maremma, great pyr or anatolian shepard to guard chickens?

[froggyphore]

i’d originally planned on a great pyr as i like their appearance, personality, size and natural guarding tendencies outside of livestock but i’ve read about some instances of them randomly killing their poultry, and i know they were bred to mostly guard large animals. i know goldshaw farm has a maremma that is quite good with his fowl, and i’ve heard good things about anatolians. i’d love to hear opinions and first hand experiences. tyia

 

[Folly's place]

Herd guardians were never developed to guard poultry, so it's about training for any of them. think about where you live, and coat care, because it's an issue with heavy coated breeds, heat, and matting.
Then, buy carefully, and be ready for that year or two of training before any puppy is ready to be safe and up to the job. Also fencing, so your dog stays at home!
@centrarchid has lots of experience having and training LGDs, and uses other breeds. We have had Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, and a German Shorthair, who were trained to be safe with the chickens, and who were pretty effective watching over them.
Mary

 

[Coops Dad]

Our neighbor has a GP that crossed two 5-strand barbed wire fences and through 30+ acres of high pasture grass on four occasions to kill more than 20 of our chickens and two ducks. The neighbor behind us has a GP/Anatolian mix that killed all his chickens.

They were bred as herd guardians and, as as good an experience as some may have had with them as flock guardians, the quick jerky movements of chickens seem to trigger the predatory drive in even the most laid-back dogs. Our old Golden Retriever Yellow Lab mix watched as a mouse made several visits to steal kibble out of her food bowl and never even raised an eyebrow but, after we got chickens, she would stare at them like a lion focused on a limping wildebeest.

I don't trust any dog anyway; not mine and especially not yours. They have self-will and, no matter how well trained they are, a second's deviation from their training (or conditioning- face it, most people won't go through a rigorous training regimen with their dog. They'll get the dog to follow commands on a regular basis and call it good) could mean a chicken gets shredded. Then all bets are off. The neighbor's dog got a taste for chicken and didn't relent until the owner put a shock collar and perimeter trigger around his lot.

A good rooster will do more for his flock than a guardian dog anyway.

 

[Coops Dad]

Full disclosure- we recently replaced the departed GR/YL with a Siberian Husky GSD mix who is an excellent dog but she has an insanely high prey drive. I would rather have a bobcat in the henhouse than this dog because the bobcat MIGHT stop killing chickens when the sun came up. This dog would likely keep going all day, too.

 

[centrarchid]

I use dogs and other means to protect my chickens. Dogs are the most expensive part by far. @froggyphore how are chickens to be kept and how many birds?

 

[Lisawbsn]

We have 2 GPs from vastly different backgrounds. Our older boy is a rescue, gentle with everyone and every thing but afraid of the chickens. He just walks away from them and avoids them but he does patrol his yard from anything outside of the fence. Our 3 yo boy is calm and gentle with the girls, alerts to the hawks and must do a perimeter check before bed. My girls are completely separated from the dogs however as I never trained the boys to be with chickens. The dogs were pets before we got chickens so no need to train them as youngsters. Our 3 yo was born on a homestead with goats and chickens but since he wasn’t trained I am not going to set up my girls for disaster. I will say that our local coyotes and foxes steer clear of our property now. I prefer GPs in a family setting as they are sweet natured, I would go with Maramas next as they are calm as well, Anatolians have a sharper temperament but are excellent dogs. I have friends who have a pack of GPs from mutual breeder that protect their geese and chickens in So. Louisiana. Excellent boys and they warn of snakes and gators as well. They were trained by owner and the key is older LGD to show the pups the ropes. I hope this helps.

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, dogs are by far the most expensive option! Really good fencing is still necessary, including electric fencing at least for the dog. One dog won't be enough either, if it's supposed to guard all night too.
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

This is what I have come to learn about taking on an endeavor that takes more time than most realize, in this case just to start 18 to 24 months to get a young dog on track. You must be focused, not scatter brained toying with an idea for a bit then moving on to others without giving any serious thought. The dog option, if it is to work, takes a lot of time and consistency of your effort. When needing sound advice, concentrate your attention on those that have successfully done what you are trying to do.


Unless you have a lot of chickens, as in more than a hundred or so, then the dog is going to cost more than the chickens overall.

 

[froggyphore]

I use dogs and other means to protect my chickens. Dogs are the most expensive part by far. @froggyphore how are chickens to be kept and how many birds?

“free range” in a well fenced yard, i only have 14 right now but i plan on doubling that or more next year and allowing them to raise chicks.

 

[froggyphore]

This is what I have come to learn about taking on an endeavor that takes more time than most realize, in this case just to start 18 to 24 months to get a young dog on track. You must be focused, not scatter brained toying with an idea for a bit then moving on to others without giving any serious thought. The dog option, if it is to work, takes a lot of time and consistency of your effort. When needing sound advice, concentrate your attention on those that have successfully done what you are trying to do.


Unless you have a lot of chickens, as in more than a hundred or so, then the dog is going to cost more than the chickens overall.

yes, i’ll definitely be waiting for a time when my schedule is open so i can devote the proper time to training. i’m sorry if it seems i’m being scatter brained, i just like planning quite thoroughly and far in advance so i ask a lot of hypothetical questions to make sure i have the right ideas/expectations. i’m going to be adding two roosters and some geese next spring so i think for now i’ll stick with those and get a LGD if they’re not sufficient. thank you for the advice!