Updated with some more information about Maci

[TK Poultry]

Ok so tomorrow I'm picking up a little Brittany Spaniel puppy she is 12 weeks old. Her parents are both champion bird dogs and her dad is also a show dog so hunting is in the blood. I'm worried about the bred in bird dog with my chickens, ducks, and pigeons. I think that maybe if we teach her that these birds are not for playing or hunting then we should be ok. What do you think?
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So I did the first introduction of Maci and the birds. She did really well. That was a moment of several first. We also did our first walk on a leash which she did very well. Then I just let her explore the birds on her own terms and all went well. The roosters where going crazy because their was this thing by their pen. She only pricked her ears when my mallards where trying to fly. I think the chickens and ducks reacted worse that Maci did.


Thanks for all your help! I think that this going to work out GREAT!

 

[carolinagirl58]

good luck! It can work....but it will be a challange.

 

[Becky_H]

I think your best bet is to be very careful to teach her to 'soft mouth' retrieve. She's a spaniel. She shoudn't be killing birds, even out in the field. She should be flushing and retrieving them. That works in your favor. Just don't be surprised if you can't have a bird dog and birds loose together. She may very well either lose the drive to retrieve the birds, or lose the inhibition to play nice with the poultry.

 

[TK Poultry]

Quote:
Well we can't let our pigeons out because they are Homers and bought them yesterday so that is a plus. We only let one of the loose and that is a LF Ameraucana hen named Lucy. Should I introduce her to the birds the second or third day she's home?

 

[featherfooted]

It can work. I have an English Setter that is fine with the chickens and ducks. She is bred to hunt, but knows to leave the chicken and ducks alone. Now the wild birds are fair game as well as the squirrels. She didn't even see a chicken until she was about 8 years old so you have a headstart.

Lady with the chickens

 

[secuono]

Get her used to the chickens/chicks, ducks/ducklings from day one. Also, teach her to leave eggs alone...my dog loves to snack on them if a hen lays them out in the yard.

 

[MommaOrp]

My rottie is in love with my chooks, however sometimes she can chase them but a few firm words and she desists. With your particular breed i would def spend the time training her to get along with them, i think you'll be safely surprised

 

[duckface]

We got our first ducks two years ago and our German shorthaired pointer never bothered them. Of course, we never let him around them unsupervised and he knows the "leave it" command quite well. Last year we got a German wirehaired pup who also never bother the ducks, even all the babies we had. (She did however sneak into duck houses and steal eggs.) By fall she was already very "birdy" with pheasants and did great out in the field. Still, never bothered the ducks. This spring, however, she did kill our only mallard hen. We didn't see what happened because we never thought she wouldn't bother them based on last year, but she must have pointed her while she was on her nest and the hen flew off, but the dog chased her and caught her up by the house. After some re-training, she is back to not bothering the ducks. Sooo, with training and supervision it certainly is possible.

 

[TK Poultry]

Well she's home and she is very much a lap dog... she doesn't want to play with toys or be on the ground just my lap. I'm typing around her as we speak. I don't know how this is going to work out when she is 30-40lbs! Her mom weighs 37lbs and her dad weighed like 33lbs... but she is the runt. She is so cute. When I was bringing her in the house she paid no attention to the birds but I haven't officially taken her out there yet. All I've showed her are the "approved" rooms of the house. when it cools off a bit we are going to show her the birds. Its so cute because she really really wants to play with our cat who is 10 years old and he is having NO part of it! lol!