training a dog to leave chickens alone

[bdfive]

I have 2 Miniature Australian Shepherds I got when they were 3 months old. I kept them on a leash giving the command "NO" when they even looked at the poultry/fowl. It only took a few weeks and I was able to turn them loose and they paid no attention to the birds. They are 3 years old now and I've never had a problem. They became protective and let me know when there is a sound of stress outside in which case the 3 of us go running out the door. I can leave Bear and Chase (neutered males) unattended ..... they will not harm my poultry/fowl. Not sure how they would react with chicks. They seem way to interested to test it.

 

[mags247]

My lab/terrier mix is 6 years old and when I first got biddies, I introduced them to her as her babies and only had to tell her once or twice to be nice. I didn't call them "chicken" for a long time, because she associated that word with food. Now we do call them chickens and she is
so protective of them that she is actually on babysitting duty when we are at work. She is ready to go in the house and crash as soon as I get home, but I trust her completely.

 

[Oil Patch]

I always have chickens and always have dogs. cafarmgirl has it right. You must invest the time and consistency of action to have a good stock dog. My current stock dog is a four year old Rottweiler that is absolutely the calmest around livestock of any dog I have had around. I ranch 25,000 acres stocking sheep and cattle but keep chickens, guineas, quail etc. so a good working dog is a valuable companion. Over the years, I have experienced a few wrecks (twenty dead chickens delivered to the back yard by a border collie / shepherd mix). In most cases the problems were as much my fault as the dog's.

Early on in the training/learning process you have to be as alert as the puppy or dog and recognize the signals to intercept reactions. Patience is critical. One poster said it only took a week or so but in my experience it usually takes a year or two to work through all the adolescent and teenage surprises. Also, the more energetic the breed, the more alert the person must be.

 

[MommyBecca]

After a horrible fail on my part....introducing my new English Springer Spaniel rescue too soon. RIP Josephina...anyway here is what worked for me. I put a gate up and let he chickens into the dogs territory while she watched. I let them eat out of her bowl and put them in her crate at night a few times. When she would do the predator excited behavior I would pet her an say calming things. Until she calmed down. Very slowly I started handing the chickens with after petting her to calmness while we were all sitting CALMLY on the floor. I let the chickens explore around/on her WHILE holding her collar and being soothing. At each stage I ramped up the exposure if she would get excited I would pet both her and the chicken and talk to them equally. Free range for both didn't happen for about 6 months and I still invite chickens in to eat (chicken feed only folks-calm down) out of her bowl while I hold her just to keep it clear to her. We have 2 more dogs now and the same has worked for them. I let them all free range and it is funny to watch sometimes- the dogs tearing around the yard and occasionally knocking over a chicken who is quite put out about the whole thing and let them know about it. Other than that I haven't had any more problems but I do keep an eye on things

 

[Irish Luck]

I saw "the Dog Whisperer" train a dog NOT to chase or herd bunny rabbits. See if you can find it on you tube. He put the bunny in a crate and sat the dog with a leash on next to it. Every single time the dog so much as thought "bunny" he did his little correction, hissing and touching the dog. It took hours over many days but eventually the bunny could hop under the dog and the dog would go the other way. The dog was a Rottweiler which has a very strong predator drive.

One of my dogs chases and kills the chickens when she can. Another will chase just to join in the fun. My Great Pyranees will let the Chickens roost on his head. Too lazy to chase them. I keep them separated by a fence and keep the chickens' wings clipped. When a chicken jumps the fence in a chicken version of the Great Escape, I'm very sorry to say they only do it once. Good luck, but don't give up your dogs, just outsmart everyone, train, train, train and you all can live together happily.

 

[Muddy]

We got chickens well after my dogs were grown (around 9-10 years old) and they never chased my chickens. I was probably lucky, but when I was having predator trouble (turned out to be a raccoon) I put my dogs in the pen with them for a week while we worked out how to secure the area better.

However, I got a puppy last summer and we've started having her spend more time with them and she's started chasing them. It's very frustrating. She hasn't hurt one yet, but I do hope I can get her to stop, because I was really hoping she'd be more their protector when she's outside, and not their tormentor.

 

[Biginner]

I have 2 weimaraners, a german shorthair, and a yellow lab. all are bird hunting dogs and g out hunting with me regularly. I keep them away from the chickens, but once in a while they'll catch a loose chicken and "retrieve" it for me. I've never had a chicken killed or hurt badly by my dogs. the dogs are very soft with their mouth when they do catch a chicken.

I don't ever see my dogs not having the prey drive to catch birds.

 

[Island Chick]

I have a 3yo lab, bred and trained for bird hunting. When I had the chicks they lived inside his dog box and at first he was curious and sniffed them but I said leave it. Well after a few days of being able to see them and the command leave it being strongly ingrained into him he just ignored them (via ecollar work as a pup, worked on ranch with lots of toxic stuff to pups so it was important he learn it well). Everything was quite supervised when i let the chicks cruise around the living room and it got him over the chase instinct the more they gradually flapped around.

Anyways now he is fine with them to the point he goes outside with them around 530am and comes back into house at 9pm. Use him as my daytime raccoon protector. Now to get the picture when all 20 chicks are snuggled next to and on top of him. I just got him very used to being around them. The girls still aren't too thrilled when he tries to occasionally sniff under their skirts though.

 

[pysankigirl]

 

[heatherincanyon]

We have 2 chihuahuas and we have never had any problems with them mingling. Our back yard is cross fenced to separate but the chicks fly over the fence and hang with the dogs all day. The dogs will chase them off the porch as the chicks eat ALL the dog food they can!! Good luck!