My LGD Great Pyr Killed Chicken

[aoxa]

x2. It is really important to understand these dogs, and how they work. Originally they guarded large flocks that roamed hundreds of acres, therefore, they don't take confinement very well. Two acres is a very small area for a dog whose nature is to cover hundreds, and a dog asked to confine itself to two may not be very happy. Your dog will want to roam a lot further than that - and will if you don't have fencing to contain him.

Unfortunately too many people get LGD's to guard their poultry with disastrous results. Its not that they can't be trained to leave them alone but it is not their nature to guard them. For a small property like yours, you may have been better off with a "pet" breed of dog that is poultry safe (adopted as an adult, you can assess that far more quickly than getting a puppy). Often just the presence of a dog on the property is enough to deter predators. I have two 40lb poultry safe mutts, and their dog igloo is located in the chicken yard. During the day the birds and dogs free-range and at night the birds are locked in the coop while the dogs sleep in the igloo. In the year and a half we've had this arrangement, we haven't lost a bird to a predator.

This is what I chose after we lost our LGD in the fire. We chose a Bernese Mountain dog because A) They don't wander (AT ALL!) and B) they are large enough to ward off potential dangers.

It was so easy to train my BMD to the chickens in comparison with my LGD. He had a few bouts of carrying chicks around (not one single one injured), but otherwise was completely gentle.. This is what the breed is known for. They are truly gentle giants...

I'm not saying give up on your LGD, but I sure hope someone who is considering raising one reads this and realizes it may not be the best decision for them.

I say 10 acres minimum for a Great Pyr or Maremma. They won't be happy on two.. You will constantly be struggling to keep him contained.

 

[centrarchid]

This is what I chose after we lost our LGD in the fire. We chose a Bernese Mountain dog because A) They don't wander (AT ALL!) and B) they are large enough to ward off potential dangers.

It was so easy to train my BMD to the chickens in comparison with my LGD. He had a few bouts of carrying chicks around (not one single one injured), but otherwise was completely gentle.. This is what the breed is known for. They are truly gentle giants...

I'm not saying give up on your LGD, but I sure hope someone who is considering raising one reads this and realizes it may not be the best decision for them.

I say 10 acres minimum for a Great Pyr or Maremma. They won't be happy on two.. You will constantly be struggling to keep him contained.

Even 10 acres is not always enough. I know several dogs that had to be replaced because they would not even respect fence to stay on such. Also, not only LGD's have a need for more space. Many dogs have this preference and many are very good at acting upon it.

 

[aoxa]

Even 10 acres is not always enough. I know several dogs that had to be replaced because they would not even respect fence to stay on such. Also, not only LGD's have a need for more space. Many dogs have this preference and many are very good at acting upon it.

That's true for sure. That's why I said minimum. Honestly, the more the better for those kinds of dogs!

What breeds do you use again as your farm dogs?

Here is mine at 8 1/2 months old.

 

[centrarchid]

That's true for sure. That's why I said minimum. Honestly, the more the better for those kinds of dogs!

What breeds do you use again as your farm dogs?

Here is mine at 8 1/2 months old.

Bird dogs that have been barking the last three hours solid. They are not bonded to chickens but do use chickens as alarm system. Predators I cannot stop with fencing are stopped by dogs. Speed and smarts I value because during production season I have several free-range flocks that are mostly juveniles (hawk bait) scattered out over about 6 acres. I also rely a lot more on training than what is employed with bred innate behaviors of LGD's. These guys require a great deal more work to get them up and running but they will be on job well after similar aged LGD's must retire.

 

[4brnvldrs4life]

We lost some chickens too from our young lgd but she is mature now. Also November we took in an adult male family owned GP big pet never farmed / ranched before and he fit right in and never had a problem with any of our livestock. I wish I would have started with a mature LGD family pet rescuee. Say a prayer and be patient.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

This is what I chose after we lost our LGD in the fire. We chose a Bernese Mountain dog because A) They don't wander (AT ALL!) and B) they are large enough to ward off potential dangers.

It was so easy to train my BMD to the chickens in comparison with my LGD. He had a few bouts of carrying chicks around (not one single one injured), but otherwise was completely gentle.. This is what the breed is known for. They are truly gentle giants...

