PLANNED POULTRY GUARDING DOG

[CAjerseychick]

Help Centrarchid!

What do you suggest! just lost my first chicken!!! Its our 2nd winter with them freeranging all they go into the (open) coop at night....
Dogs were locked up at night (new, young up late neighbors leading to dogs barking half the night)... and they barked at 1am and sometime in the early am....
Came out and let them loose , and they ran over to a pile of feathers and began fighting over that (8am or so)...
My plan is tonight is to tie the barkiest one in to the chicken yard (porch partially overhangs it and it is bedded down with straw for my goats)..... on a dog bed,,,, hopefully that will do the trick, I am guessing whatever took that first chicken will be back...
Temps are cold and hard and so quickly it was down to at least 17 last night and snow is 100% for tonight...

 

[centrarchid]

Predator did snatch and grab. Since disturbance noted by dogs, kill not instant so likely not a cat. Fox or coyote thus more likely. Two options I would pursue are first make birds harder to get to. Ideally birds will cackle before one is killed. Then shorten dogs reaction time which means one outside, or both. My dogs have likely more distance to cover so I also make predator escape route is such dog can get close enough to scare predator. If Fox visit tonight will be about same time.

 

[CAjerseychick]

Predator did snatch and grab. Since disturbance noted by dogs, kill not instant so likely not a cat. Fox or coyote thus more likely. Two options I would pursue are first make birds harder to get to. Ideally birds will cackle before one is killed. Then shorten dogs reaction time which means one outside, or both. My dogs have likely more distance to cover so I also make predator escape route is such dog can get close enough to scare predator. If Fox visit tonight will be about same time.

Ok thanx I will go with my plan to stake out the great pyr puppy on a line (so he cant leave, or pester the goats) next to the coop-- the only entrance to the coop is right by where I plan to stake the dog, poor dog it is cold, but he is heavily furred and I wont tie him til after 10pm or so..... ( I am a night owl), the nuisance is him going out to the back of our 2 acres and barking at the neighbors, it will be better if he is tied next to the house (where the coop is)... I will let you all know the outcome....

 

[roostersandhens]

My Yellow Lab named Marley scares off any coyotes who come near my house! He is 8 years old, would it be possible to train him to guard them from hawks?

 

[centrarchid]

Training dog on hawks, for me, requires hawk attacks or at least coming by enough for dogs to see chickens get riled by hawk. Then encourage dog to go after hawk. It is easier to start from broad spectrum prey drive in pup and simply train out interest in chickens.

 

[centrarchid]

SOMETHING GETTING INTO NEIGHBORS PENNED BIRDS

Just a little bit ago something got my dogs riled causing them to run to the NE. I went to see was up to hear Lucy barking about 1/8 mile away outside NEIGHBORS walking aviary. A peacock was doing the honking call repeatedly. Only eye shine I could see was from my dogs so cause seemed to have moved. When I came in to enter this the commotion resumed. Rapid return is an indication of Great-horned Owl. Temperature is already below 10 degrees F predators like owls will be doing some different stuff.

 

[centrarchid]

YET ANOTHER PACK OF DOGS WITH SMALLEST AT ABOUT 60 lbs

This is getting ridiculous. About an hour ago a group of what appeared to be three dogs came up from south. My dogs went bonkers and tried to run them when to more came out of bushes. They are not working or hunting dogs. Cold snaps seem to bring them out. Two appeared to be bull majsstic crosses which is a pattern I do not like as that indicates loveaffairs with big dogs. One looked like large white Eskimo dog and another looked like a lab x German shepherd. I am going to have to get the akbash and buck goats soon and the fencing will need to be extended to encompass more than half of property.

 

[CAjerseychick]

YET ANOTHER PACK OF DOGS WITH SMALLEST AT ABOUT 60 lbs

This is getting ridiculous. About an hour ago a group of what appeared to be three dogs came up from south. My dogs went bonkers and tried to run them when to more came out of bushes. They are not working or hunting dogs. Cold snaps seem to bring them out. Two appeared to be bull majsstic crosses which is a pattern I do not like as that indicates loveaffairs with big dogs. One looked like large white Eskimo dog and another looked like a lab x German shepherd. I am going to have to get the akbash and buck goats soon and the fencing will need to be extended to encompass more than half of property.

So sorry to hear of your dogpack troubles-- our pyr pup is 1/4 akbash he is great. He mingles with our other house dogs but gets too hot (very well suited for this weather, foot of snow, 7 degrees tonight) and likes to stay out laying in the snow.... Hes only 6months old, but I expect that if he needs help the house dogs will go out and least bark with him ...
he did great last night, d/t the snow, he was mostly in the garage (door to back/ chicken yard and coop propped open ) on straw on his bed, but came out to the yard and barked twice, this AM all 13 chickens still there, 12 still in coop and refuse to come out, 1 is with the goats looking for goat grains....
I broke down and hung a feeder in the coop for them, (nervous about this cause about 2 of the goats can still squeeze in there thru the Jersey Giant size pop door, if the mood takes them) they gobbling away, the goats are out in the pasture I sprinkled grain on the snow for them to decoy them away.....

Yes, I do believe a sturdy, thick coated LGD is the way to go.... we are milking the one goat so she gets grain, the others do by default plus 3 more are does so need to be trained to the milk stand anyway (which they willing do, for grain)....

 

[centrarchid]

So sorry to hear of your dogpack troubles-- our pyr pup is 1/4 akbash he is great. He mingles with our other house dogs but gets too hot (very well suited for this weather, foot of snow, 7 degrees tonight) and likes to stay out laying in the snow.... Hes only 6months old, but I expect that if he needs help the house dogs will go out and least bark with him ...
he did great last night, d/t the snow, he was mostly in the garage (door to back/ chicken yard and coop propped open ) on straw on his bed, but came out to the yard and barked twice, this AM all 13 chickens still there, 12 still in coop and refuse to come out, 1 is with the goats looking for goat grains....
I broke down and hung a feeder in the coop for them, (nervous about this cause about 2 of the goats can still squeeze in there thru the Jersey Giant size pop door,  if the mood takes them) they gobbling away, the goats are out in the pasture I sprinkled grain on the snow for them to decoy them away.....

Yes, I do believe a sturdy, thick coated LGD is the way to go.... we are milking the one goat so she gets grain, the others do by default plus 3 more are does so need to be trained to the milk stand anyway (which they willing do, for grain)....

Going with the additional and larger dog needed because of number and size of threat. Three dogs like you have would be challenged by our situation as well. The ambush will be problematic with respect to seeds in over patch and will have speed limitation issues especially if operating alone. The mix in breeds coupled with fencing will enable keeping of sheep and goats well away from house and backyard. When ambush gets into it with multiple dogs the poultry guardians will back it up.

 

[centrarchid]

DARN KINDLE BOTCHES MY POSTS


Free-range area now devoid of chickens. This means dogs can be kept in tighter during day. Coyote taking advantage coming into summer pasture after the very abundant rodents. At night dogs are pushing coyotes out but owls still coming in well away from pens.