Once a chicken killer, always a chicken killer?

[Bex]

Quote:
Big, medium, and little, lol! We have 2 Pomeranians, a Pekingese, a CockerSpaniel, a hound mix, and 2 Pit Bull mixes.

It is indeed a happy place!

My Dogs coexist with many small animals (rabbits, rats, mice, ducks, cats, etc.). So it's definitely possible!

 

[ruth]

That saying always bothers me too. I have four dogs and had four cats, now two, and they all live freely amongst my freeranging chickens, ducks, peachicks and goats. I did have one dog that killed 6 of my ducks the first time she saw them but does not bother them now. I had been keeping them in a separate pen and finally let them out and she had never seen them before and she quickly and silently killed them on the spot without making a sound or mark that could be seen. Once fussed at and then shown the remaining ducks and all subsequent ducks she now knows that the ducks are basically the same thing as the chickens and peacocks and she leaves them alone. But many people posted that I should kill her, give her away or keep her locked up because "once a chicken killer, always a chicken killer - or - once they get the taste for blood they can't be stopped." Neither saying is true.

I have two six month old puppies - a German Shephered (huge) and a Min Pin and they love to kind of chase the chickens to make them run/jump but they don't catch them or really run after them and they are learning to leave them alone completely.

None of the three dogs even come close to being Rex, my 6 year old GSD who not only doesn't bother the chickens/ducks/peachicks/goats, he sleeps with them and guards them. Every time there's a new hatch/birth he sleeps next to the cardboard box with them and won't let any of the other pets come near them.

Dogs and cats can happily coexist with livestock, especially on a farm where everyone is left free and has plenty of room and ability to run and play.

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Amen!

Jim

 

[ruth]

A picture is worth a thousand words. Great pic Jim.

 

[moenmitz]

Awesome picture Jim!

 

[momofdrew]

Quote:
He is simple beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!how much does he weigh??? We have a malamute next door to us that weighs 175...and is 3 1/2 ft at the shoulders...

Your dog looks bigger...

 

[momofdrew]

I have 2 dogs that I leave out in the yard with my chickens...When I got the birds one dog would try to rush them but after a few NO's she stopped the other dog guards those birds as if they were her babies... if she can catch a squrill she will kill it...but is very gentle with the birds...

 

[Nostalchic]

I'm new to this site, and it's apparently going to consume a LOT of my time, because I can't tear myself away! We used to have chickens when we were young, newly married, little kids (30+ years ago) and we (I) have recently decided to get back into it, getting ready to build a coop and will get chicks in the spring. We had some difficulty with our dog killing chickens back then (a really smart and otherwise truly wonderful Airedale); she learned eventually not to kill them but would occasionally catch a hen and just chew on the back of her neck

- which, amazingly, did not prove to be fatal but did leave us with some odd/exotic looking chickens. Chickens vehemently unwilling to be friends with dogs.
So these testimonials are great, but my question is... HOW to teach my dogs (Chow mix and Pyranees mix) not to kill the chickens without sacrificing a few hens in the process? Can I supervise early visitation with the chicks and get the dogs' protective juices flowing or...? I think my Pyranees cross will eventually be very protective - he's LONGING for a herd to be in charge of, (our horses don't pay much attention to his direction) and chases any hawk or other large bird that flies over... But specific suggestions would be appreciated. They are both quite obedient, but you know how quickly an innocent chicken can be dispatched. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[HennyPennies2007]

Me too... I have 2 weinies and have heard stories about them... but my hens gave them an education... now they go in the coop with me and hide behind me. But my big dogs are a different story... I have heard beat em with the chicken they kill (big one out here) or tie the dead chicken around their neck. Can something be done BEFORE a fatality?

BAWK BAWK!

 

[MNKris]

Well, I don't always agree that it is the owners' fault. I have two weims and 1 lab. The lab has never done a thing to any birds. The weims also had not done a thing to birds until they were a year. Then one day, after definitely gaining my trust, one of the weims bolts out the door and takes off for over an hour. She comes back with a butcher chicken from the neighbor's house and puts it on our front step. Gee, thanks. She was very proud of herself, wagging her tail, smiling. I didn't notice the chicken right away because I was so excited she was back home. She had never run before and this neighbor is 1/4 mile away.

Anyway, I couldn't scold her because of the 3 second rule and association rule. So, I was very careful from then on. About 3 months later, a splash andalusian flies over the coop netting and the dog catches the bird. Crunch. Well, I saw her do that one. She got a spanking. Not hard, but she knew I was mad from my voice. Now, she loves to point at the chickens and will do it all day long. However, she hasn't tried to kill one again since that day about 1/2 year ago. I still don't trust her totally, but it does appear she has figured out the "do not crunch" zone on our property.

Oh, and yes, we replaced the neighbor's chicken with one of our own and gave them some sapling trees from our farm as an "I'm sorry". The neighbors were gracious and Tickles hasn't been back to their farm since that day.