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A good dog doesn't need that. Just needs to be trained what its territory is, and it will defend that territory and everything on it.
I'd first train it not to kill chickens, then speak with the neighbors to let them know you are training it to protect your animals and so it needs to be outside, and that it might take a little while to train it. I think most good neighbors would understand as long is it isn't harming their animals. My neighbors worked with me on that and now she is just great about all of this.
But the electric fence might be a temporary training device on second thought, to help it learn its boundaries.
That's what I was wondering: how do you teach the dog its territory and boundaries when you don't have fencing? I mean, my house dogs are invisible fence trained, and that works great. And of course, when my LGD is protecting a herd, they have their own fencing. But for someone without any fencing like the OP, how do you teach them their boundaries? It doesn't sound like there is fencing beyond the coop and pen, which is too small for a dog to reside in.
I don't know about all LGDs, but the great pyranese likes a BIG area to claim and his/her own. If you don't have a big enough area, he'll leave. He'll come back, but he will wander. You need some way to contain them or teach them their boundaries. At least that's my experience with a GP and mine is worth his weight in gold.
It obviously can't take a "good dog" to learn it's boundaries efficiently, or we wouldn't all be having roaming dog problems. It has to be in the training, and I just don't know a way to teach boundaries to a dog without some kind of fencing. Even if it's temporary, you need some kind of fencing while they're being trained.
