. This was done in the area I was raised where we employed diversified agriculture on a fairly sizable farm. Recently I had to move for professional reasons and very much wanted to continue my involvement with chickens and actually selected a small patch of land that would enable the practice. The area is barely enough to conduct "hobby farming" so having dogs in excess about was not an option. Therefore I set out to actually have a dog specifically as a poultry guardian. Considerable research was invested with original interest in getting a standard Livestock Guarding Dog. I already had a fair amount of experience around such where I am employed as we have multiple research herds of sheep and goats. What I did not like about those dogs was their propensity to stay with a tight flock which differed greatly from how my chickens operated. Paddocks the LGD's at work operated in where 5 to 10 acres and you could see everything in the paddock from every other point also in the paddock. I also noted that despite no losses of livestock occurred, Coyotes and Red Foxes could still hunt for small rodents in the same paddock containing the LGD's so long as they stayed away from flock and near fence the predator could pass but dog could not. Also those large dogs had issues with heat and were not as fast as what I felt they needed to be, especially when dealing with a fox. My wife had a coworker interested in getting rid of some German Pointer pups and I knew those dogs where smart and fast. Another poster here also indicated the same breed was sometimes valued as general farm dog in its county of origin and further reading indicated it was also used in much the same way we use the Fiest and Cur dog breeds. Size was big enough to handle a coyote one on one so I decided to give it a try.
A male pup was acquired (Scoob) and I attempted imprinting him on some sub-adult American Dominiques that he spent a great deal of time with each day. Imprinting did not go as planned as pup and cockerel developed a long-term animosity that often involved some fighting but nothing serious. Scoob also went through a stage where he humped chickens which corrected for when he tried the same on a gamecock. Scoob got thumped for that. Latter he killed a couple chicks but was disciplined by myself and a more capable hen that polished his training on how to behave around chicks. He was close to worthless until about 5 months of age although he did help me patrol poultry yard in the front of the house at that time and made up of only about a 25 birds. The higher value birds were penned directly below our master bedroom window that was kept open even at night when cold or hot outside. This was required because had to run out more than once with a ball bat, flashlite and maybe some shoes to chase of whatever was after my birds. I lost some chicken heads and eggs before Scoob started getting into the game. He started barking to wake me when a predator visited but was initially overly interested in using his nose as he never got a line of sight while I was present to provide courage. That all changed when Mr. Fox came in and attempted to take a stag in broad daylight. This is one of those events where even though I had a broom the fox would not break off its attack on the bird and was biting it in the body as both ran. Scoob was in the house probably getting puppy sleep at the time when he finally became aware something was about. He appears to have been able to see altercation from an upstairs window and then promptly ran down the stairs and outside to assist me. As the fox ran beside the chicken biting it Scoob ran up on the fox and they ran together like that around house where I briefly lost track of the trio. The I heard the fox growl and Scoob yip before Scoob really began growling and the fox squawled as Scoob bit it in the rear leg. The fox whipped around and bit Scoob causing Scoob to release but thankfully he did not give up. Scoob ran the fox off and did not return for another 15 minutes. When scoob came back I was doctoring the cockerels wounds. Scoob in his excitment checked the whole house on the inside for that fox. I know this because Scoob bleed all over the place leaving tracks on the hardwood flooring and even the furniture. Cockerel survived. Over next two years Scoob captured and killed to Red Foxes. He also whipped a coyote in a full on pitched battle and help me drive an aggressive pitbull cross that actually came into our bedroom.
Despite this out greatest problem remained Red Foxes as they could still snatch and run with small chickens that wandered more than a couple hundred yards from the house. They could also use fences as cover as they escaped Scoob despite the fact he was as fast as they were. He could not dart back and forth through fencing like they could. Scoob also could not repel the coyotes when the where packed up during early winter. So I got him some backup in the form of a second German Pointer (a female pup) we named Lucy. It took a solid two years to get her into shape but already by the time she was a year the balance of power shifted away from even the coyotes even when they where packed up. She also made Scoob more effective when dealing with larger dogs as she would attack their hind quarters when they faced Scoob. Losses to Red Foxes where also shut down as they dogs quickly learned to run so that one was on each side of the fence row as they went. They even provided the neighbors protection crunching raccoons, opossums and even Common Snapping Turtles plus a host of other things. They also caught a lot of Cotton-tailed Rabbits and voles eating most. Some captures where among the flock which during the summer got up to 180 birds and ranged over 5 acres. A lot of details have been left out but I did not have to run outside half naked after dark while I had two dogs.
Scoob did have a problem, he liked to chase cars. Particularly the neighbors living behind us as he had difficulties with them on more than one occasion. Late last night Scoob was killed by one of those cars. I was not aware of that until just before dark when my daughter and I set out to find Scoob thinking was out looking for a girl friend. We followed Lucy as we went down the road when suddenly she made an abrupt turn off the road near the bee hives. I could tell by her reaction she had found Scoob and that something was wrong. Scoob was buried between some apple trees near the bee yard. He like to eat bees coming off the landing boards despite getting stung a lot. He was almost like a skunk on that account.
Lucy will not be able to whip the coyotes or beat Mr. Fox every time by herself. We immediately began contracting the free-range area today and put more and younger birds in pens than we would if Scoob was on duty. Free-range foraging will not be as important this year as a means for offsetting feed costs. Lucy is also not so good at killing raccoons she catches in the middle of the field. I am already resigned to the need for me to go out with her when she even chuffles to provide support. She will not be able to defend five acres from the snatch and grab by herself even with my help. We are going to get more aggressive with traps which takes time and put more effort into keeping fences hot. All birds will be put into a single yard over next few days so she has fewer perimeters to cover. We currently have more area to defend than Scooby ever had to do alone.
