Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[fisherlady]

I wish my huskies were like Mindy. Dang Boo got in the run as I was trying to shut the door. Lost Laverne and had to chase down 4 that escaped the run in the commotion. New yard design in the spring will include a double fence system.

I'm sorry about Laverne
Unfortunately huskies have a VERY high prey drive. It may be controlled with intense training, especially from a young age, but not sure I would ever really trust a husky or husky mix around small critters.
I had a husky mix years ago, probably as close to a 'perfect' dog as I could ever imagine, except for the shedding, lol. I lost her a couple of years before I got chickens so never knew how she would have been. I knew I wanted chickens, so when searching for a new dog/breed I took that into consideration and went with the English Shepherd to avoid dog/livestock conflicts. I don't know how I lucked into Mindy's great love of chickens but glad we did. She has been a joy around the birds and her love of the chicks is adorable to watch.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I don't know how I lucked into Mindy's great love of chickens but glad we did. She has been a joy around the birds and her love of the chicks is adorable to watch.

It's just adorable to see how excited she gets when she just hears them peeping lol

We had a husky once. I loved that dog but the prey drive really is just incredible. When we found our cat, he was so tiny.....palm sized and couldn't eat solid food yet. It took weeks of continuous vigilance to make sure Dreamy didn't kill him. He had a crate set up that she could see him when we couldn't babysit their interactions. Eventually they became best friends that would actually play rough together. Dreamy was an older dog by the time we got chickens. She could never be trusted around them. Even when she was old and stiff, she would still lunge at them if they got too close. And she never learned not to kill the toads that got too close to her when she was out. I can't count the number of times she made herself sick from getting them.

 

[fisherlady]

Ah, yes... toads!

 

[dheltzel]

First large hatch of the season is underway - 63 out of the hatcher so far. About half are Marans, with the fuzzy legs.

 

[Lelanae]

I have had standard poodles all my life. Percy was my first with a high prey drive. We had to put the guinea pig cage out of his reach and he quickly slaughtered a pullet who escaped the run and once when he got in the run he grabbed shook and dropped as many as he could. (Years ago--they are all secure now.) He is almost 10 now but I would never trust him. I was very jealous of the Mindy pictures, but thankfully my new girl is different and can follow me in the run safely. And of course, my Maltese is blind to chickens--I think he is scared since they all outweigh him!

 

[LadyBehir]

Jada had me spoiled. Not as much as Mindy, but she never bothered adult birds. And she was really good with my son's rabbit.

 

[BullChick]

I knew the babies were okay with the last dog. This one isn’t too interested, but has shown he can’t be 100% trusted.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Our bulldog mix was great with the chickens. She would just hang out with the flock, follow them around and clean up poop but she couldn't be trusted around our pet rabbit....I think she thought of him as a furry pez dispenser. She would chase him around nudging his butt, hoping for "treats" to come out

 

[GoodGuinea]

I've got a standard poodle too. I don't trust him a bit with chicks. He ate a guinea keet once - just swallowed it whole.

As for the adult birds, he loves chasing them, but he has no idea what to do if they don't run away. They've learned to ignore him when he bounces around them, and he eventually gives up trying to play. He just moseys around after them and eats their poop.

 

[feliciadawn]

I have a standard poodle too. He killed my first Cream Crested Legbar at 5 weeks -- he thought she was a squeak toy and was disappointed that she stopped squeaking once shook. He did not eat her, at least.