Official BYC Poll: What Kind Of Relationship Do Your Dogs & Chickens Have?

[Raptor Mountain Farm]

Molly is a Jack Russell Terrier. And if you look up the worse dog breeds if you have chickens or rabbits, she is in the top 3!

I had her first and she had a rough first year and was a rescue, so she isn't going anywhere.

When the chicks are small, she thinks they are live squeaky toys! She has gotten one and we both learned from that experience. I keep her away from them until they are about 6 weeks old and will peck her if needed.

I have had 3 free ranging flocks. Only 2 are left from the first flock due to the majority being roosters, so they are integrated with my Black Australorps (one was a Black Australorp and is the reason I got the others.) There is a total of 9 in that flock now. I also have a flock of 15, with the majority being Heritage breeds with only 2 roosters in that flock.

She gets along with them great now. She does get running and if course goes through the middle of the Australorp flock! Then Lucky, the Australorp rooster, starts chasing her to protect his flock. Then she starts nipping back. So, with this behavior, I don't leave her outside alone.

Then I added bunnies! There is no way I'm letting her in the pen with the baby bunnies until I have the time to work with her. The chickens like watching the rabbits and vice versa.

She smells the rabbits through the hardware cloth and sits on a pallet and watches over everyone in the pen and the yard. She chases any noise in the woods and helps me find the chickens free ranging in the woods. I have seen her chase wild rabbits, so I'm unsure about her with rabbits, but she walks around with the chickens. She's a good dog.

 

[Nonnapoo]

My maltipoo thought she was the chicks’ mother and wanted to be inside their playpen to watch over them. When I made her come out she would pace all the way around the pen guarding them. Now that they are 3 months old she doesn’t pay as much attention to them but they still hang out together quite a bit.

 

[Sylver Queen]

Thousands of people love dogs. Thousands of people love chickens. And, thousands of people wonder how they can make their two loves get along with one another and live together in peace. So in this poll, we would like to find out: What Kind Of Relationship Do Your Dogs & Chickens Have?

Please place your vote above, and elaborate in a reply below if you chose "Other".

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Further Reading:

• Introducing Your Dog To Chickens- Tips & Tricks
• How To Protect Your Chickens From Dogs
• Dealing With Dogs Who Kill Chickens

(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

 

[Karen Glatz]

My Border/Australian Shepard mix would hunt down and kill every one, however he's 17 now and can't really run. I still keep them separate.

My Chihuahua/Rat terrier is afraid of my hens who will peck her if she gets near. She's 16 and doesn't see well, and has never been socialized with chickens. She tends to love everyone and everything so if younger, she might have been happy to be part of the flock, kinda like my free range (escapee) rabbit.

 

[Spiresbuilt]

 

[Spiresbuilt]

I have a Border Aussie and is she my hero when it comes to protecting her chickies when they are free ranging. We have a huge issue with other dogs that roam the neighborhood that always pose a real threat. She alerts me anytime there is a dog she does not recognize. The chickens love her too.....and are not afraid to come right up. All join together and eat when it's time for their bread snack!

 

[Alanzs]

My border collie/springer spaniel, Indika, is trained to round up the chooks when needed. As well, she's trained to find, hold and retrieve chickens. She knows multiple, specific commands to round up the chooks. As she's under 2 years old, she's still learning and understanding what's her actions should be. Absolutely awesome to be involved with.
She was raised with literally hundreds of day old chicks around her, climbing, running. Indika is gentle with them and she's just part of the flock.
She knows when it's time to round up the hens. At all other times, she's oblivious of the chickens. But, when it's work time, she's off!

I sell pullets. She knows when I ask her to round up the chooks, that someone is coming soon. She'll wait on a ledge, so she can see when a car comes up the drive. She'll wait patiently when I give people their pullets, in case one gets out. And, when one does, it never gets more than a few meters before Indika has it.
And, she's a great, beloved family pet.

 

[handtmorgan]

She gets excited around them and is really holding back to try and behave in this pic. We put the babies on top of her on the couch and porch (closely supervised) to train her.
She has saved our rooster Fancy Face from a dog by barking, but is otherwise a sissy and stays behind me when I go out to check why she's barking.

Dixie Lu & 2-3 mo. old Hazel

 

[Maggie13]

Ruby and Jasper ( Border Collies) for the most part go about their day and ignore the hens unless one of the chickens is on my lap then they sometimes will give it a good sniff. which the hens do not seem to mind the attention

 

[DuckyDonna]

No, she surprised us and is about 40% maremma, 30% GP, and 30% kangal/anatolian according to embark dna.

We had an Anatolian who loved her ducks. She was the best old girl ever. I miss her so much.