What breed of dog should we get?

[Little Farm Girl]

Update: we edited the thread, that's why it might not make since now, and We have found a solution.

Im not sure what forum to post this in, but, we have a fox that is taking our chickens from various areas at night. It needs to stay on our property. Would it be best to get as a little puppy or around 4-10 months old?

 

[Little Farm Girl]

Also, a fence IS NOT AN OPTION!

 

[Folly's place]

Fencing is the only option!
Mary

 

[Little Farm Girl]

What about a collie or some kind of hearding dog for the donke and Mule, and a LGD for the chickens? How our property is set up, a fence literally can not be put up.

 

[The chicken wizard]

as i've told many chicken keepers, NEVER GET DOGS AS GUARD ANIMALS!! they will kill your flock when you're not looking. no matter the breed, no matter the size, no matter the training. they all have the predatory urge to kill small animals, including chickens. for protection, use geese or emus. they are certainly less expensive to hatch from eggs than dogs, and if you let a broody hen raise them, they will grow up bonded to that flock, willing to risk their lives to protect it. a stinking mutt will only pretend to love the flock in return for treats and food, and will kill your chickens without hesitation once it stops receiving treats. geese and emus are the way to go. many online hatchereys carry goslings, and you can find emu eggs usually under 60 us dollars on eBay.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

My sister begged for a dog last year and finally got one. Worst. Decision. Ever! I will never get a dog.
Have you tried electric poultry netting or electric fencing to keep your donkey and mule on your property? If you’re losing chickens to a fox then you need to re-assess your coop.

 

[pennyJo1960]

You would need a fence even a dog but they take training not just put them out sorry add electric fencing does not breathe nor need training

 

[annagoodspeed]

A tough situation. Seeing different dogs owned by me and friends, you really can’t go by a specific breed. You might be ok with a very young Pyrenees if introduced correctly, but I would not trust Border Collies as a breed to be chicken safe. If you are seeing losses at night, then concentrate on building a predator proof coop for them. Consider getting breeds of chickens that are more wild types, good flyers, able to escape up into a tree. Still losses but hopefully not as many.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Think of it this way. Would you get a pet bird and not get a cage to keep it in? Would you buy a goldfish and not buy some kind of a bowl to put water in to keep it in?

I do not know why a fence won't work in your situation, but I will tell you this. No matter what age or breed of dog you get, you are going to end up with a dead dog, and the fox will take care of your chickens. And I have seen what happens when horses and traffic mix and it's not pretty for the horses, the cars or the people in the cars. It's tragic, and in my country, the owners of the livestock are legally and financially liable for the results. Quite simply, if you can't confine, contain or control your animals, you probably shouldn't have them. Yes, this is harsh, but it's reality. I'm sorry.

 

[50-45-1]

Sounds like the chicken wizard has had bad experience with guard dogs.
I have the opposite.
I have never been rich enough to afford a guardian breed dog and they are very had to find and usually quite a distance from me when they are avaliable.
I too believe you need a fence for this to work, but i have had good luck with my mix breed dogs. Yes start with a pup. He needs to have early training. My dogs are austrailen shepherd/ pit bull, australien cattle dog/ border collie and german shepherd/ black lab. I go away every day and leave my three dogs outside untied. My chickens are free range all day. Not Once has my dogs attacked the chickens. In fact two weeks ago my neighbors beagle showed up and started chasing chickens in ernest and the gsd/lab held him down growling and drewling and showing her teeth until i came out and rescued the beagle from her. Anything that causes a ruccus with the chickens get chased down.
Of course there is training involved
Number one; the chickens are not play things, leave them be.
Number 2; reinforcement of our property lines. Do not go past this area.
Started young, with dedicated daily training, most dogs can learn these 2 things.
This will not help you right now. If your chickens are going missing at night, i am assuming you do not have a secure coop?
A secure coop for your birds is the number one thing that every chicken owner needs, and also is the most frequent answer for most preditor problems i see here. I would not expect to have one chicken left at the end of the week if my coop was unsecure.
It sounds to me like you are not living in an area where livestock should be kept. Letting your donkey free range next to a road is irresponsible to your donkey and to whoever might pass by and hit them by accident.

Good luck!