At the time of his passing Scoob was about 4.75 years and had almost that much again to give. Much of his early activities where documented in the following thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/426408/planned-poultry-guarding-dog
Scoob on day day 1.
Scoob allowing Speach to provide dental services.
Scoob and his bubby.
Scoob with first Red Fox he killed.
Scoob with a opossum.
Scoob brown-nosing while I checked for feather replacement pattern.
Another opossum
Scoob with Lucy as a pup.
Scoob was a very good friend. Bye Scoob but you will not be forgotten.
A male pup was acquired (Scoob) and I attempted imprinting him on some sub-adult American Dominiques that he spent a great deal of time with each day. Imprinting did not go as planned as pup and cockerel developed a long-term animosity that often involved some fighting but nothing serious. Scoob also went through a stage where he humped chickens which corrected for when he tried the same on a gamecock. Scoob got thumped for that. Latter he killed a couple chicks but was disciplined by myself and a more capable hen that polished his training on how to behave around chicks. He was close to worthless until about 5 months of age although he did help me patrol poultry yard in the front of the house at that time and made up of only about a 25 birds. The higher value birds were penned directly below our master bedroom window that was kept open even at night when cold or hot outside. This was required because had to run out more than once with a ball bat, flashlite and maybe some shoes to chase of whatever was after my birds. I lost some chicken heads and eggs before Scoob started getting into the game. He started barking to wake me when a predator visited but was initially overly interested in using his nose as he never got a line of sight while I was present to provide courage. That all changed when Mr. Fox came in and attempted to take a stag in broad daylight. This is one of those events where even though I had a broom the fox would not break off its attack on the bird and was biting it in the body as both ran. Scoob was in the house probably getting puppy sleep at the time when he finally became aware something was about. He appears to have been able to see altercation from an upstairs window and then promptly ran down the stairs and outside to assist me. As the fox ran beside the chicken biting it Scoob ran up on the fox and they ran together like that around house where I briefly lost track of the trio. The I heard the fox growl and Scoob yip before Scoob really began growling and the fox squawled as Scoob bit it in the rear leg. The fox whipped around and bit Scoob causing Scoob to release but thankfully he did not give up. Scoob ran the fox off and did not return for another 15 minutes. When scoob came back I was doctoring the cockerels wounds. Scoob in his excitment checked the whole house on the inside for that fox. I know this because Scoob bleed all over the place leaving tracks on the hardwood flooring and even the furniture. Cockerel survived. Over next two years Scoob captured and killed to Red Foxes. He also whipped a coyote in a full on pitched battle and help me drive an aggressive pitbull cross that actually came into our bedroom.
Despite this out greatest problem remained Red Foxes as they could still snatch and run with small chickens that wandered more than a couple hundred yards from the house. They could also use fences as cover as they escaped Scoob despite the fact he was as fast as they were. He could not dart back and forth through fencing like they could. Scoob also could not repel the coyotes when the where packed up during early winter. So I got him some backup in the form of a second German Pointer (a female pup) we named Lucy. It took a solid two years to get her into shape but already by the time she was a year the balance of power shifted away from even the coyotes even when they where packed up. She also made Scoob more effective when dealing with larger dogs as she would attack their hind quarters when they faced Scoob. Losses to Red Foxes where also shut down as they dogs quickly learned to run so that one was on each side of the fence row as they went. They even provided the neighbors protection crunching raccoons, opossums and even Common Snapping Turtles plus a host of other things. They also caught a lot of Cotton-tailed Rabbits and voles eating most. Some captures where among the flock which during the summer got up to 180 birds and ranged over 5 acres. A lot of details have been left out but I did not have to run outside half naked after dark while I had two dogs.
Scoob did have a problem, he liked to chase cars. Particularly the neighbors living behind us as he had difficulties with them on more than one occasion. Late last night Scoob was killed by one of those cars. I was not aware of that until just before dark when my daughter and I set out to find Scoob thinking was out looking for a girl friend. We followed Lucy as we went down the road when suddenly she made an abrupt turn off the road near the bee hives. I could tell by her reaction she had found Scoob and that something was wrong. Scoob was buried between some apple trees near the bee yard. He like to eat bees coming off the landing boards despite getting stung a lot. He was almost like a skunk on that account.
Lucy will not be able to whip the coyotes or beat Mr. Fox every time by herself. We immediately began contracting the free-range area today and put more and younger birds in pens than we would if Scoob was on duty. Free-range foraging will not be as important this year as a means for offsetting feed costs. Lucy is also not so good at killing raccoons she catches in the middle of the field. I am already resigned to the need for me to go out with her when she even chuffles to provide support. She will not be able to defend five acres from the snatch and grab by herself even with my help. We are going to get more aggressive with traps which takes time and put more effort into keeping fences hot. All birds will be put into a single yard over next few days so she has fewer perimeters to cover. We currently have more area to defend than Scooby ever had to do alone.
At the time of his passing Scoob was about 4.75 years and had almost that much again to give. Much of his early activities where documented in the following thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/426408/planned-poultry-guarding-dog
Scoob on day day 1.
Scoob allowing Speach to provide dental services.
Scoob and his bubby.
Scoob with first Red Fox he killed.
Scoob with a opossum.
Scoob brown-nosing while I checked for feather replacement pattern.
Another opossum
Scoob with Lucy as a pup.
Scoob was a very good friend. Bye Scoob but you will not be forgotten.
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