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

[Gemamma]

I have an 8 month old great pyrenees/Anatolian shepherd/akbash pup and he LOVES his chickens and they love him. The problem is, he sometimes loves them too aggressively (poor chickens) and he wants to play with them (which leads to dead birds), so for now he stays penned during the day while they're free ranging except for training sessions and we let him out at night when they're put up for the night. We have high hopes for him, but it is definitely frustrating sometimes.

 

[Sylavash]

Rosie loves playing with the chicks, she examined them all when I bring them home. When the chicks get tired of her we tell her to 'leave them and she will. The little ones I can set on her back and she'll give them rides but as they get older they leave her alone and she let's them forage.

She's not to sure about sharing her bed with them though....

 

[Kiki]

Other.
My dogs have no relationship with my birds.

 

[Sylavash]

I have an 8 month old great pyrenees/Anatolian shepherd/akbash pup and he LOVES his chickens and they love him. The problem is, he sometimes loves them too aggressively (poor chickens) and he wants to play with them (which leads to dead birds), so for now he stays penned during the day while they're free ranging except for training sessions and we let him out at night when they're put up for the night. We have high hopes for him, but it is definitely frustrating sometimes.

Gemamma - teach your pup "leave it" like drop it you can apply it to any thing, like chickens.
Life saver for Rosie.

 

[catballou]

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".

View attachment 2802503

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!)

I taught my dogs to ignore the chicks when I first got chickens and with each new dog since. Out of a black lab/pointer mix, a husky/corgi mix, a standard poodle, a coonhound, a cockapoo and a Maltese, none of them have ever paid attention to them unless the chicken is making distress calls.. like if a chick got seperated from the others.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My dog is always very interested in the birds. I don't let her out of eyesight when the birds are loose, and she isn't allowed alone with chicks, but she has yet to show anything more than curiosity and a want to groom so far.

 

[CrazyTownChick]

We got our 7 year old Border Collie-American Pit Bull Terrier, Cooper, one year ago this month. He was a shelter dog, in and out of shelters for his whole life I think. The adjustment to a consistent, loving home where he's NOT in charge, moved slowly but steadily. We got a professional dog trainer this summer and that has helped him and us a lot.
His first reaction to the 13 hens in the coop & run was to run circles excitedly around the coop/run. Typical border collie, trying to "herd" them.

Everyday we walk past them (always in coop/run/secure yard) during our long walk to the back of our property, on leash. He goes out with me when I feed them daily and clean the coop on weekends. Now he is definitely de-sensitized to them and essentially ignores them. He sees them day in and day out...old hat.

This past weekend he waited for me while I cleaned out the coop with the coop doors fully opened. Seven of the girls were more interested in checking him out than he was in them. In fact, he was focused on barking at a dog on the neighbor's property, while the chickens clucked away at him. He was oblivious to them. Don't bother me, I'm barking at the neighbor's dog!

The best part was when Cinnabon jumped up on the door ledge and launched into an egg song. Her bestie Zippie was in the nest box and was laying, so Cinnabon wanted to announce it to the world. I'm going to try to post the video I took of that whole scenario. In case I can't let's just say it was priceless. (Cooper hears their egg songs everyday - ain't no thang to him)

Having said that, we never forget that Cooper is, in fact, a dog. There are never any guarantees that his dog/hunter instincts would not suddenly kick in. So we make no assumptions, just because he's "fine" with our girls and he's a good (reformed) boy. He's still a dog.

Let's see what I can attach. Nope, not the compressed mp4 file. Dang.


#LetsGoBrandon

 

[BigBlueHen53]

He's precious. And you're awesome!

 

[CrazyTownChick]

Ok, I was able to upload my video to YouTube. Here's the link (it's not public, you can only see it with the link). Let me know if there's any problem. I compressed it, so not all of it is there. But you'll get the idea. Love my girls and my Good Boy.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

One of my dogs I will leave unattended with the chickens for hours. Don't know if he's much of a protector but he has never hurt or chased them. He used to guard my chicks on their field trips outside but now he's old and fat and just likes to sun bathe with them haha. My mutt puppy, on the other hand, likes to chase and annoy the chickens. We are working on that. Although she has been accidentally left alone with them it is not something I do intentionally. She cannot be trusted... Yet...