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

[HomesteadMom5]

My dog, a 7yo GSD, ignores them most of the time although there’s times he’ll “spook” them for fun - think scaring someone from around a corner for a laugh. He does it to one of our cats too; I think he’s watched me mess with my kids too much lol He doesn’t chase them at all, he’ll be walking with me past a group of them, turn and woof at them so they jump and run.
(Added pictures) When we first got chicks. He watched me clean off pasty butts, then I introduced him to them. He loved watching them in the brooder set-up.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

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.
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Those pics are adorable!

 

[MorningGlory16]

We have a 6 year old Great Pyr and a 2 year old lab- both are good with chickens and I credit Samson (our great pyr) for the fact that we have not lost a single bird to a predator. His bark scares everything off! Our lab isn't much of a guard dog, but she doesn't bother with the chickens either. The only time she's interested is if I give the chickens treats, and even then she just tries to eat with them (if they allow it!)

 

[micstrachan]

My dog mostly ignores the chickens, but gets excited to say hi and sniff if one comes into the house for care. She chases off anything that comes into the yard, but is only 35 pounds herself, so not much of a threat to larger predators. Once an electrician leaned over to say hello to a chicken and doggo went ape$hit!

 

[Solanacae]

I have two Brittany’s. One basically ignores them except to run over to them when she’s let out just to see them scatter. The other likes to practice his pointing.

 

[Solanacae]

Our beagles couldn't care less about chickens or ducks. They can all mingle with no worries. But a few months ago I adopted a shepherd mix puppy. What was I thinking? (Ask myself this daily). He is 8 months old now and way too excited by the birds. Everything is a chew toy.

We were dog sitting my brother in law’s mini Australian shepherd while they were on vacation. There was a miscommunication and the dogs got let out while the chickens were having some free range time. The dog started chasing the chickens and ripped off the skin/feathers if one’s tail and back. Fortunately the hen is making a full recovery. The dog is extremely intelligent but stubborn, so it’s a good thing he was only with us for another day before he went home. (I will say, my kids LOVED playing with him, and he had a great time playing chase and tug of war and fetch.) Shepherds instinctually nip and chase things, so that’s a hard challenge to overcome. With training he hopefully will settle down. Best of luck with the pup!

 

[CraftyHen]

We were dog sitting my brother in law’s mini Australian shepherd while they were on vacation. There was a miscommunication and the dogs got let out while the chickens were having some free range time. The dog started chasing the chickens and ripped off the skin/feathers if one’s tail and back. Fortunately the hen is making a full recovery. The dog is extremely intelligent but stubborn, so it’s a good thing he was only with us for another day before he went home. (I will say, my kids LOVED playing with him, and he had a great time playing chase and tug of war and fetch.) Shepherds instinctually nip and chase things, so that’s a hard challenge to overcome. With training he hopefully will settle down. Best of luck with the pup!

Thank you! I'm glad the chicken survived! In past, the birds could share space with the dogs. Now we are rearranging fence lines to keep the chickens n ducks fully separated from the yard. Stubborn is an apt description for him. He's had training and I work with him every day.

 

[HomesteaderWife]

One has actively killed part of our flock before after an accidental escape. Very high prey drive. The other is very well behaved and they are in a pen, and she has never bothered them and well trained. I think if given the chance and they were out, she may try and chase them, but we've never had issues from her.

 

[ForeverFactor]

My dog is a lab mix from the humane society at first with the chickens he mostly ignored them but one day he started harassing them a bit until eventually our rooster had enough and put him in his place. Now he acts like they don't exist even if they are flying around when he is bothering the horses or something else. My previous dog nearly tore a coop apart trying to get to the chickens.

 

[outdoorsgirl85]

For the past 6 years, whenever I let the hens out, both of my dogs just like to lay outside with them. I think because of watching my interactions with all our animals, they have some kind of understanding that the chickens are family too. Here are two photos: first one is my now 10 year old black mouth cur & second is my 16 year old cocker spaniel mix