Testing My Dogs with the Flock

[uniqueblacksheep]

Please keep us updated! @uniqueblacksheep

We have dogs and I harbour fantasies of free-ranging my little flock some day, so I'm curious to follow your progress.

Good luck!

I will definitely let you know how it goes. Thank you!

 

[SilberHenne]

I have always let my dogs and chickens out together. Even my Shiba couldn't care less about them and would rather eat their poop. They have all been told not to bother them with the "leave it" command. If your dogs are 100% solid on this command, they should respect it.

Bird dogs are not used to kill birds, they will watch and wait until given the command to retrieve a dead one, and then they do so while being as gentle as possible. They tend to view birds as toys instead of food, and can be trained to ignore them when they are alive (so they aren't caught between a bird and a gun) and "fetch" dead ones for a reward. Poodles are retrievers, not hunters. Breeds that are more likely to kill birds are Akitas, terriers, huskies, and sight hounds. I wouldn't trust a Fox Terrier or Airedale, but poodles, doodles, spaniels, and retrievers are as safe as you can get because for the most part we have bred true prey drive out of them.

 

[Kevin_87]

My German Shepard is great with the hens. My Lab not so much. She is fine until the girls try to fly then instincts kick in an I get brought a wet and angry chicken. My poor Lab can not figure out why no one is pleased with her catch. Luckily, she does not shake them and they walk back to what they were doing. We all find it best to keep the lab away.

 

[uniqueblacksheep]

Dogs might deter hawks....but maybe not, have read numerous stories of hawks attacking birds not 10' from humans.
I'd test your dogs maybe on leash at first, get the birds riled up and see how dogs react.
Work with them all and see how it goes.
I have a standard poodle. I don't free range, but he's been know to play 'tag' thru the run walls with a few certain birds.

Thank you! I was thinking the same thing maybe on the leash to see what transpires

 

[Abriana]

I have a collie named Beau and from the first day he was excellent with the chickens. In fact, he was more scared of them than they were of him! Now he tries to get the rooster to chase him (even though he is on the opposite side of the fence!) and he is a great protector. He even chases off the hawk when it’s perched in a tree. Collies are great with chickens!

 

[aart]

They did very well until they began to reach closer to 8months old.....Its a shame, maybe they needed more training.

Could be, 8 mo is prime adolescence time...
...can take up to about 2 years to fully train a dog.
I personally think dogs are 'puppies' until about 3yo.

 

[FlockQueen]

I have 5 dogs. Four amstaff pit bulls and one blue heeler. My test occurred similarly to yours. My chickens decided their quarter acre run wasn't large enough and flew over the fence to free range while i was inside. This has been going on now for several months. So far the worst problem ogre had is the dogs starting to chase after them and then losing interest..but the chases were pretty half hearted. Lately one of my hens has been chasing the dogs now chicks are another story...I've had to reprimand my male amstaff for gently carrying chicks in his mouth and trying to lick them. so far no hawk attacks though but we mainly have ospreys here and they would prefer fish.

 

[uniqueblacksheep]

Well I thank you all for your time and advice. I wanted to update on how it went. So far its been about 3 weeks and the dogs are out with the chickens alot now. So far no agression at all. My poodle will get close and sniff, but that's the extent. My goldendoodle wants nothing to do with them

 

[Mrs. K]

I think you have a bye. As your dogs and chickens do hang out together, the lack of fencing was a moot issue. The only problem I see, is my chickens are not afraid of my dog (who secretly is sure I give the best treats to the chickens) and I sometimes think they do not see coyotes as a threat. So neighborhood dogs might be a problem.

I would not worry about it. I don't think if your chickens get riled up, your dog will attack.

However, I knew that poodles were originally considered a working dog, and looked it up. They are primarily used for duck hunting. But are considered very intelligent, and so may have figured out these are your birds.

Mrs K

 

[uniqueblacksheep]

I think you have a bye. As your dogs and chickens do hang out together, the lack of fencing was a moot issue. The only problem I see, is my chickens are not afraid of my dog (who secretly is sure I give the best treats to the chickens) and I sometimes think they do not see coyotes as a threat. So neighborhood dogs might be a problem.

I would not worry about it. I don't think if your chickens get riled up, your dog will attack.

However, I knew that poodles were originally considered a working dog, and looked it up. They are primarily used for duck hunting. But are considered very intelligent, and so may have figured out these are your birds.

Mrs K

Thank you Mrs K! The fact thatbshe was a bird dog always made me think there was no way it would work. So I was so surprised to see them. We live on 10 acres in the country that are fenced, so luckily other dogs arent usually a large concern. I might give this a try starting on leash so I have control but can see how things transpire .Thank you for taking the time to respond!!