Rottweiler & Chickens

[sarah wholey]

I don't have a rottie but my collie loves rounding up my hens!! I can trust her on her own with them but the only trouble is if she starts to get a bit too rough with them. She tends to start getting a bit excited!!!

 

[GAchickennewbie]

Rotts have a strong herding/protective instinct. If raised correctly (I wouldn't let him lick the chicks-don't want him to think he's taste-testing them) and taught commands on how to behave with them, he should be fine.

My giant schnauzer loves to watch the chickens and learned quickly to give them space. My lab pretty much ignores them, but has shown some protectiveness with them as well. The flock is part of our pack and they respect that.

 

[WashingtonWino]

It always seemed to me that a Guardian breed (even if it was intended for people/carts, not hens) would do better around chickens than a bird/hunting dog like a lab, but we shall see! I agree with you, GAChicken on the no licking thing, that seems like a slippery slope!

Both dogs have a strong NO command trained in, they are both used to small, scampery dogs. Our friends have a whole herd of chihuahuas that have become my dogs BFFs, it is pretty bizarre watching them play. Hens will never be out unattended, dogs are never out unattended. I think it would be hard to resist something running/squawking/flapping though! We'll see! I understand predators, but have never had "prey". How do you make a chicken unafraid of a dog? Just expose them at an early age under calm controlled circumstances?

 

[TripMomma]

We have a 4 month old Dutch Shepherd, our chicks got here a couple days ago so we haven't done any intro's yet...wanted them to settle in first. I plan to hold them for her to briefly check out, but I don't think I will trust her without a training collar. We will train her to give the chickens a wide berth by giving a correction if she gets too close. Chickens are a prey animal, it is hard to trust a dog 100%...and unless you are willing to lose a chicken if for one second the dog has a momentary lapse of judgement, I would not allow them to be too close.

This is Kitsune...she is a ball of energy and cuteness, very sweet...but I suspect she would go after the chickens until trained not to.

 

[johanssonmel]

I've got two retired racing greyhounds. It's surprised me that they show no interest in my hens--and vice versa--or in the chicks (now 4 weeks old) that are living in a big wire dog crate in our living room. It's like they're not even there. The one time that the dogs accidentally got out while the chickens were loose in the yard, not only was there not the instant massacre I had always feared, the birds and the dogs completely ignored one another.

I suspect, as someone upthread said, that that might change if the chickens startled and ran off. The prey instinct is strong in greys, both by nature and by training.

Whatever the case, I keep them separate. Because in my experience, dogs don't chase and kill chickens... until they do.

 

[WashingtonWino]

We have a 4 month old Dutch Shepherd, our chicks got here a couple days ago so we haven't done any intro's yet...wanted them to settle in first. I plan to hold them for her to briefly check out, but I don't think I will trust her without a training collar. We will train her to give the chickens a wide berth by giving a correction if she gets too close. Chickens are a prey animal, it is hard to trust a dog 100%...and unless you are willing to lose a chicken if for one second the dog has a momentary lapse of judgement, I would not allow them to be too close. This is Kitsune...she is a ball of energy and cuteness, very sweet...but I suspect she would go after the chickens until trained not to.

she's beautiful!

 

[WashingtonWino]

This is my big happy guy, Fred. Does this look like the face of someone who would eat my chicks? I'm not giving him an inch, mind you, but he's very convincing. I think he could fit all six chicks (maybe a dozen!) in his face, given the opportunity. I hope to prove myself wrong though. We'll see!

 

[GAchickennewbie]

He is stunning! Has that goofy expression I love in rotts

 

[carikermoon]

I have a five year old rescued Rottie that I am trying to train to ignore the chickens. Right now I keep her on a leash and them inside the electric fence while I am outside. My goal is to get her to the point where she's off leash while I'm inside the house... but still keep chickens inside an electric fence (I'm not going to tempt fate too much!).

Have a nasty raccoon who has ignored the trap set for him. Plus the next door neighbors have spotted a fox and a bobcat in their backyards.... So I'm hoping the Rottie would protect the flock from those predators without developing a taste for them herself. That's the goal anyway.

 

[WashingtonWino]

Thanks! He's a pretty goofy guy.

So far, baby steps with introductions, he's allowed to watch and has mostly stopped whimpering at them. Chicks don't seem to mind a big looming dog face and carry on as usual. Dog #2 got bored and left, so that's a good sign. Hopefully the chicks get more and more boring to the dogs as the weeks go by.