PLANNED POULTRY GUARDING DOG

[centrarchid]

I am sort of dog oriented and like the in your face behavior my current dogs have. I am also afflicted with a sheepherder's mentality which keeps more involved with stock than most. If my current life-stage was otherwise more demanding and I had genuine concern for mountain lions, then two or more LGD's would be better. I am constantly watching those with sheep / goats at work and around farms I visit and have come to really like the Akbash. They are faster and more heat tolerant than the other LGD's around here such as Great Pyrenees, Anatolian, Commodores, and the big "English Sheepdog". Speed deals well with your coyotes and foxes while size and number helps with bigger costumers like dogs and mountain lions.

 

[scottcaddy]

Just spent most of last night before bed and all of this morning reading every single post of this thread. Fascinating. The embedded nuggets of humor made this task all the more worthwhile.

I am purchasing an 8.28 acre parcel of land just into escrow JUST for (most of) my flock but keeping my home, so I will need some sort of poultry guardian dog. (My two dacshunds are decidedly not suitable, as one is elderly and both are me-centric companions.) Your detailed experiences have been very informative and helpful in my learning about what will be necessary for my situation.

Unfortunately, the parcel is very "rugged," not flat nor covered in pasture. Predators include the usual aerial ones, fox, coyote, bobcat, mountain lion and of course loose running dogs. Certainly challenging, but the flock will be contained in a very large fenced pen when I am not present. I will use an automatic chicken door on the not-yet-constructed coop, controlled by a light sensor.

I was considering Anatolian Shepherd but Scoob and Lucy have now widened my search criteria.

Thank you!

Good to see you over here also

I Hope that you can get every thing to work out like you want them to Linda!!

Scott

 

[centrarchid]

DOG BITES HUMAN, THEN HUMAN BITES DOG


Trueman and Lucy were playing particularly rough this evening where the little 35 lb ape kept grabbing Lucy in a bearhug trying to pen her down and Lucy would do rolls of her own sending both tumbling and Trueman thumping floor hard. She would get up and Trueman would grab on again for another round. Trueman was yelling and Lucy was growling as part of the sound effects with a little laughter mixed in. Trueman got a little rough so Lucy bit him twice, in the arm. Trueman backed off for a minute because it obviously hurt before running over to me for comfort. He grabbed my legs for a couple seconds before running over to what I though was a resumption of the rough housing. But no, he grabbed her and bit her on the back. I had a hard time with realizing what happened until Trueman came back to me spitting out hair. Every body is powering down now and no one was seriously hurt.

 

[aart]

DOG BITES HUMAN, THEN HUMAN BITES DOG


Trueman and Lucy were playing particularly rough this evening where the little 35 lb ape kept grabbing Lucy in a bearhug trying to pen her down and Lucy would do rolls of her own sending both tumbling and Trueman thumping floor hard. She would get up and Trueman would grab on again for another round. Trueman was yelling and Lucy was growling as part of the sound effects with a little laughter mixed in. Trueman got a little rough so Lucy bit him twice, in the arm. Trueman backed off for a minute because it obviously hurt before running over to me for comfort. He grabbed my legs for a couple seconds before running over to what I though was a resumption of the rough housing. But no, he grabbed her and bit her on the back. I had a hard time with realizing what happened until Trueman came back to me spitting out hair. Every body is powering down now and no one was seriously hurt.

LOL!! Trueman hopefully learned when too rough is too rough. Hopefully they made up and won't go that far again.

 

[centrarchid]

WHOA TRUEMAN, MULE KILLER, DO NOT TOUCH!

Today Trueman was sitting out with birds dusting where I am trying to get grass to go, Something small was walking on ground that chickens had no interest in. Trueman saw it and started messing with it before I got a good visual. It was one of the smaller kinds of mule killer that I admit are pretty but when ticked they can really put the hurt on you. I remember pushing one to ground with my thumb as a kid resulting in my getting popped good. Their sting blows that of a hornet away in terms of ouch factor. I had to say "leave it" to Trueman.

 

[aart]

Mule killer?

 

[centrarchid]

AKA velvet ant. See link.

https://www.google.com/search?gs_rn...%2Fpest%2Fresources%2Fcowkiller.shtml;450;210

 

[centrarchid]

DOGS GETTING SNEAKY WHEN RESPONDING TO A DISTRESSED ROOSTER BEING CHASED HARD BY ANOTHER


This evening as birds were starting for roost, Elmo, the harem master of the free-range American Dominique, began chasing the bullstag Dominique now roosting in the same dog pen. The bullstag ran hard through heavy weeds making a distress call my ears he would make if being hounded by a fox. Scoob and Lucy laying on front porch immediately got up in general direction but where clearly being stealthy as they did so. They ran with Scoob in lead holding his short tail up and Lucy running as wingman with her shoulders at his haunches. They cut though gaps in fencing and cut in behind the running stag tracking him fast. The intervention stopped Elmo and stag stopped once dogs caught up to him. That is the perfect technique for actually catching Mr. Fox when the little red head is focused on running down a large chicken. I think that is how they caught the last one. The first fox caught may have been minding its own business but simply got too close.

Currently Lucy is running a bit lame in the rear right foot but does put it down when in hot pursuit. Foot will be checked this evening.

 

[centrarchid]

DOG ENFORCING STANDARD OPERATING PROCEEDURE


Even as the incubation portion (hen only this late) of production season comes to a close, the dogs are insistent I stay on the same schedule with respect to walking down pens and checking to make sure fences are hot. The dogs come back in and find me in the house to begin whining and growling to get me to get into gear. They get increasingly excited as I put shoes on and round up flashlight before bolting out ahead through door. We follow the same route each time, front porch flock, then every hen nesting along patch to charger is sniffed. Fence charger is checked check point is measured for charge. We go to a roosts for free-ranging flocks and close doors where Scoob in particular has to sniff birds from below, Then when go to pen area making sure roost poles are up and pens are put down over hens with chicks. Most hens are trained to take brood bake to same pen every night but Scoob can find every brood that tries to sleep in high grass making it much easier to police them up and place them in proper pen in just a couple minutes. Once I start working on one hen with chicks Scoob moves off to next and holds point until I get there. We then walk down fence immediately adjacent to pens and Scoob again resumes checks on hens brooding clutches in those locations. Lucy mean while works perimeter of cockyard then runs trails that ground visitors are most likely to approach by. Then we all head back house where dogs lay in door way to listen and sniff. The dogs will periodically patrol through the night and with Lucy especially parking herself in the doorway or on front porch. The incursions by deer are all that typically get dogs riled lately, The dogs seem to love their job but will be exhausted by dawn.

 

[centrarchid]

BROWNIE MOVED HER CHICKS TO ELEVATED ROOST

Her six chicks are now about four weeks old so timing is about right. Their heads are being rapidly covered by feathers so will be soon able to thermoregulate even at low temperature and resist rain much better on their own. Brownie will soon quite clucking but luckily for chicks she is unlikely to attempt another brood so she is likely to continue investing in them for several weeks longer. Her continued investment may be important this year because her offspring are very vulnerable to the Coopers Hawks migrating through. She may also merge her activities with Ralph who may also provide a level of protection even though the chicks are not his own.