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

[FlipFlopFarmer6279]

My dog is only a puppy and she *loves* running circles around the run barking at the chickens. I let her do it because 1. She uses up her energy. 2. The chickens don't seem to mind (they always chase the dog from the inside of the run). 3. It's adorable to see my little cross-beak puffing up her chest and run around chasing the dog. And 4. The dog can't get to them.

But I'm definitely not letting her into the run because I'm not sure what she'll do.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

I have 3 dogs. My Pit Bull is an old boy and could care less about the chickens. My one Alusky (Husky/Malamute) loves the chickens and would never hurt them, but her sister is more Husky abnd has a slight prey drive. She has attacked and killed 5 chickens, but only if they run from her. She pays them no mind if they are juat standing around, but as soon as the chickens start flapping, she gets excited.

My chickens on the other hand are fearless... They will steal snacks right out of the dogs mouths

 

[ElimAcres]

I have a Mini Aussie and she is great with the birds. She doesn't show a lot of interest in them and is more afraid of the big birds than anything. She's awesome with chicks. Never have to worry about her hurting them, even newly hatched itty bitty Silkies. She wouldn't harm a fly...... literally. I tried to make her eat a fly that was crawling on the carpet one day but she didn't want to. Knowing I wanted her to she licked it up walked a little ways away and gently spit it out. It flew away.

 

[ElimAcres]

The only way my chickens are ever allowed to free range is when my 120 lb German Shepherd is outside watching diligently for coyotes who lurk in the desert surrounding our remote home. I don't think he is intentionally "guarding" the chickens but rather his entire property of which they are part. He is 100% reliable with them, but that was a result of training, not nature.
The first day I set the chick carton down to get the heater, Ruger thought, "Wow, Mom brought me snacks!" and walked off with one in his mouth. I screeched "No!" and he dropped it, not yet hurt, looking quizzically at me. "Not snacks?" I was relieved that prior to my getting chickens, I had already trained him to be obedient so now he responded quickly to my panicked command.
Then I began the process of patiently teaching him to never hurt a chicken, despite that he chases down and eats jackrabbits and I feed him whole raw chicken. Over several weeks, I carefully let him come close and sniff the chicks in the brooder, telling him to "Leave it!" which is my command to leave anything alone. I petted and kissed and cooed to the chicks so he learned they were mine, important to me, protected by me. By the time they were ready to go outside to free range a bit (7 weeks), I was fairly confident in his understanding.
But in the first five minutes, I saw him carrying something and screeched again in panic! If a dog can roll his eyes in exasperation, he did, then spit out the bone he was carrying and seemed to say, "Chill, Mom, it's not one of your blessed chicks! I got it--no chickens. Sheesh!"
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BEAUTIFUL boy!!!!!

 

[CreveChris]

I have 3 dogs. My Pit Bull is an old boy and could care less about the chickens. My one Alusky (Husky/Malamute) loves the chickens and would never hurt them, but her sister is more Husky abnd has a slight prey drive. She has attacked and killed 5 chickens, but only if they run from her. She pays them no mind if they are juat standing around, but as soon as the chickens start flapping, she gets excited.

My chickens on the other hand are fearless... They will steal snacks right out of the dogs mouths

Awww!

 

[catballou]

Awww!

I hope you keep the killer away from them.

 

[Raptor Mountain Farm]

My Jack Russell thinks the chicks are live squeaky toys. When they get older and peck at her, she leaves them alone. If a rooster starts going after her, she will defend herself. But she also sits and watches over them in the yard. When she barks, they run for cover. I just don't allow her out alone.

 

[Bridget B]

I had one chicken that I allowed to free range an hour or two during the day. My German Shorthaired Pointer was friendly with her, to an extent. She bit him on his nose when he got too close to her, so he was really leery of her more than anything. One day I was working in the house and Dutch barked oddly, I knew from his bark that something was up, so I dashed out of the door just to see a large Harris Hawk after my Chicken. As soon as I cleared the door the hawk saw me, and he had to fly right by me to get out of that spot in the yard. That hawk was huge! Dutch was in another fenced in area of the yard, and I think if he were closer to the chicken the hawk wouldn't have been so quick to try an attack. I don't free range any birds now. We have way too many hawks of all kinds that are always patrolling our airspace. I'm forever grateful that my dog had the good sense to warn me about that attack. He truly is a good boy!

 

[Kimlovesherchicks1224]

My dog thinks the chickens are playmates so she chases them around and tries to get them to play with her ball. However the chickens definitely don't see her as a playmate.

 

[Grannysfuturefarm]

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!)

We have 3 dogs. 2 rat terriers and the boy is pretty afraid of the chickens, Penny has claimed them as her babies from the day we got them. Although most are far bigger than her now at 44 weeks old but she still likes to hang out with them. We have an old blind Queenslands heeler and he isn’t sure what they are but he knows they’re there so whenever he happens upon his squishy football he drops in on his side of their gate and woofs waiting for someone to throw it for him. I’ve tried to explain things to him but I don’t think he believes me. I don’t think he’d hurt them but with his blindness making him nervous I won’t risk it. As they say, even a blind squirrel gets a nut now and then. And I don’t want a chicken to be his “nut”