What breeds of dogs do well with chickens?

[corancher]

I have lab mix, border collie mix, and great pyrenees. The lab had to be taught not to mess with the birds. The border collie was great from the beginning. The great pyrenees, she is still only seven months but she did kill a couple of birds a few months ago. We had to work with her as we did the lab to train her that was not acceptable. All seems fine now.

So training, training, and training whatever you decide on.

 

[newbie coops]

None.

Don't mix any dog, regardless of how small, docile , or friendly they seem. You will eventually have a problem with a dog going after a chicken. If you want to have both, separate them so they will have no possibility of contact with each other.

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Quote:
That is totaly FALSE. I have had some dogs that werent good around birds, but on the other hand I have had MANY dogs, they NEVER went after a bird what so ever.

 

[MakNat]

Start with a puppy if you can. Like 6 to 8 weeks old. Watch them well and be very consistant with your training of the 'chickys live here too'. You should be fine unless it just happens to be a blood thirsty killer.. I think any dog who is feed well and watched and taught that everyone on the property has there place they turn out fine. I have 4 dogs from 9yrs 5yrs 3yrs and 1yr. All different 'mutts' and we only got chickens 2yrs ago. I have had great luck. Maybe I should go knock on wood, huh?? Good Luck!! Good dogs are great at running the Bad guys away!!

 

[mandolinmama]

Thanks so much guys! Also, do you think that gender might be a factor?
I'm definatly not going to rush into anything with any of this. I know that I'll have to "feel" it. It's going to have to be a "ment to be" dog because I know that I'm going to put so much into this new member of the family. My last dog died 2 years ago and believe it or not, the very reason that I have chickens is because I needed something but couldn't bring myself to get another dog. I miss her so much. Now, I finally feel ready to love another dog.
My girl was a miniature american eskimo that we rescued as an adult. I'm pretty certain that she wouldn't have harmed any chickens, but not sure if we just got lucky with her or if the breed is just sweet like she was.
I'm bouncing between another little american eskimo and a boarder collie.

You guys over here are awesome!

Oh, and to the previous poster, yes, I play mandolin and banjo. I love bluegrass!

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

I dont think that gender has anything to do with it. At least from what Ive expierienced. Dogs are alot like people, theres smart, dumb, good, and mean ones in them all.

I dont know much about an american eskimo, but I have had a couple of border collies, and they where great dogs. If you do get a puppy, (or any dog for that matter) beware of them wanting to "play" with the chickens. They dont mean any harm to them but dont let them get started doing that, they are very likely to eventually harming the chickens. Just make sure they understand chasing and playing with the chickens is a huge NO NO.

 

[Comet Mum]

I think I'd suggest getting a puppy rather than a rescue dog. I have 3 American Hairless Terriers (rat terriers without fur!). I got pullets for the first time this past fall. The 6 yo female AHT could care less about the chickens, the 1 yo male is curious, but scared, the 5 yo female that was a rescue dog is not to be trusted near the chickens. She is wary of new people, other dogs and wild animals. Her fight instinct is very strong. So, I think it would be easier to start with a puppy rather than acquire a dog with probable behavioral issues. But, that is me. If you are a very patient dog owner & excellent trainer, get a rescue. Good luck and enjoy your new pooch!

 

[wsquared]

We have two golden retrievers and they are great with our chickens!!!

 

[RavenStorm]

How funny, I was doing research last night on this very topic. In general, you want to look for dogs that are classified as "working" or "pastoral" dogs, but I think that any dog raised properly and trained well will do fine. Here are a few websites that I dealt with that had some really interesting info, they might help you:

http://www.anatoliandog.org/poultry.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoral_dog
http://www.lgd.org/library/breed4u.htm
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/chbreed.html#Working

I swear the more you search, the more questions you have when it comes to this topic! Thankfully, one of my teachers at school trains herding dogs as a side business and she has agreed to help me out, even though she hasn't ever had anyone asking about poultry before!

 

[Eric in NC]

Hehe - my German Shorthair Pointer and English Setter will never understand why they shouldn't bring me the chickens!!

Why would birds exist that weren't meant to be picked up and carried back to their human buddy?!?!

So I would suggest that "bird dogs" be excluded!