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

[Outta Here]

That sounds amazing! I have a 6 month old German shepherd/border collie cross and she is in a phase of jumping all over everyone and chasing everything. She hunts and kills all kinds of birds and rodents, chases my kittens and gnaws on their fur if caught. I'm sure she would do more if I wasn't telling her to "leave it" whenever I catch her in the act. She will let them go at that point but still chases them. And as for the chickens, she's definitely not trained enough for me to attempt letting her near them without being on leash or a fence between. She would definitely think "snacks"!
I mistakenly thought that just because she grew up from birth to 10 weeks surrounded by chickens, ducks, cats, etc that she would automatically be fine with them the way her mom is. But that was definitely very naive of me. Especially since I started with kittens and chicks and not big chickens/rooster/cats who could teach her a lesson while she was little.

Here she is, clearly wanting to chase and eat some big yummy birds. But eventually realized it was no use, I wasn't having it, so she went to sleep. I hope one day this will be able to happen off leash and she will be their protector!

It just takes patience and time in a controlled setting, over and over until the dog is rock solid reliable.
I had a friend who was full of excitement the day he got his first cockerel and ready-to-lay pullet. He thought his dogs would be okay because he had been able to call them off from chasing the chickens. The next morning, his unsupervised dogs killed both.
We live and we learn....

 

[Pippin quail]

It just takes patience and time in a controlled setting, over and over until the dog is rock solid reliable.
I once gave a beautiful 5 month-old cockerel and pullet pair to a friend. He thought his dogs would be okay because he was able to call them off from chasing the chickens. The next morning, his unsupervised dogs killed both.
We live and we learn....

Aww that's sad.
Mara will definitely not be unsupervised with the chickens loose anytime soon. But I can happily say she just ate food from her dish with one of my kittens sampling it at the same time. She didn't show any aggression or interest in Aslan at all. It's just when they run, she can't help herself. But today I managed to get her listening every time I called her when she was sneaking after them. She was much more interested in the stick I had to throw for her. So baby steps.
This is her the first day I brought home kitties. She's good while they are staying still, haha.

 

[TwoShepherds]

I have two German Shepherds. They are very trainable and smart but they have a lot of prey drive. If I had had chickens when the dogs were puppies they might have done better with the chickens. It would take a lot more time and effort to train them to leave the chickens alone than it is to just fence them and keep them apart. So I keep them in their own areas. I guess I’m just lazy haha. There have been a few occasions when a chicken has escaped their own yard and started wandering around the backyard with the dogs loose. I’m happy to say the dogs are well trained enough to leave the chicken alone for a short period while I catch the chicken and/or put the dogs inside. But I wouldn’t trust them alone with the chickens. I’m fortunate that on the few occasions that has happened, I’ve noticed right away.

 

[Outta Here]

Aww that's sad.
Mara will definitely not be unsupervised with the chickens loose anytime soon. But I can happily say she just ate food from her dish with one of my kittens sampling it at the same time. She didn't show any aggression or interest in Aslan at all. It's just when they run, she can't help herself. But today I managed to get her listening every time I called her when she was sneaking after them. She was much more interested in the stick I had to throw for her. So baby steps.
This is her the first day I brought home kitties. She's good while they are staying still, haha.

Love the picture....so sweet!

 

[Outta Here]

Aww that's sad.
Mara will definitely not be unsupervised with the chickens loose anytime soon. But I can happily say she just ate food from her dish with one of my kittens sampling it at the same time. She didn't show any aggression or interest in Aslan at all. It's just when they run, she can't help herself. But today I managed to get her listening every time I called her when she was sneaking after them. She was much more interested in the stick I had to throw for her. So baby steps.
This is her the first day I brought home kitties. She's good while they are staying still, haha.

I did lots and lots of baby steps after I brought the poodle puppy home! She only weighed 2 lbs, and you can barely see her in the grass behind the 115 lb German Shepherd. Very often bigger dogs kill little dog at dog parks, beaches, on the streets, in their yard. Tiny dogs need to be protected all their lives from any unknown dog. My dog was at first aghast that this thing was joining our household, but they became good buddies.

 

[Janexsays]

My lab killed a few chickens under my family's watch. After I simply told him that they are friends not food, but they do poop out food he respects them and occasionally tries to sneak in the coop when an opportunity arises to "collect" the eggs...into his belly.

 

[Outta Here]

The more obedient a dog is the easier it is to tell him to leave any critter alone, even after they've killed one.

 

[Byrd gal]

My dogs killed a few chickens after the grandkids began chasing them. The kids went in and the chase began.... She brought the chicken in the house and presented it to me. I scolded her and after all the crying in the house they never touched them again. Actually, the chickens run the dogs off now.

 

[Outta Here]

Another sad story with a good ending. I had taught my dogs not to hurt cats and chickens, but nobody said anything about a guinea pig running free in my daughter's yard. Before the grandchildren could find out about the demise of their pet, I searched everywhere near closing time, desperately trying to find a replacement. Finally I found a black and white one, and I and their mom put it in the cage with the remaining one. The kids never knew until they were grown. But very shortly after the replacement came, there was an explosion of baby guinea pigs!!! Guess they had two females before.....

 

[YellowBrahmaBarn]

I chose that my dog would never hurt chickens and other..... Rose, my black Lab, was curious about our first chicks in the brooder. I would hold them and talk to them with her right there to show her they were part of the pack - not food. She remained inquisitive but never aggressive. After she found their tasty droppings, she had absolutely no interest in the hens. When we added new chicks to the flock, Rose was again inquisitive until Agnes gave her a solid double-peck to the nose. Rose wouldn't come near the brooder anymore. The hens have a fenced area with no ground border and Rose only pushes at the bottom of the fence to get tasty nuggets. When I throw for Rose, the girls run along the fenceline as if chasing Rose as she fetches. One RIR will run to the fence wanting to say hello to her any time Rose comes near the fence, but Rose just ignores poor Edith. If I go out to observe the girls or give them treats Rose will jealously park her bottom on my feet- between me and the girls - and look up at me as if to say "ummm, I was here first". When I let the girls out of their fenced area, Rose mingles with them - but only to get fresh nuggets.