I'm not saying give up on your LGD, but I sure hope someone who is considering raising one reads this and realizes it may not be the best decision for them.

I say 10 acres minimum for a Great Pyr or Maremma. They won't be happy on two.. You will constantly be struggling to keep him contained.

What kind of space does your BMD need?

 

[HEChicken]

This is what I chose after we lost our LGD in the fire. We chose a Bernese Mountain dog because A) They don't wander (AT ALL!) and B) they are large enough to ward off potential dangers.

It was so easy to train my BMD to the chickens in comparison with my LGD. He had a few bouts of carrying chicks around (not one single one injured), but otherwise was completely gentle.. This is what the breed is known for. They are truly gentle giants...

I'm not saying give up on your LGD, but I sure hope someone who is considering raising one reads this and realizes it may not be the best decision for them.

I say 10 acres minimum for a Great Pyr or Maremma. They won't be happy on two.. You will constantly be struggling to keep him contained.

I hate to bring this up but….shortly after we moved to our new property, we started to be visited by a huge dog I didn't recognize. The dog was here pretty much every day. One day as I was driving home, I happened to see a dog that looked very similar sitting on the front porch of a house about a ½ mile away. This past weekend, the dog was back but this time in our front yard and this time there was a lady in a minivan driving along our road as though she were looking for something. Long story short, she was looking for the dog that was back at our house and she confirmed that yes, she lives in that house ½ mile away where I'd seen the dog sitting on the porch. I asked out of curiosity "and what kind of dog is she?" and her response: Burmese Mountain Dog. She is at her wits end because they can't keep the dog home. They installed an electronic fence but after two weeks the dog discovered that if she runs fast enough, the shock isn't that bad, so the electronic fence doesn't keep her in. Their property is too large for a physical fence to be a practical expense. So I guess not all BMD's are that good about not wandering.

 

[KnobbyOaks]

"They installed an electronic fence but after two weeks the dog discovered that if she runs fast enough, the shock isn't that bad"

That was really funny and I had to laugh out loud. Been reading old posts as I just got a 7 week old GP and have chickens and coyotes on 10 acres.

 

[Little Farm Girl]

Our LGD puppy is in or garden, which has a 6 ft chainlink fence around it, and nothing growing in it, and it has a nice size shed in it for Sheera(the lgd). The chickens pen runs all the way around the garden, and the have their barn too...we let Sheera out to mingle with the chickens while we are outside. We went on a one day trip Sat, came back, a chicken had flown into the pen, and she ATE its back side, and neck out(it’s dead). We have a shock collar on her, so when we have a couple minutes, we let her out to be with the chickens, go inside, watch through the window, and make sure she is good while we “aren’t watching”. Then we put her back in her pen(the garden), and she has tons of toys, interactive toys, toys tied to the fence, etc. She is 4 1/2 months old.

She is great at doing perimeter checks, barking at bad things, everything like that...but she just doesn’t like the duck hens, and our smaller hens. Would it help her if we got her an animal to bond with that would help keep her distracted? Like a doe, or kid, or lamb, or puppy, or anything?

 

[aart]

Our LGD puppy is in or garden, which has a 6 ft chainlink fence around it, and nothing growing in it, and it has a nice size shed in it for Sheera(the lgd). The chickens pen runs all the way around the garden, and the have their barn too...we let Sheera out to mingle with the chickens while we are outside. We went on a one day trip Sat, came back, a chicken had flown into the pen, and she ATE its back side, and neck out(it’s dead). We have a shock collar on her, so when we have a couple minutes, we let her out to be with the chickens, go inside, watch through the window, and make sure she is good while we “aren’t watching”. Then we put her back in her pen(the garden), and she has tons of toys, interactive toys, toys tied to the fence, etc. She is 4 1/2 months old.

She is great at doing perimeter checks, barking at bad things, everything like that...but she just doesn’t like the duck hens, and our smaller hens. Would it help her if we got her an animal to bond with that would help keep her distracted? Like a doe, or kid, or lamb, or puppy, or anything?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lgd-puppy-4-mo-old-help.1344344/