My dog killed two of my chicks!

[dacasodivine]

Okay, I have an update of sorts for everyone. I took my dog into the chicken run on leash and had her lay down while I sat in a lawn chair and let the chickens and chicks run all around us. She looked but didn't go after them.

I have started to let the chicks and chickens out into the backyard in the evening. The dogs are kept inside.

Yesterday, I let the dogs out while the chicks and chickens were in the backyard. The one dog started to go after them. I yelled "NO" in my best drill sergeant voice. That was it. She didn't even attempt to go after them again.

I'm not saying I would trust her outside without supervision, but now I know that she will listen to me while I'm out there and leave the chickens alone.

The other two dogs, a doberman and a saint/lab mix, weren't concerned in the least by the chickens being out there. Not even with the youngsters started flapping and running around.

Danette

 

[starshrike]

I used to own a lab & a chicken but they got along great (chicken was older than the lab). Our main issue was keeping them out of each other's food bowls! We used to feed the dog a chicken & rice formula, but it seemed a bit odd when the chicken was wolfing down dog food and the dog was eating scratch. Eventually changed the dog food to lamb & rice....

They got along so well the chicken actually TRUSTED the dog to pick her up and walk short distances with her. Labs and many other bird-dogs do have soft mouths for retrieving prey.

I do have a new puppy now, who is about 8 months old and I took him to a feedstore to see if he had any reaction to the chicks before really planning to get any. He didn't show much of an interest (sniff at them) - so I think that since he's young with some training he'll be okay. He is a border collie/german shepherd mix. I still am a bit apprehensive as he's a klutz and crashes into everything still -_-"